New Park Pizza, my favorite for old-school slices, was one of many places mentioned by the panel of esteemed eaters at the Edible Winter Warm-up on January 24.

Sunday’s first annual Edible Winter Warm-Up at L haus was a hit with music and plenty of local restaurants and purveyors representing. I enjoyed everything I tried—especially Testaccio’s pasta e fagioli—but the highlight of the day was the food for thought served up by the panel on The Queens Food Scene. Joining me were Lee Anne Wong, a former Top Chef contestant who now consults for the show; Josh Ozersky, food writer and founder of Ozersky.TV; Zora O’Neill, co-author of Forking Fantastic! Put the Party Back in Dinner Party; and Dave Cook, the man behind the wonderful blog Eating in Translation. Cook provided a slideshow with photos of everything from Malaysian food festivals to taquerias. Before things got started I asked by show of hands how many people in the packed room lived in Queens and practically everyone proudly raised their hand. A lively discussion featuring everything from the borough’s best burger to Thai groceries that sell crickets and a Venezuelan snack shop that specializes in shredded beef sandwiches served on fried plaintain buns ensued. 

The slideshow sparked a debate about the borough’s best pizza. My pick was New Park Pizza in Howard Beach. Sure, it’s old school, but it’s great. Both Wong and Ozersky cited Sac’s Place in Astoria for its great coal oven pies. Ozersky also called out Nick’s Pizza in Forest Hills. O’Neill lauded Rosario’s Deli in Astoria as having the “pizza of her youth.” Never been to that one, but it’s now on my to-eat list.

Then we chatted about Astoria for a bit. Wong called out Ali el Sayed of Kabab Café for his Egyptian home cooking and Bistro 33 for its refined French-Asian cuisine. I enjoy the fiery fare at Poodam’s, Cook’s pick for Thai, but his mention of the Halal Sandwich Shop on Steinway Street stumped me. O’Neill tipped the audience off to Agnanti for Greek and Djerdan for its bureks. Meat maven Ozersky mentioned Greek Cypriot restaurant BZ Grill for its utterly delicious pork gyro. He also cited Joe’s Best Burger in Flushing as Queens’ best. To be honest, I spend so much time eating regional Chinese food in downtown Flushing that I scarcely notice the fast-food looking place that shares my name. For steakhouses, Ozersky’s pick was Argentine meat specialist La Portena in Jackson Heights, particularly for its mixed grill. He also called out Café Arzu, which lies literally around the corner from World’s Fare HQ, for its Bukharian-style lamb and beef kebabs.

 On the subject of street food I pointed out the Ecuadorean vendors on Warren Street off Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and Ozersky kvelled about the dollar kebabs from the Traditional Xinjiang Barbecue cart located near Kissena and Main Street, or as he likes to call it, the Mutton Man. Patacon Pisao, a spot in Elmhurst serving carne mechada patacón, a shredded beef sandwich that I like to think of as Venezuela’s answer to the Big Mac, was Cook’s pick. And O’Neill raved about the Egyptian kebab guy on 30th Avenue just west of Steinway.   

 The Q&A session with the audience also unearthed some gems, including the row of Korean restaurants known as Eater’s Alley, located in Murray Hill on 149 Street on the south side of Northern Boulevard, which I can’t wait to explore. When an audience member asked about vegetarian fare, EQ’s publisher, Leah McLaughlin, suggested Sripaphai’s separate vegetarian menu. My pick was the Temple Canteen inside the Ganesh temple on Bowne Street in Flushing for its gigantic dosai, or rice and lentil flour crepes. A question regarding Italian food yielded the following list of faves: Manducatis, Sapori d'Ischia, Parkside, Manetta's, Don Peppe's, Manducatis Rustica, and Trattoria L'Incontro.

Even though some 20 restaurants were mentioned during the hourlong panel, we barely managed to scratch the surface of the food scene in Queens. Next year I’m holding out for a daylong seminar.

Keep on eating,

Joe DiStefano

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