FRESS:

[yiddish] To eat like an animal, i.e., quickly, noisily, and in great quantity.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Corfu Grill

This is a small, cute restaurant with decent food for the neighborhood. The entrees come with a nice sized greek salad, pita with tzeziki, rice, potatoes and beans- so you will be sure to have leftovers. Most entrees are around $15. My pasticio was very good, while my friend's grilled octopus was chewy and needed lemon or something. Our waiter was really sweet. Would go back.

7017 Austin Street

Cafe Arzu

This place is kind of a dump... But the food is homemade and quite good. It serves kosher Uyghur/Uzbeki/Buhkaran cuisine. The lagman soup is great and has noodles that you can taste are homemade- I love that. The samsy had a questionable meat filling; I probably should have gotten the pelemini. Cheap, tasty kebabs. I want to go back and try more. Its a small menu, so it would be easy to try most things on it in a few visits.

101-05 Queens Blvd

Nick's Pizza

This is great brick oven pizza pies. Quality cheese and sauce, crust a little too crispy for me. Cute atmosphere, good service. An easy choice for something quick in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come to Forest Hills for this pizza. Also there is a great little bakery next door.

10826 Ascan Ave

Pinang Malaysian Restaurant

This is a great alternative to all the thai options around here. The food is more interesting and so flavorful. They have many choices with veg/tofu options for a lot of the dishes- noodle dishes, curries, etc. The roti canai is prepared so well; I love the chunks of potato and chicken in the sauce. The honey squid is intense, I recommend it as an appetizer. The beef randang is on the menu somewhere, its very good and extremely filling- similar to the dish at fatty crab. The restaurant itself is very cute. Parking is a bitch in this area, and the valet service comes in handy.

11110 Queens Blvd

Knish Nosh

Yummay knishes! The original kosher knishes of my youth. A regular potato with mustard is so satisfying and comforting. They also have knish wraps- which isn't a wrap at all, its an elongated knish with a different filling ex: the pastrami is filled with something that resembles corned beef hash, filling and good. The pigs in the blanket are good too. Its a proven fact that pigs in a blanket are a favorite food of most jews. The bakery next door is amazing.

100-30 Queens Blvd

Cheese of the World

This place has amazing cheese. It is such a breath of fresh air (or rather smelly cheese breath air) in a neighborhood lacking fine food options. This family owned establishment has been around forever; I was coming here in my stroller. The employees are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, always ready to give suggestions and samples. They will point you in the direction of something different from your ordinary faves- i.e. no manchego for me. They sell other gourmet options to go with your cheese, like olives, cured meats, and crackers.
The cheese can end up being a little pricey, but its so worth it.

7148 Austin St

Ivo & Lulu

I can't relate to any of the negative reviews about the service here. Yea, the place is tiny, but privacy is overrated. Two of us were there around 730 on a Friday and there was plenty of space (we had a reservation) but by 8 it was starting to fill up.
We ordered the escorgot as an appetizer, but for some reason the adorable waitress heard mussels. She apologized, they were on the house, and then sent us the escargot. Turns out the mussels were way better anyway. The sauce was addicting, whereas the sauce for the escargot was overpowering and salty.
Our delicious bread was refilled for us. The waitress uncorked our byo wine- no corkage fee, how can you not love that.
The smoked duck was perfection with a smokey, bacon tasting skin, tender meat, and well balanced sauce.

558 Broome St

The Thirsty Scholar: sniff sniff

Is it just me, or does this place smell like... balls. On the occasions that I have been to this establishment there has been a clear testicular odor throughout. That would be the major negative over here. The major plus though, is the hot toddy drinks! YUM Perfect solution if you have a cold; you can warm the chill in your bones, booze up, and hopefully your stuffy nose will thwart the sack scent.


155 2nd Ave