Queens NYC Knowledge Base. Pastrami, Rugelach, Uzbeki, Other

Seventy two hours in my native land, headquartered at the LGA Marriott. The occasion: a neighborhood reunion that gathered six hundred of us Friday night out in the Deepdale/Beech Hills area. A worthwhile excuse to partially realize Queens food fantasies which have teased me on every business trip to Manhattan over the last five years. Dining with parties of from two to eight people, we managed to shoe horn in a pretty good sampling.

Pastrami, The Real Deal at Ben's Best (NOT 'Ben's, a chain); not an overloaded sandwich but certainly ample. 9640 Queens Blvd Rego Park. Go, eat. Potato pancake, slaw ok. But the pastrami makes the trip worthwhile, especially in conjunction with...

Rugelach at Andre's Hungarian, 10016 Queens Blvd, Rego Prk, four long blocks east, same side of the street. None of this cream cheese based dough short cut bubbemeister. Dough is butter/sour cream based--light, crispy, fillings of good quality. Great cookies, lindser tortes, skip the strudel. Has a branch on the upper east side in Manhattan to access the rugelach from the Queens mother ship.

Other:
--Sripraphai. Beautifully expanded. Food no longer so vibrant. Chicago's best is flat out better.
--Difara's Pizza, 1424 Ave J Midwood Brooklyn--simple cheese pie (the only way to judge a pizza) exceeded expectations; it had to be good as it was dessert immediately following Sripraphai. Aged dough with good sour development, buffalo mozzarella sliced to order, fresh basil atop a schmeer of sauce and again atop finished baked pie, hard cheese grated fresh by hand every five minutes liberally sprinkled over pie hot from oven. The man works slowly and methodically, he cannot be hurried. Sat 1:20 arrival, there was a line, received pie at 2:30 PM. Next time would call in the order 45 min before arrival.
--Anna Marie's Bagels, Whitestone Queens, Francis Lewis between 34th and 33rd Ave. A good bagel, not airy, moderately dense.
--Cheburechnaya (Uzbeki) 92-09 63rd Drive, Rego Park. Highlights: lamb kabob, Cabbage Chebureki (a large thin crusted cross between a samosa and a knish), Chicken Thigh kabob, Calves Liver Kabob, silk road airline salad.
--Gam Fong, Flushing, 'best dim sum in nyc'. Not. Ok, but have had better.
--Azuri Cafe, 51st St just east of Tenth Ave, Manhattan. Still the BEST Israeli style (i.e. lots of parsely, no fava beans) falafel in NYC. Where else do you get a guy with an Alan Arkin visage and Soup Nazi mien making your sandwich with the yogic intensity of Mr. DiFara?
--La Pollada Laura. Northern Blvd between 102nd and 103rd st north side. Peruvian. Exc, no make that superb, ceviches (fish, mixed, 'leche de tigre' with coconut milk), good fried squid, good Parihuela (seafood soup) slightly cream thickened, rotisserie chicken not so fresh and a little dry--too bad its been pretty good in the past, fried chicken--despite reviewers' comments--just a salted bird tossed in the deep fryer, ok maduros and tostones, another airline salad--this time Peruvian style. Will always go back for the ceviches.

Did you actually spend any time with your 600 comrades? Come to think of it, I don't care.

I've never been to Ben's How does it compare to the old Pastrami King or Katz's?

So glad you made it to Andre's, one of the real treasures of New York.

Did you ever make it to Beautiful Bukhara, a Uzbeki place with the best samsas and kababs. I have no idea why it disappeared, but it did. I'v never been to Cheburechnaya -- I assume you recommend it.

I've got to get to La Pollada Laura. Thanks for the great report.

Dave Feldman wrote:I've never been to Ben's How does it compare to the old Pastrami King or Katz's?

Did you ever make it to Beautiful Bukhara, a Uzbeki place with the best samsas and kababs. I have no idea why it disappeared, but it did. I'v never been to Cheburechnaya -- I assume you recommend it.

I've got to get to La Pollada Laura. Thanks for the great report.

I made it to Pastrami King (now deceased) once. Super sandwich, depressing in all other dimensions. Ben's Best is its equal, that said--the visits were fifteen years apart.

Never made it to Beautful Bukhara. I indeed recommend Cheburechnaya.

I love La Pollada Laura for the ceviches and fried squid. The chicken rostizado is very good too--but I guess you have to ask 'if its fresh? i.e. 'el pollo rostizado, es fresco ou es viejo?', my pidgin kitchen spanish but it works well most times.