Patrick and his wife, Ro

Alewife’s festival of Beer and Balls (meat, that is) lifted its glass to a crowd of appreciative punters in ways that achieved so much more in quality and style than my previous excursion to this beer-lovers haven on 51^stAvenue in Long Island City. Beers (all local NY) represented included interesting stronger-than average beers (10-12%!), hop driven IPAs and some nice darker-than-the-night stoat and spicy wheat beers. Finding matches to the range of meatballs was an enjoyable experience.

I had attended the APorkopolypse pig and beer fest a few months ago and felt that the system of tickets for beer and food was a little unfriendly. Today’s deal was tickets for the food and as much beer as you wanted to taste, making this a much more welcoming experience.

Meatballs were offered by local restaurants Alewife and Open Door (that new place on 50^th between Vernon and Jackson) and Manhattan establishiments Dirty Burger and Tommy Lasagne. Each offered choices with the prize, for me,  going to the home team Alewife for their three options, especially the Dragon Ball – generously spiced (clove, cinnamon etc) balls in a Schezuan sauce. That’s not to say that the other offerings were low-key. The chilli-led sauce for Dirty Burger’s 25 spice option required at least twice the amount of beer to quell but was very tasty, the sauce sitting around the meat so that your taste buds were able to taste both the meat and the sauce without retreating to a glass of milk. Open Door’s options were also very tasty, great meat and respectful flavorings. I wanted a final taste-off but by the time I had done the rounds the dishes were empty.

My favourite in the beer department was the “Notorious IPA – Chinook”from Bed-Stuy brewery, not blatantly advertized but hidden as an “under the counter” option and served by the brewer himself in an experiment to gain votes from customers in choosing between his two beers; the other being termed more “aggressive”. This made the occasion extra special, discussing hops and brewing with the man responsible, head brewer Charlie Wildman is quite a different experience from  the “I’m only here to serve the beer and don’t know much about it” reactions from most of the servers. Bed-Stuy brewery is a venture partly owned by Alewife owner Patrick Donagher who plans to bring brewing onto the Alewife premises, thus joining other locals like Rockaway in offering “Fresh-As” beers to the local scene; a welcome boost to the local economy and the variety of ales available to locals, as well as those who travel miles to enjoy our growing neighborhood food and drink options.

by Eric Hathaway

Construction has re-started at the old Crossroads Diner where a Peruvian restaurant was scheduled to go up over a year ago.

According to one of the workers there the Peruvian restaurant should be up and running “in three weeks”.

The restaurant is located on the corner of 11th Street and 48th Ave.

Hibino in Carrol Gardens

We’ve just confirmed that a new Japanese restaurant will be opening up in Long Island City.

Hibino, a popular high-end restaurant in Carrol Gardens, will opening a restaurant on Jackson Ave., where the Los Amigos deli used to be (next to PNT Fitness).

Open Door Restaurant at 10-09 50th Street, just up from the Manhattan-bound Vernon/Jackson subway entrance has been over 12 months in preparation and opens this week. This latest contribution to an increasingly lively local bar and restaurant scene is justification for its owner and executive chef Nick Guitart’s attention to detail and insistence on getting the place exactly as he and his co-owners want.

Open Door has an attractive and useful mix of booths, bar stools and tables so that any combination of guests can find space that suits. The decor is subtle, with warm low lighting and an acoustic that does not amplify the chatter and service noise.  There is a mix of artwork on the walls, including old photographs of the area and a large representation of the Pepsi Cola sign that stands on the waters’ edge in Gantry Park; and there is a TV screen in the bar area. The booth seats are well padded, comfortable and not too tight a squeeze; making this a welcoming environment to sit back and enjoy the range of drinks and small plates offered.

We were presented with four savory dishes: a very tender leg of lamb, with apricot slaw on top of a walnut and date bread; roasted Italian greens; pear and pork oriental-style dumplings and an especially tasty yuca gnocchi with cilantro pesto. The server advised us to let the lamb stand to allow the juices to soak into the bread, which we did to good effect, making it more like a stuffing than a piece of bread. All the dishes were tasty and nicely cooked. The two desserts we had, cheese cake and chocolate cup cake, were both delicious.

At the time of writing Open Door as still waiting for its liquor license, but, judging from the beer taps, they will offer a good range of domestic and foreign beers, wines and cocktails. In the meantime you can BYO.

Open Door Restaurant is a worthy addition to the local scene, not too pricey and an attractive and friendly setting for an evening out, brunch, or those occasions when you just want drinks with a light snack. Worth another visit!

Eric Hathaway

sometimeinlongislandcity.com

On Saturday, March 16th (and April 20th), Skinny’s Cantina will be featuring a special kid’s menu brunch. Kid’s will be given crayons, maracas and a live band to play with…what possibly go wrong? Don’t worry, plenty of drinks for the parents!

It’s never too early to introduce your baby to the wonders of Saturday brunch!  Kids can brunch with Latin flair while listening to music from Baby Loves Salsa (led by Jose Conde) and indulging in the special kid’s menu at Skinny’s Cantina: Los niños pequeños will be given crayons and maracas to play with while listening to the band. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad can sip on mimosas, bellinis and bloody marys. Ages newborn to 10. 2 sets: 11am – 12pm and 12:30 -1:30pm

 

And once again a media outlet has done some research in Long Island City and has published what they think are the top 5 happy hour bars in Long Island City. The bars (in no particular order) are:

• Alewife NYC
• Alobar Restaurant
• The Corner Bistro
• Domaine Bar a Vins
• Blend

While Long Island City’s proper name is currently being debated by some, there’s no arguing that the bustling area of Queens is on the rise. Whatever you want to call this part of the city, LIC is growing quickly as one of NYC’s hottest neighborhoods – with waterfront parks and a blossoming art scene.Hop on the 7 train – just one stop out of Midtown – to find these happy hours at LIC’s best bars.

Of course, just don’t do it on a weekend…thank you MTA.

Is there a bar missing here? Should someone not be on this list? We want to know!

According to foodie blog Serious Eats, Corner Bistro’s burger is a pretty good burger.

At their best—which in my opinion is a freshly broiled patty cooked rare—I liken Bistro Burgers to filet mignon. It isn’t abundantly flavorful (in fact the Bistro burger isn’t even seasoned), but it’s is tender and juicy and comforting.

A previous review tries to explain why it’s so popular, but with numerous restaurants in LIC offering their version of the classic american fair, it’s hard to say who makes the best (and most popular) burger in LIC.

Our question: Who do you think makes the best burgers in LIC?

The authenticity is in the spelling…

If you haven’t noticed the banner near the police station, here it is.

A new Tuscan restaurant is opening which begs the question: Do we need another Italian restaurant (that can’t spell)?

Seriously, how hard is it to run “spell check” before pressing PRINT?

Thanks to Howard Adams for the tip!

photo via dnaInfo.com

It’s been over 100 days since the Crab House in LIC was damaged from Hurricane Sandy, and its doors have finally reopened with a “cleaner and completely re-designed restaurant” with exactly the same menu.

It’s a lot of work to re-start your business after major damage, so we want to know, will you be heading to the Crab House any time soon?

For those who think there are no good deals in Long Island City, look again.

Groupon has posted a few dining deals in our ‘hood including El Ay Si and Water’s Edge.

How often can you get 50% off these days?