Queens: Corona
Posted by Joe DiStefano, September 2, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Editor’s note: As Metromix reported, the food offerings at this year’s U.S. Open are several cuts above the usual ballpark fare. There’s the half-pound U.S. Open Burger, Philly Cheesesteaks, crepes (both sweet and savory), lobster rolls, Carnegie Deli corned beef sandwiches, and ouzo shrimp. But what if you don’t want to eat in the stadium? After all, you are coming to Queens, home to some of the most varied and interesting ethnic foods in New York City. So we turned to our resident Queens expert Joe DiStefano to compile a list of 10 ethnic restaurants near the U.S. Tennis Center.
1. Golden Shopping Mall
[Joe DiStefano, unless otherwise noted]
This two-level food court in Flushing is actually a warrenlike collection of tiny restaurants that offers a cook’s tour of regional Chinese cuisines. Take care not to spill any of the fiery red chili oil from Chengdu Heavenly Plenty on your yellow cable-knit sweater.
41-28 Main Street, Flushing NY 11355 (map)
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Posted by Erin Zimmer, April 1, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Yesterday at the Citi Field food preview, one of the most ignored items in the shadows were the cannolis from Leo's Latticini (nicknamed Mama's of Corona, and actually, the bakery part is meta-nicknamed Mama's Backyard Cafe). The mini taco-looking pastries are for sale at the original Corona location for $2 each, and at the Citi Field satellite branch, they will be $3.
This is the cannoli for the cannoli skeptic. There's something about the fried shell—it almost has that great waffle cone flavor, and when fresh, such a good crunch sound effect. Plus, the filling is not gross. Not sticky or weirdly sweet—just a gentle creamy flavor. Note: they do get soggy after sitting out all day, almost approximating cake texture. Definitely still edible.
Mama's Backyard Cafe (Part of Mama's of Corona)
46-10 104th Street, Corona NY 11368 (map)
718-565-9104
Posted by Erin Zimmer, March 31, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Today, Citi Field opened its gates to let the media check out the concession dining. Three leading New York restaurateurs, wearing honorary Mets jerseys, were there, representing their new booths, in addition to some Shea Stadium veterans like Mama's of Corona.
Danny Meyer will oversee the Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, El Verano Taqueria, and Box Frites booths behind home plate, as well as all the food and drinks at the Delta Sky360 Club, the premium-ticket-holder area with enough room for 1,600. Esca's Dave Pasternack will oversee the Catch of the Day fish shack just beyond right field. And Drew Nieporent of Nobu and Tribeca Grill consulted for the Acela Club, the 350-seat restaurant overlooking left field.
Photos, after the jump.
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Gothamist rounds up the concession stands coming to the new Citi Field baseball stadium opening April 13. Vendors will include Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, and Box Frites. The stadium will also have a "premium dining area" in the Delta Sky360 Club.
Posted by Joe DiStefano, January 21, 2009 at 2:00 PM
With so many Mexicans living and working in Corona you’d think that a new tortilleria wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Chowhound's buzz about Tortilleria Nixtamal indicated otherwise though, and inspired me to take a hike from my native Rego Parkistan to Corona.
Tortilleria Nixtamal and its lean green tortilla machine are located in the nabe's Italian-American section, around the corner from Leo's Latticini. As far as I can tell, Tortilleria Nixtamal is the only place in New York City making fresh masa. The month-old operation takes its name from the Aztec word for fresh maize that has been cooked in lime prior to being ground into masa.
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Posted by Joe DiStefano, December 4, 2008 at 2:30 PM
As far as MSG goes, I'm with Jeffrey Steingarten. There's no such thing as “Chinese restaurant syndrome.” I'll be sure to report back if I experience chifa syndrome though..
Before anyone gets the wrong idea about this place, I should point out that the little guy in the toque is not one of the chefs. Nor is baby meat on the menu at Chifa La Union.
As with any Peruvian eatery, there is plenty of seafood, including the tower of fried items known as jalea and ceviche. As much as I love those dishes, that’s not what drew me to La Union yesterday afternoon. It was chifa, or Chinese food as served in Lima's barrio chino. With lots of fried rice, wontons, pineapples, and gloopy sauces, this grub is a decided change of pace from all the regional Chinese fare I've been scarfing down lately.
Chifa is more like Wo Hop for Peruvians.
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Posted by Joe DiStefano, October 24, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Years of eating in Colombian restaurants have conditioned my brain and palate to associate the word chicharrón with crispy, fried pork skin. So the first time I saw chicharrón con salsa verde listed as a special at a Mexican spot it provoked a Pavlovian ordering response. The urge to try a plate was further fueled by gloriously greasy sheets of crunchy pork cracklins found at Mexican groceries. Sadly, the chicharrón con salsa verde wasn’t crunchy at all. It was straight-up pork skin, fat and all, cooked until it had a slippery, gelatinous consistency.
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Posted by Joe DiStefano, October 17, 2008 at 6:00 PM
The days of Indian Summer may be numbered, but that didn’t seem to phase Timmy O’Leary—the man behind Timmy O’s Frozen Custard. Visiting his two-month old store, which is practically around the corner from the Lemon Ice King of Corona, I was immediately offered samples of incredibly creamy frozen custard. The graduate of the Frozen Dessert Institute told me that one reason his custard is so tasty is that it’s served relatively warm so rather than freezing one’s taste buds it “melts and rolls of the tongue.” The other reason is top-notch ingredients, like Madagascar vanilla beans, that go into a proprietary blend used to make a crazy good vanilla custard.
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Posted by Joe DiStefano, August 4, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Photograph by Dave Cook
A few weeks ago while I was feasting on huaraches and pupusas, at the Red Hook ball fields Serious Eats meet-up I ran into Dave Cook, the man behind Eating in Translation. It’s always good to see him, because we’re kindred spirits when it comes to adventurous ethnic eats. When he told me that El Globo Restaurante in Corona was selling chapulines, or dried Oaxacan grasshoppers, my mouth fell open (almost causing me to lose a bite of precious huarache.) I’d only eaten the crunchy critters in a restaurant once before, at the upscale theater district taqueria Toloache where the tacos fetch a whopping $9 apiece. Since then I’ve been trying to track down Oaxacan grasshoppers all over the city, without any luck.
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As part of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival yesterday at the Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, men and women shoved as many dumplings in their mouths as they could for two minutes on stage. Both champs of the 5th Annual Chef One Dumpling Eating Contest won last year: for the male division, Joe Menchetti with 66 dumplings (breaking his record of 60) and Floria Lee with 38 dumplings (who couldn't top her last year's record of 43).
Posted by Joe DiStefano, June 13, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Named for the highest peak in the Andes, Panaderia Aconcagua isn’t as scenic as its namesake, but that doesn’t matter since there are plenty of tasty treats to be at this bakery/cafe. The display case is filled with all manner of sweets and breads from Argentina and Uruguay but I was most intrigued by the sandwiches, which are clearly influenced by the Italian population from the region. When asked about the sandwich de miga, the girl behind the counter pointed out a boring premade ham and cheese on crustless white bread. They also serve a pretty standard Italian combo with mortadella, salami, etc. Then I peered into the cold cut case where I saw a rectangular rolled product that stopped me in my tracks.
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Posted by Ed Levine, October 10, 2006 at 6:53 AM
In honor of Columbus Day I started thinking about meatball heroes. A great meatball hero is hard to find. Most meatballs are leaden and way too dense. They're weighed down with too many breadcrumbs. Most hero rolls are cottony disasters, with no chew to the crust. When you find a good meatball hero it's cause for celebration. But when I tried to come up with a top five meatball heroes list I came up short: I could think of three that I truly loved. They are:
Frankie's Spuntino
Address: 457 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 (map); 17 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002 (map)
Phone: 718-403-0033, 212-403-0033
Website: frankiesspuntino.com
The gold standard of meat ball parm heroes. The meatballs are light, the mozzarella is fresh, and the bread is Sullivan Street bakery pizza.
Caputo's
Address: 460 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 (map)
Phone: 718-855-8852
A family-run Italian grocery store with very high standards, Caputo's features Mrs. Caputo's surprisingly light meatballs, made with beef, pork, and veal.
Leo's Latticini
Address: 46-02 104th Street, Corona, NY 11368 (map)
Phone: 718-898-6069
Also known as Mama's, Leo's Latticini only has meatballs on certain days of the week. So call first.
Crosby Connection
Address: 290 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012 (map)
Phone: 212-677-8444
Website: crosbyconnectionnyc.com
The crosby special is a meatball hero with ricotta and mozzarella. It's a little messy and I wish the bread were a little better, but overall the Crosby Connection makes a fine meatball hero. The price is right, as well: $6.
In theory, based on their track record, the following places should be prime territory for meatball heroes:
Esposito's
Address: 357 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 (map)
Phone: 718-875-6863
The quintessential Brooklyn pork store, Esposito's makes meatballs, fresh mozzarella, has decent bread, and they have pretty high standards.
DiFara
Address: 1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY 11230 (map)
Phone: 718-258-1367
I've never had a meatball parm hero at Dom's, but let's face it, the man knows how to cook and he takes great pride in everything he makes. Anybody had a meatball hero at DiFara?
Meatball Hero Emeritus
Corona Heights Pork Store: The Corona Heights Pork Store is closed (I haven't been able to get in touch with the Cappezzas to find out why), but Mary Lou made a meatball parm hero that was as good as an old school hero could be. Her meatballs were clouds, her sauce was loaded with meaty pork flavor, and she used excellent hero rolls from Rose and Joe's Bakery in Astoria.
I'm also thinking that Faicco's on Bleecker St. and Brooklyn must make a really fine meatball hero, but I've never had one there. Any reports? And what about Royal Crown in Brooklyn?
Posted by Ed Levine, August 23, 2006 at 7:29 AM
For the September Details Magazine (on newsstands now) I wrote a story on 22 sandwiches that will change your life. It's worth buying the magazine for Anthony Cotsifas' pictures alone. Here's some of the story cut for space reasons:
There are the thousands of sandwiches we eat out of habit and for sustenance, like the soggy, brown-tinged tuna sandwich I get from my local convenience store. And then there are the sandwiches that are so cosmically correct, so intrinsically perfect, that eating one becomes a lifechanging experience. These are the sandwiches worth writing about.
What elevates a sandwich to life-altering status? Fantastic fillings, the appropriate bread, and the proper condiments, all coming together in some
The bread does not have to be a fancy-pants baguette made by a former hippie or monk. It just has to be right for the filling that goes into it. It could be a perfectly toasted hot dog bun for a lobster roll, or two pieces of crusty, seeded rye bread for a pastrami sandwich. Condiments are the grace note of a sandwich. A caper vinaigrette, a dab of whole grain mustard, or just the right amount of Hellman's mayonnaise can make any good sandwich great.
That was the intro cut for space reasons.
Because I had such a good time writing the story for my editor there, and because Details doesn't put its articles on-line, I can't list the sandwiches described in the piece here. But there were quite a few sandwiches that were cut for space and geographic diversity reasons. These sandwich outtakes I can share with you. I'll tell you about five sandwiches today, and five more on Friday.
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