In Need of a Rebound

A couple of months ago, I found out that one of my childhood classmates became a Rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers. Although I loathe the Lakers with a passion, I was amazed that someone I knew ended up in the NBA. I spent 1st through 5th grades in the same classrooms as Devin Ebanks, a really tall kid who grew up in the Queensbridge Projects not too far from my house.

Though there are many famous figures and celebrities who hail from Queens (e.g. Ray Romano, Lucy Liu, Christopher Walken, Nancy Reagan, Nas), it's a little bit more surreal when fame strikes someone you once shared the same space (maybe, the same textbook) with.

This news comes at an interesting point in my life since I just turned 22 and will be graduating in less than one month. With an uncertain future looming ahead of me, I find myself on an emotional rollercoaster ride, often jerking my thoughts and questions forward and back in a matter of seconds. Where am I going? Who have I become? Why couldn't I turn out like Devin Ebanks? =)

Most of my childhood friends left Queens - for college, for loved ones, or to simply go somewhere else. Not me. I was born and raised here, and I'm still here. Sadly, my life feels the most stagnant that it's ever felt. I'm starting to believe that one of the main causes is a sense of immobility and permanency from being in the same place for over 20 years.

Don't get me wrong. I love Queens and will always be loyal to it. But isn't it only natural to feel a little restless after years of routine? This is terrible - I feel like a shameful wife trying to justify divorcing a committed and loving husband. I also feel like I'm committing blasphemy against my own blog about Queens, but that's not my intention at all!

Lately, I've just been wondering if and when I would leave this borough, the only residence I've ever known... and whether I'd be able to call some place new, home.

How I wish someone could stop the shot clock.

Queens Is King: by Eric Durasko

Thanks to Eric Durasko for the following guest post, sharing with us his support and admiration for Queens! Don't forget to check out his blog, Empire Sports.

When a discussion about New York City boroughs comes up, most people think of Manhattan, the Bronx, or Brooklyn before they think of Queens or Staten Island. Staten Island has always had a bad rap with the other borough dwellers. Most consider it the worst borough, and some even refuse to acknowledge its status as one. Let's be honest, they have a point. They speak different and don't even have connection to the NYC subways. Staten Island has the ferry, but that's about it. I have no personal vendetta against the place, but there is no comparison when it comes to the uniqueness, variety, and attractions the other boroughs offer. But what about Queens? Why is it usually considered the fourth wheel, only beating out Staten Island? 

The Bronx has Fordham, Yankee Stadium, the Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo. Brooklyn has the accent, Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the best pizza in New York. Manhattan has, well, everything. Queens, however, is often unfairly overlooked even though it has plenty to offer as well. As a Queens native, I feel what stands out the most in this great borough is its diversity.

Hispanics in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, Greeks in Astoria, Irish Americans in Woodside and Sunnyside, Italian Americans in Howard Beach and Ozone Park, African American and Caribbean populations in Jamaica, Jewish populations is Forest Hills, a heavy mix of European immigrants in Maspeth, the expansive Asian communities in Flushing, and on and on. There are 138 languages spoken in Queens, the most of any borough. It is also the most sizeable borough and the second most populated after Brooklyn. 

New York is quite diverse as a whole, but Queens sets the standard. This borough offers an amazing mix of nationalities. As a result, it is filled with a myriad of colorful and unique faces, cultures, places, and dining opportunities. With a persistent flow of immigrants, a high percentage of the population is foreign-born. Queens also has the most evenly divided mixture of various demographic groups. Here is an interesting article that touches on this and more. The writer argues that Queens is not only the most diverse borough, but one of the more diverse places on the entire planet. The writer provides some fascinating facts and statistics to back up her claims.

I grew up in Sunnyside, Queens. This diverse area is made up mostly of Irish Americans but is littered with various other demographic groups, particularly Hispanics and Asians. Students at the elementary school I attended were a representation of this. Kids of all shapes, sizes, and colors filled the school. My group of close friends included a Filipino, a Korean, an Italian, an Indian, and an Ecuadorian. We looked like a miniature UN congregation when we all hung out together. It was a cultural learning experience each time we'd visit a fellow friend's house. Their style, what they ate, and how they interacted with their families varied from person to person. I've never been to a place that matched the diverse range of people that I was exposed to growing up around Sunnyside, Woodside, and Astoria.  

Brooklyn can have the accent. Manhattan can have the flare. I'll take the diversity of Queens any day. Sure, my opinions may be quite biased since I was born and raised there. But there is no denying that Queens has plenty to offer and can hold its own in comparison to any of our great boroughs.

- Eric Durasko

Getting Comfortable, Southern-Style at Lowcountry NYC

[Edit: Here's a non-Queens related piece that I wrote for another New York blog, The Urban Tourist. Many thanks to its author, Chelsea, for letting me contribute! Check out my post on her blog here, along with her super cool NYC finds!]


I took a mini vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last weekend, with huge hopes of finally getting to eat traditional Southern cuisine once again (New Orleans, Louisiana was my first and only taste of the authentic South last year and I loved it!).

What actually ensued was a thoroughly disappointing experience for my tastebuds. Myrtle Beach's American fare crushed my drool-inducing dreams of devouring gumbo, shrimp and grits, Charleston red rice, collard greens, fried chicken, and buttermilk biscuits time and time again, with its plain and redundant offerings of hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries. After searching endlessly for South Carolina's rich, complex, and buttery comfort food all weekend, I solemnly boarded the plane back to New York City, still starving for some Southern grub.

Interestingly enough, I discovered just what I was looking for when I got back to New York City. Yes, I transported myself to the Carolinas by taking the 1 train down to the West Village and visiting Lowcountry an understated speakeasy-style restaurant specializing in Southern cuisine. Everything on the menu looked delicious! Check it out here.

I had the BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders to start, followed by the Carolina Shrimp & Cheddar Grits with a side of Collard Greens with Bacon. For dessert, we tried the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with Bourbon Ice Cream and Pralines. Amazing!

This meal definitely hit the spot and I immediately felt guilty for betraying my beloved city, for attempting to find better food somewhere else. Now I know it can't be done. Sometimes, as a native New Yorker, I take for granted and even forget the possibilities within this place, in terms of culture and cuisine. So, I'd like to give major props to Lowcountry and also to The Urban Tourist, for helping us all remember how much New York City has to offer.

Lowcountry
142 West 10th Street, NYC
Between Greenwich Avenue & Waverly Place

Fresh Mediterranean Seafood at Taverna Kyclades

If I had to choose one restaurant to represent the heart and soul of old Astoria, Taverna Kyclades would be it.

This Grecian seafood eatery is simple, fresh, and authentic. It's also a local favorite (check out its fantastic Yelp reviews). Its unadulterated dishes really showcase the freshness of the daily catch and the pure flavors of Mediterranean cuisine.

Let's let the grub speak for itself!

Peasant Salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, feta cheese)

Fried Whiting with Roasted Lemon Potatoes

Grilled Squid with Roasted Lemon Potatoes

The Last Bite: While I do appreciate creative chefs who carefully construct gourmet meals, use perfect flavor combinations and top them off with fancy presentations, sometimes I just want to eat a good plain meal that looks, feels, and tastes like it were made by two human hands. Perhaps it's the struggling beginner chef in my head that wants to believe that I can make great-tasting dishes too, without all the fuss! Perhaps it's the dormant prehistoric cavewoman in my body that longs for the gratifying feeling of eating something that I hunted or fished for. Or maybe, it's just honesty that I'm craving. Whatever it is, Taverna Kyclades fulfills it.

For its simplicity and sincerity, this Astoria gem has me hooked on the best Greek seafood in Queens.

Rant: Please Stop Renaming Queens' Bridges, Mayor Bloomberg!

The 101-year old iconic Queensborough Bridge is now "The Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge". What?! Why?!

The City Council voted to rename the Queensborough/59th Street Bridge after former NYC Mayor Ed Koch last Wednesday. Mayor Bloomberg first announced plans to rename the bridge in honor of Koch's 86th birthday last December, but no one thought it would actually happen... until it did. 

Borough representatives and residents have since expressed their outrage and disapproval of the new name. Regardless of one's feelings about Koch's 1978-1989 terms as Mayor, Queens supporters and the majority of New Yorkers (according to several polls) believe the change is inappropriate and disrespectful to a borough that is already too often overlooked and forgotten.

Although the bridge connects millions of New Yorkers from Long Island City to 59th Street in Manhattan and back everyday, no one would ever dare think about renaming the Brooklyn Bridge or the Manhattan Bridge. So, why the exception for the Queensborough Bridge? For absolutely no reason at all, except for the fact that Mayor Bloomberg would like to give Ed Koch a nice gift for his 86th birthday.

We've already lost the fittingly named Triborough Bridge (which connects Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan) to the name "The Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Bridge" in 2008, although no one actually calls it by the new name anyway. In this case, the aesthetic change came with an economic one, as the city had to spend $4 million to rename it and added a hiked up toll fare. Who knows how much Ed Koch's signs will cost us? At least his name is a bit shorter.

What did Ed Koch and Robert F. Kennedy do specifically for Queens, anyway? The borough saw no improvements or enhancements from their direct actions, so why should their names be tacked on to our arches? Why should inanimate structures be named after human beings at all? It simply takes too long to say... in the fastest city in the world.

Mayor Bloomberg, please don't mind the 3 million people that live in Queens who won't care at all that their tax dollars keep going toward millions spent on reprinting maps and road signs and not towards improving the quality of life in their surroundings. It doesn't matter at all. The people don't matter at all. Please change our entire borough name while you're at it. Just for kicks, you know?

A Healthier Burger at Bare Burger

Finally, the time has come to write my first blog post about the quintessential American fast food fare... the modern hamburger.

Since there are way too many blogs, reviews, and even television programs out there aiming to find the best burger in America, I'm not going to even attempt to do that. I would simply like to share with you a fairly new boutique burger spot in Astoria, Queens.

Enter Bare Burger, a local spot that serves up a great-tasting burger with the bite but not the grease. Bare Burger offers a new twist on the traditional hamburger joint: all of their ingredients are organic and the space is environmentally friendly (it was built using sustainable, reclaimed, and recycled materials).

At Bare Burger, you can even "build your own burger" by choosing from their selection of "meat" and "bun" options. The meat options include beef, turkey, lamb, veggie, portabella mushroom, elk, bison, and ostrich, which can all be sandwiched by either a Brioche bun, 7-Grain bun, wheat flour wrap, or iceberg lettuce.

I scarfed down the "Big Blue Bacon Burger" (see below) topped with danish blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, and peppercorn steak sauce.

"The Bare Burger Supreme"

colby jack, gourmet battered onion rings, applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, chopped french fries, and bareburger special sauce

"Basket of Fresh Cut French Fries"

 with spicy chipotle mayo, curry ketchup, chipotle ketchup, and Bare Burger's special dipping sauce

The Last Bite: When it comes to burgers, the greasier and messier they are, the more I want to eat them. But I have to admit that I usually feel incredibly guilty and literally STUFFED after eating a big burger and fries. It feels like a hangover and no matter how silly it sounds, I really feel "drunk" off of food. I'm happy to say that those days are over. I've finally found a cure at Bare Burger: an insanely delicious meal without the bloated and lethargic side effects! Here's to burger rehab!

"5 Pointz," LIC's Landmark Aerosol Art Center in Danger

When I read this news article about a large-scale development project in the works that would potentially replace the iconic 5Pointz graffiti-covered factory building in Long Island City with two high-rise residential towers and a shopping mall, I immediately experienced feelings of surprise, confusion, and disapproval.

Long Island City, a Queens neighborhood previously associated solely with drab factories and mundane manufacturing plants, has undergone several massive construction projects within the last couple of years. It is arguably one of the fastest growing areas in the borough and a popular living destination that young professionals flock to when they can't afford rent in Manhattan. Lying just a couple of subway stops from Midtown, LIC's new skyscraper apartments boast floor-to-ceiling windows that offer gorgeous views of the city from across the river.

While the renovations and city's efforts to clean the area up are definitely overdue and beneficial to the community, this particular development project is a bulldozer of a move that would not only infuriate graffiti artists in NYC and around the world, but it would destroy one of the only establishing relics that is truly indicative of LIC's old industrial neighborhood.

5 Pointz Aerosol Art Center is an outdoor art exhibit space that was created to signify a place where the five New York City boroughs could converge, in collective hopes of carrying out the mission, collaboration, admiration, and expression of graffiti or aerosol art. Breakdancers, Hip Hop and R&B musicians, and world-renowned painters have all visited 5 Pointz, establishing it as a cultural mecca.

Ever since graffiti became synonymous with vandalism, the value and technicality of the art form has decreased. The writers of today are perceived more like criminals than artists, as the graffiti bans have lead them to focus more on throwing up short "tags" that they can paint quickly before the police reprimands them. Larger works, murals, and other wall pieces have drastically declined, but 5 Pointz has welcomed intricate and technical portraits on its property. It is one of the only remaining canvases displaying urban art in the city.

The potential destruction of 5 Pointz strikes a strong chord with me for personal and aesthetic reasons as well. I have taken the N/Q/7 subway lines for years and have always loved the segments of the tracks that exist above ground. The colorful, panoramic views of urban art are impossible to miss when I look outside of the train car and across at 5 Pointz. I can't count how many times the brilliant collage of works has transformed before my eyes like kaleidoscopic images as the subway rumbled on along the tracks.

If this landmark image that I have seen daily for years was extracted from my view forever, I would definitely feel a sense of loss and disorientation... a feeling of being very far away from home.