SingleCut's Pies Hit the Spot

Last weekend, my We Heart Astoria colleagues and I participated in Shore Fest, which overall was a nice experience. Getting to interact with lots of folks from the community and with local business owners is always a pleasure, but the day involved a lot of hard work as well, and we were quite tired after.

Deciding to reward ourselves by going to SingleCut Beersmiths for a drink and some grub, Meg, Dan and I had the pleasure of sampling a few eats we haven't had there before.  Here are my highlights:

Jumbo Soft Pretzel - They were out of this the last time we came, so we thought it'd be a fun item to share, which it was.  We loved its beautifully golden crust that was studded with grains of sea salt, and the beer cheese dip tied it all together.  I enjoyed the grain mustard as well, which added a welcome sharpness to the more neutral taste of the pretzel.

Meat Pies - We went for both of the chicken meat pie varieties, which included the Hickety Pickety with chicken, leeks and mushrooms as well as the King and I with Thai Curry.  I've had the latter already, and was more impressed with the Hickety Pickety, which was lighter and overall incorporated more classic meat pie flavors.  If you like funkier flavors and want to get fancy, the King and I, which has more spice to it is a nice option.

3 Bean Salad - Along with the meat pies, we also got a side of the three bean salad, that was mixed in with a healthy dose of feta cheese.  I enjoyed it very much, as it was served cold and was an overall refreshing way to enjoy an otherwise indulgent snack.  The salad was also quite filling and the portion was on the generous side, making it a great item to share.

Service and Cost:
Just like the few other times that I've been here, I wasn't too impressed with the service, which always has a bit of an edge.  They weren't super accommodating when we brought in a growler to be filled up, and overall had an air of nonchalance that I didn't entirely appreciate.

Costs are moderate and included roughly $25 for the above mentioned food, plus three beers.

2.5 Mmmms

SingleCut Beersmiths - 19-33 37th Street, Astoria NY 11105
718.606.0788
N/Q Train to Ditmars Blvd
www.singlecutbeer.com 

MLK Brunch is On!

If you're at home today and looking to get some leisurely brunch, fear not for Astoria has some fab options ready for you.  Here are just three yummy places serving your favorite brunch and lunch dishes, but I bet you can find plenty more as soon as you're out and about.  Let me know where you end up and what you enjoyed!

Sugarfreak - I'm displaying their Jambalaya and Eggs dish here, which was so hearty and a little bit on the spicy side, which I love.  They're serving a traditional Southern brunch today starting from 11:00 a.m. so come on down and treat yourself to some wholesome, homemade food.  36-18 30th Avenue, Astoria.  718.726.5850

LIC Market - Featuring a "bonus" brunch today in honor of MLK Day, it'll be available until about 3:30 p.m.  Expect hearty dishes such as their famed "Bulls-eye Eggs," slow roasted duck hash, a "dirty rice" frittata, buttermilk pancakes with housemade berry jam and more.  21-52 44th Drive, LIC.  718.361.0013

Sweet Afton - Nothing like some good ol' fashioned bar food to start off the week - except this isn't any run-of-the-mill grub.  Everything is prepared carefully and deliciously with top quality ingredients, like their classic Pat La Frieda, Sweet Afton burger, a melty skillet mac 'n cheese, and of course their hand-cut fried McLure's pickles.  They open at 1 p.m. today.  30-09 34th Street, Astoria. 718.777.2570

5 Napkin Unveils a $5 Burger

We sure love our deals in Astoria, so when I heard that 5 Napkin Burger has rolled out a $5 burger for lunch, I just had to spread the news.  Known for their sizeable 10 ozers, its $5 sibling is about half this size at 4 oz, which will still be delicious and filling.  

The $5, 5 Napkin Burger is a classic take on their namesake dish - dressed with melted cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickles.  You can get this all week, Monday-Friday starting from 11:30 a.m. all the way through 5:00 p.m. And if your hunger still gets the best of ya, you can add on a $2 slider from their Happy Hour menu (M-S from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.), which intersects with $5 burger time.  So the moral of this story is...get your burger on!

5 Napkin Burger - 35-01 36th Street, Astoria, NY 11106 
 718.433.2727
N/Q Train to 36th Avenue
5napkinburger.com

Alewife - Bar Food with Good Mojo

Ever since I've heard Meg praising the herb fries at Alewife, I knew I had to try it.  She's a bit of a French fry connoisseur, if you will, so I knew she was on to something, and I was naturally eager to try it.  Recently finding out that my friend Julie lived in the neighborhood too, we made plans to meet at Alewife after work and devoured those much praised fries and the impressive-looking gourmet burger you see before you, as well.

Atmosphere:
Situated in the old Lucky Mojo space, I was surprised at Alewife's sheer size.  Based on what I heard and read about it, I expected it to be a small, quaint, cozy place, but instead it's a rather large, open spaced bar with plenty of casual seating.  While the vibe tries to accomplish something rather gastropubey, to me it feels like a glorified sports bar.  Not to say this is a bad thing, as the quality of the food and drink is really good, but somehow its surroundings don't really match its intended concept.  On a random Wednesday night, it felt rather empty and abandoned, but I'm curious to observe it on the weekends, and especially during large sporting events.

Food:
While the menu boasts a lot of sophisticated eats like crispy pork belly, carrot & artichoke tordelli, black feather chicken and more, what we both wanted was some good old fashioned bar food, which of course came in the form of a burger and fries.

Dry Aged Burger and Fries - When asking our server about the burger, he reaffirmed our desires and highly recommended it.  Surprised and delighted when we saw it arrive, the burger was impressive, consisting of a beautifully grilled patty, oozing with juices and topped with melted cheddar cheese.  The true piece-de-resistance, as you can guess was that beautiful pretzel bun, which was golden brown, soft and absolutely substantial enough to hold the burger meat and fixins.  I also loved the pickles on the side, which were clearly homemade, and a nice mix of sweet and sour.

The fries were truly out of this world, as they were the thin, shoestring kind, sprinkled with flecks of rosemary, salt and a healthy dose of truffle oil.  Each bite was crispy and delicious and so addicting that I nearly polished off the whole bowl.  The portion is quite large and I recommend splitting it with your dining companion.

I also wanted to highlight that since Julie adheres to a gluten-free diet, Alewife happily accommodated her with a bun-free burger.  It was presented beautifully with veggies and those yummy pickles too.

Service and Cost:
We had no complaints about the service, as our waiter was friendly and attentive and offered up his valid opinions.  He seemed intelligent and in-the-know about the menu and we felt his service in general was on-point.

Costs are expensive, also considering the casual atmosphere that doesn't quite match this menu and price point.

The burger, fries and a drink set us back about $30/person.  Call me crazy but that's a bit rich even for really good, sophisticated bar food.

2.5 Mmmms

Alewife - 5-14 51st Avenue, Long Island City NY 11101
718.937.7494
7 Train to Vernon Blvd/Jackson Avenue
www.alewifequeens.wordpress.com

L'Ecole's Delicious Bar Bites

It's been exactly a month since the French Culinary Institute's L'Ecole rolled out their bar menu. I'm always in the mood to dine at this modern (but not stuffy) French restaurant, run by the Institute's students and supervised by their instructors. The couple of times I've been so far has always proven to be a professional and gastronomically fulfilling experience, and this time was no different. My co-worker and friend, Leann accompanied me to sample this menu, which surpassed our expectations.

After a long work day, we sat down in the airy, open bar area to the right of the restaurant's entrance. Starting with a beer and then working our way through the menu, we tried the following items:

Escargot - A classically prepared version of this dish was a most welcome way to start things off. Resting in shallot, parsley-butter sauce, the escargot was an incredibly decadent prelude to our meal. The escargot was tender and not chewy or fishy tasting, which can sometimes plague this specialty. After we gobbled up the main parts of this dish, we continued to dip the freshly made French baguettes into the sauce. Pure yumminess!

Goat Cheese Croquette and Salad - Our second appetizer was a must, as we both have a love affair with goat cheese. The croquette was warm and crispy on the outside, yet perfectly soft and melty on the inside. Its tanginess was offset by slightly bitter leafy greens, roasted Bermuda onions and sweet beets. I love beets in anything and a combination with the goat cheese was a match made in heaven.

Moules Frites - What better way to enjoy timeless French cuisine than with an order of mussels and frites? I liked that L'Ecole's version was uncomplicated and familiar, the mussels floating in a traditional garlic, white wine, shallots and parsley sauce. The mussels themselves were meaty and flavored by this fragrant sauce. It goes without saying that we lunged for the frites and kept dipping them in the concoction even after the mussels were demolished.

Gruyere Bacon Burger - Appreciating a nice, hearty burger, this one came on a beautifully grilled brioche bun. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium texture, leaving you with one juicy bite after another. Further dressed with thick-cut bacon that had a nice smoky essence and some tangy gruyere cheese, it was yet another item that hit the spot. Since the burger was substantial in size, Leann and I split it, creating the perfect portion.

Dessert - Even though we were running out of room, we just couldn't ignore dessert and ordered the two things on the menu - a creme brulee and chocolate bread pudding. Both were delicious and very rich - the creme brulee was actually on the lighter side with a nicely solidified sugar crust that was fun to break. The interior custard was light and clean on the palate with a distinct vanilla aftertaste.

The chocolate bread pudding was a heavier dish, but given that Leann and I are both chocoholics, we didn't have a problem with it. Topped with a crunchy almond cookie and a scoop of simple, vanilla ice cream that added a nice juxtaposition in texture, this dessert presented a dramatic finish to the meal.

Drinks - As I mentioned, Leann and I paired our food with beer. I chose the Rogue Mocha Porter that had a lot of body and a bittersweet malty flavor - it was a great winter beer - while Leann went with the Fire Island Frozen Tail that was also on the darker, richer side.

Service and Cost:
Dutifully served by our bartender, we didn't feel neglected at all and our food was brought out in good time. We liked the casual feel of the bar, and loved observing the goings-on of the restaurant in between.

Bar menu prices are very affordable and include the following:

Starters - $8 - $11
Entrees - $12 - $15
Sides - $5
Desserts - $8

Also, remember that you have another week to take advantage of a free cocktail deal, when you mention "The Foodista" at the bar with any order. This offer expires on March 15th.

3 Mmmms

L'Ecole - 462 Broadway, New York NY 10013
212.219.3300
6 Train to Spring Street
www.frenchculinary.com/lecole

Blogger's Gathering at 5 Napkin Burger

Last week, I was lucky to attend a fun blogger's get-together organized by the folks at 5 Napkin Burger.  I always look forward to coming here, as I'm a sucker for a good, juicy burger, but I was also thrilled to hang with some of my fellow Queens and Manhattan food bloggers, some of which I've never met.  As is usually the case, there was lots of picture taking and plenty of geeky blog talk, which was just dandy with me.  Here's who came to dinner:

Meg and Mackenzi - My colleagues from We Heart Astoria
Jon from Eatery Row
Caryn and Laura from 89th and Broke

5 Napkin provided a lovely setting with plenty of yummy treats, some of which I haven't yet tried.  I'll dig deeper into those mostly, as I've told you about 5 Napkin before and then I'll also highlight a fun event series they'll be featuring soon.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip - Never have I ever ignored hot, oozing, stringy artichoke spinach dip and I wasn't going to start now.  5 Napkin's version was sophisticated, accompanied by long endive spears to keep things healthier and at the same time, classier.  If you're looking for a crunchier bite, you can pile this deliciously warm concoction on the crunchy crostini that also comes as a side.

Pork Taquitos - After reading a nice review from Brad, I had to try these. Mmmm...the pork was tender, with a thick tangy sauce and bursts of flavor from the fresh salsa.  The crunch from the hard taco shell provided more excitement - a proverbial party in your mouth.  Cheers!

Sushi Combo Platter - While I wouldn't normally get sushi at a burger joint, this looked (and tasted) incredibly fresh. I tried the spicy tuna and the shrimp avocado rolls - the flavors exploding in my mouth.  Delicious fresh seafood mixed with crunchy veggies, the whole thing was encased in perfectly cooked sticky rice and a delicate casing, that held everything together.  For a sushi enthusiast or an ambivalent like me, this is a great choice.

Burger Salad - My dining companion Danielle went for this 5 Napkin "Burger Salad," which had all the components of a burger, except the bun.  Although I didn't actually taste it, I marveled at this salad and Danielle complimented how rich in flavor it was.  Another perk was the 5 Napkin sauce, which served as the dressing. 

Tater Tots - What can I say...as a proud Eastern European, I love me some carbs and that's why I had to indulge in these little spirals of goodness.  As Dan would say (and I agree), they're more like croquettes than traditional tater tots since they have a crispy breadcrumb exterior and a soft, mashed potato interior.  I also loved that they were flavored with rosemary, one of my favorite fall/winter spices.

Espresso Brownie Sundae - The first thing I noticed right away when this landed in front of me were the peanuts.  For those of you who know me, it won't come as a surprise that that was almost a deal breaker, as I'm not a fan of peanuts or peanut butter.  But...despite the minor personal setback, I decided to dig in and in the end, was very glad I did.  Smooth, clean-flavored vanilla ice-cream lay comfortably in a clear drinking glass, topped with silky espresso caramel and dark chocolate brownie bits.  Fluffy whipped cream topped this festive dessert cup as well as salted peanuts, which as you know, I could've done without.

Besides trying this tasty food, I also wanted to inform you that 5 Napkin will be launching a special called the Beer & Bourbon Dinner series, starting on November 16th going through December 14th.  During this time, you'll be able to sample unique micro-brews and bourbons, paired with a special menu, concepted by Chef Andy D'Amico.  Sounds delish...so go get your eat and drink on!

5 Napkin Burger - 35-01 36th Street, Astoria, NY 11106
718.433.2727
N/W Train to 36th Avenue
5napkinburger.com

Indigo - Sliders, Nachos, Oh My...

Indigo - 28-50 31st Street, Astoria NY 11102
718-728-0050
N/W Train to 30th Avenue
www.indigobarnyc.com

I mentioned my visit to Indigo last week for Sunday night football. This past Sunday, we went back again, along with our friend Grant and in-laws, Josh and Diana. We wanted to make a good impression with Indigo, as our "regular" football hangout is Blondies on the Upper East Side. It's hard to break the spell with Blondies, especially since they make the best wings and waffle fries I've ever tasted. But Indigo definitely stood on its own and our friends were impressed. Here are some of the new things that we tried:

Sliders - These were not your typical thin, limp patties that I've seen pass for sliders at other joints. This was real, good beef that was juicy and topped with warm melted cheese and sauteed onions. The fixins made them a lot more substantial and I definitely felt that they tided me over before my entree arrived.

Besides the mini cheeseburgers, the sliders platter also included mini pulled pork sandwiches, which tasted just as yummy as they looked. The meat was of a good quality and I liked the barbecue sauce that was used--tangy but not very spicy. I'd highly recommend splitting this dish between 4-5 people. We were very pleased.

Cowboy Nachos - Another one of our starters, we were delighted to see that the chips, the chili and guacamole were served separately. While I don't mind when they pile everything on top of the chips, they tend to get soggy, which ruins them after about ten minutes.

The first nice touch right off the bat was that the chips were toasted, making them super crunchy and slightly warm. The beef chili, which was presented in a deep porcelain dish was flavorful and the beef was once again fresh and delicious. The mixture of cheddar and jack cheeses was pleasant in the chili and not too overpowering. While it got a little runny towards the end, the flavors were just great and we didn't mind a little drippage. The guacamole was also good but not too remarkable.

Chicken Club Wrap - This was my dish, as I wanted to try something different from last week's turkey burger. Unfortunately, it was a mistake and I should've stuck with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. It's not that there was anything horrible about it, it was just uneventful. The tortilla around the meat was too thick and hard to bite into, while the chicken was breaded too heavily. On top of that, the overall effect was dry and I had to dip my wrap into the ketchup several times. The great thing about this dish was that the side of fresh-cut fries were even better than last week.

Service and Cost:
The waitstaff was very quick and attentive. I liked our waiter and waitress--they were both friendly and took care of us. I never felt as if I was waiting for an especially long time.

We ended up racking up a big bill when we factored in all of the beer. For the above appetizers including fried mozzarella sticks and 4 entrees, we paid about $35 each, including tip. Not unreasonable in my opinion. I'd suggest to check it out for football Sunday.

2 Mmmms

Indigo - Bar Food That Doesn't Disappoint

Indigo - 28-50 31st Street, Astoria NY 11102
718-728-0050
N/W Train to 30th Avenue
www.indigobarnyc.com

The first place that we hit after our big trip was Indigo. We were absolutely starving after our long flight--and with nothing in the fridge, we decided to elongate our honeymoon fried food gorgefest. We headed to Indigo to catch the remains of the Giants game and to have ourselves a good ol' fashioned American burger.

There were lots of burger, club and wrap choices but we decided to go for the semi-healthy, semi-gluttonous turkey burger with bacon. To say that it was the best turkey burger that I've had in a while would not be a lie. Here are the deets:

Turkey Burger (with a side of bacon) - This dish was a feast, complete with homemade fries with crunchy skins, thick slices of tomato and onion as well as cranberry mayonnaise on the side, giving it that Thanksgiving-ey touch.

The meat itself was wonderful--juicy and thick, this was no small burger. It was a generous portion that filled you up nicely and the lightly toasted sesame bun was also a plus. The bacon, perfectly crispy and chewy was pure indulgence--once you bit into it, the smoky crunch was just divine. It brought a smile to our tired, jet-lagged faces.

The cost of the burger was reasonable. It's normally priced at $8 but we payed $10 a piece because of the bacon.

We were so impressed by Indigo that we've already made plans to go again this Sunday with Josh and Diana for Football watching and maybe some yummy brunch. I've had their waffles before and they're damn gooood--I'm already looking forward to it.

P.J. Leahy's - Economy Seafood

My cousin Vicky and I passed by P.J. Leahy's last week on our way to Tournesol. I spied a new special on Thursdays and Fridays that caught my eye. Here it is:

$3 Mussels in red or white wine sauce and...

Shrimp and clams for $.25 each!

Mind you that P.J.'s is a divey Mets bar, not a fine restaurant, but take the special for what it's worth--cheap bar food that gets the job done. Stop by after a ball game and indulge in this fabulous "recession special."

P.J. Leahy's - 50-02 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101
718.472.5131
7 Train to Vernon Blvd/Jackson Ave