Welcome Back Taste of LIC 2014

It's officially June, which is exciting in itself because summer's coming, but also because we get to celebrate the the best of the LIC food scene through the Taste of LIC.  Organized by the Chocolate Theater, the Taste of LIC is one of my favorite Queens tasting events, with the best eateries in LIC, Astoria, Sunnyside, Woodside and the surrounding area, showcasing their finest.  It's also the place where new restaurants come to preview as well as tried and true places showcase new seasonal bites. Needless to say, it's an all around fantastic gathering that gets the community together and where people show off their LIC pride!

Each year, the event seems to get bigger and bigger, bursting with restaurants, specialty food purveyors and talented entrepreneurs.  Below are just some of the establishments I'm personally excited to see, but they're all really fabulous.

51st Bakery and Cafe
Alewife
Alobar
Antidote Chocolate
Bear
Casa Enrique
M.Wells
Mar's Oyster Bar
Rest-au-Rant
Sweetleaf

Here's a full list of participants as well as the essential event details:

Taste of LIC, Tuesday, June 3rd
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Gantry State Park, 49th Avenue & Center Blvd, LIC

Purchase your tickets here

Two Roads Brewing Company comes to Queens via Alewife

Just in time for April, I learned that Alewife will be debuting a new beer offering, featuring Two Roads Brewing Company, which hails from Stratford, Connecticut.  Featuring a bevy of beers from this local brewery as well as their Tuesday night Taco Night, you'll be able to sample the following:

Igor’s dream – Russian Imperial Stout
Henry’s farm Double bock
No Limits Hefeweizen
Ol’ Factory Pils
Honey Spot Road White IPA
Rye 95
Worker’s Comp Saison
Road 2 Ruin DIPA

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

Warm up Astoria - Hot Toddies, Mulled Wine, Hot Apple Pie Martinis, Oh My!

Image by Snowdonia

Brrrr..it's freeezing out there!  I hope everyone is staying as warm as possible and doing their bestest to bundle up.  A few days ago, I threw out some suggestions of warming up with hot cocoa, but now since the windchill has hit a new low, I thought it'd be good to turn to something stronger.  Here's a quick run down of warm boozie drinks you can enjoy and at the same time, warm up with.  Drink up and stay warm, Astoria.
Sweet Afton's hot cider cocktail will do the trick on a cold day.  Containing organic apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, orange peel, and a choice of bourbon, spiced rum, or brandy, it'll surely warm your bones.  30-09 34th Street, Astoria.  718.777.2570

I bet not many of you know that Koliba serves up mulled wine during winter.  It's pretty symbolic to have this warm, spiced drink during holiday time in Slovakia and I always look forward to having it at Koliba.  Truth be told...it's very potent.  31-11 23rd Avenue, Astoria.  718.626.0430

Even though it's not your traditional warm winter cocktail, I love the variety of stouts offered at Alewife.  Nothing says robust, hearty and satisfying like a tall glass of milky stout such as the Left Hand, Dogfish Head, Alesmith and more.  5-14 51st Avenue, LIC.  718.937.7494

When it comes to Hot Toddy's, Snowdonia has you covered with this piping hot beauty (pictured above).  What can be better than sitting down to this warm comforting drink and getting a Snowdonia stacked burger to satiate your hunger?  34-55 35th Avenue, Astoria.  347.730.5783

For something a little more luxurious, how about a Hot Apple Pie Martini cocktail at Bistro 33? Just looking at the ingredients of this drink warmed my belly, with fireball whiskey and firefly apple moonshine...need I say more? 19-33 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria.  718.721.1933

Alewife's Happy Hour Pleasantly Surprises

Meg and I met at Alewife this week, together with a new We Heart Astoria colleague, Chad, which is super exciting.  I haven't been there in a while and have heard some mixed things about their new menu, so I wanted to judge for myself.  Not only was I pleasantly surprised, I'd highly recommend you guys to check it out.  

They had a fabulous Wednesday night special, which included 2 cute little sliders and a beer for $10.  It was a great deal, and while these teeny burgers looked awesome, I actually had a spicy jalapeno burger for lunch (more on that later) so I decided to go for the oysters.  Two words - totally wowed!

Chillin Oysters - Because they were simply calling my name, I ordered a half dozen raw oysters that came with a side of mignonette sauce and cocktail sauce.  I was happy to see that the oysters were large, briny and oh so fresh.  I spritzed some lemon on top, which enhanced their flavor perfectly and the meaty part of the oyster was truly like a beautiful pearl of the sea.  It had a fresh flavor that tasted of the ocean, but definitely not fishy.  Each piece was substantial and didn't even need the fixins, to be honest.  A simple spritz of lemon was just enough.

Garlic Fries - Meg also ordered some garlic fries for the table, which were awesome.  Their crisp texture made us swoon, and the garlicky flavor was delightful and definitely not overpowering.  I like that we didn't find one single limp fry, and they were all beautifully crisped and ready to be dipped in ketchup.

Service and Cost:
The service was really nice and very low key.  Because it wasn't too busy, I felt that we had good access to our waitress, whenever we needed something.  The check came fast too and I didn't feel that we lingered for too long, after we were ready to go.

Costs are reasonable and I paid about $24 including tax and tip for my oysters and beer.  As I already mentioned, the happy hour special was just $10.

3 Mmmms

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

Getting Hooked at the Food Film Festival

Part of last week as well as last weekend, I had the distinct pleasure to attend the 6th Annual Food Film Festival, which has come quite a long way since its inception.  I really really enjoy going to this event each year, and this time was my third year covering it, which is always a pleasure.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this event, it was founded by LIC's very own, Harry Hawk of the former LIC Water Taxi Beach and Hamburger America's George Motz.  Having a sixth run at this, I'm happy to say that the event just keeps getting better and better, now extending its reach also to Chicago later in November.

The Format:
Held in three locations around Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Food Film Festival took place in traditional (theaters) and non-traditional (NY Distilling Company) spaces.  I personally attended events in the AMC Village 7 theater, which was set up nicely in their lower theater and event space.  Enjoying some delightful bites before the movies started was fantastic, only to further munch down on food during the films and then once again chowing down for a concluding food and drink reception.  If you haven't yet been, I highly encourage it, as the format is especially unique, and eating tantalizing food one sees on the big screen is quite the treat.

The Films:
During the first evening I attended the Food Film Festival, the activities were centered around one of my favorite topics - meat (and pork in particular).  Farm to Film to Table: Meat Your Butcher turned out to be an impressive showcase of New York's finest in butchery and meat expertise.  You had restaurants such as Northern Spy Food Company, Jimmy's No. 43, August, Fleisher's Meats and LIC's very own, Alobar and Alewife representing.

In terms of the actual films showcased, we saw:
1.  The world premiere of Meat Hooked, directed by Suzanne Wasserman
2.  Farm to Table, directed by Lindsay Blatt and Paul Taggart
3.  Farmer Poet, directed by Dan Fisher, Becky Liscum, and Gail Grasso

The Food:
As I already mentioned, there was so much incredible food floating around, and the smell of all that smokey, delicious pork was just divine.  Throughout the event, I enjoyed many tasty nibbles, but a couple stood out to me that I wanted to mention here.

Alobar's Pork Crostini with Quail Eggs - One of my favorite stations, I was amazed to see Chef Ian Kapitan at work, frying up an endless amount of petite quail eggs to top his pork belly crostini.  It was a delightful combination, the egg really tying everything together and the slightly runny yolk permeating every crevice of the pork pieces.  The bread was also perfectly executed, with slightly crunchy edges and a nice soft inside.  

Fleisher's Chicken Liver and Homemade Sausage - The minute I saw a huge line, I knew it had to be for Fleisher's meats, as they're pretty famous.  I love me some chicken liver and this one was strong in flavor, tasting a little bit gamey and oh so buttery.  But the piece-de-resistance was the spicy homemade sausage that packed a mean punch, leaving a big exclamation mark on your tastebuds.  For those of you who may not yet know, they've recently opened up a new outpost in Park Slope. 

Dirt Candy's Mushroom Pate - A vegetarian's version of something meaty, leave it up to Dirt Candy's, Amanda Cohen to bring us something fabulous.  I absolutely loved her rendition of pate, using mushrooms, further topped with a mixture of chunky 'shroom bits and caramelized onions.  I rarely went back for seconds during this event, since the food was so heavy but for this, I returned.

Alewife's Berkshire Maple Bourbon Candied Bacon - Simple yet absolutely delectable, Alewife's bacon delivered and then some.  You really didn't need much with it, as it provided the perfect little bite on its own - a beautiful combination of chewy texture and sweet-smokey flavor.  Such perfection needs no companion.

After all the eating, we had the amazing experience to watch a live demo by expert butcher, Jeffrey Ruhalter of the legendary Jeffrey's Meat Market, as he broke down a pig in his characteristic theatrical style.  Here are some videos that will further help paint the picture.

Breaking down a pig with butcher, Jeffrey Ruhalter - Part I, Part II, Part III

And besides this being a fabulous party and an entertaining event, a portion of the proceeds benefited the Food Bank for NYC.  If you'd still like to make a donation, please feel free.  

Taste of LIC is Around the Corner

Image by The Chocolate Factory

I'm pleased to tell you that one of my favorite tasting events is back again next week, which is the Taste of LIC.    Not just another typical tasting frenzy, this one combines the deliciousness of over 50 restaurants, bars and cafes in and around LIC (a lot are from Astoria too!).

It's always a highlight for me, as it's very well organized and I enjoy learning about new exciting local eats, as sometimes restaurants unveil new dishes or sometimes even exclusive eats prepared just for the event.  

An added element just this year is the Malu ice cream competition that has been going on for some time.  The two finalists, who have devised tantalizing new flavors such as Shiraz Rocky Road and Pear Belle Helene, and the winner will be unveiled at the event.  You'll also be able to taste these goodies at the Malu table, which totally rocks.

Even though I'm looking forward to checking out all the exhibitors, the ones I'm pumped to check out in particular include:

Alewife
Alobar
Antidote
Casa Enrique
Chimney Cake
M.Wells Dinette
Malu
MitchMallows
Slovak-Czech Varieties

The fun starts on Tuesday, June 5th at 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. 
Buy your tickets here!

Hope to see you there, and if you see me, don't be shy and please say hi!

New Menu Items at Alewife

I wanted to spread the latest deliciousness going on at Alewife, as they've added new menu items and tweeked some oldies too.  You may remember me writing about this place a few months back, and totally boasting about the burger you see before you with a deep golden pretzel bun.  Well you can still get that, along with other new goodies such as:

Apps:
Winter risotto - with barley, butternut squash, cauliflower, and brown butter...$10 or $17
Liver and onions - foie gras, onions, tangerine and brioche...$12
Beet carpaccio - beets, hazelnuts, goat cheese...$11

Entrees:
Salmon - with carrot puree and dashi, cucumber, dill...$23
Berkshire pork shank - confit pork shank, spaghetti squash, apple butter and mustard jus...$27
Magret duck - black rice, brussel sprouts, pistachio and sherry gastrique...$22

Sides:
Brussel sprouts...$7
Pomme puree - with chive and garlic chips...$6
Cauliflower - brown butter, lemon...$5
Baby bok choy - with black sesame chili, charred scallion...$7
Soy glazed carrots - soy, passionfruit...$7

Still on the horizon - steamed pork buns, chicken wings, and steak. Exciting!

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