Despite my fascination with Queens and its rich foodways, I grew up on Long Island. (Although, I was born in Kew Gardens Hospital, which was subsequently razed and turned into a ghastly office building.) My fascination with food owes as much to my father’s monthly pilgrimages to Manhattan’s Chinatown as it does my Italian-American heritage. Trips to Grandma’s house in Glendale for red-sauce feasts seasoned with lots of lively Sicilian conversation were a regular occurrence. Back then, what captured my young imagination most, however, wasn’t the food.  It was the car ride there, and the gigantic silver globe just visible from the highway. My parents always told me that it was built for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair.

Now that I live in Queens and write about food, the gleaming Unisphere has a different significance: It’s a visual metaphor for New York City’s most diverse borough, where in a single day it’s possible to travel the world armed with little more than a MetroCard, an open mind and a good appetite. Whenever I see the 12-story stainless steel globe, I reflect upon how it brings new meaning to the shopworn phrase “melting pot.” When Leah McLaughlin, the publisher of Edible Queens, asked me to write this blog, I mulled over what to call it for some time. I finally decided on World’s Fare, a name that pays homage to both the borough and its staggeringly diverse food culture.

Food is an adventure and a process of ongoing discovery, and there’s no better place for such exploration than Queens. This blog will guide you through the borough, inviting you to savor its most delicious finds. Together, we'll explore the taco trucks, bistros, fine-dining white-tablecloth restaurants, down-and-dirty watering holes and hottest hotspots. We'll meet Palestinian pastry specialists in Astoria, Indian grandmothers griddling paratha in Jackson Heights and Ridgewood butchers. We'll also explore local shops, from the gigantic Korean supermarkets in Murray Hill to emporia in Woodside catering to Irish expats. Here, you'll find my personal favorites, plus new discoveries I make as I wander the boulevards in search of delicious things to fill my belly. I encourage you to comment - tell me what you're eating, and where. Who knows, maybe I'll join you for a meal or two!

Keep on eating,

Joe DiStefano