Fall Preview: 20 mouthwatering new dishes from 5 Astoria restaurants

Coca-Cola BBQ pulled pork po' boy at Sugar Freak

For a neighborhood that so often feels cozy and intimate in contrast with the frantic pace of Manhattan, it never ceases to amaze me just how rapidly and consistently things keep changing on the Astoria food scene.  Overwhelmed by where to focus for a post, I've instead narrowed it down to twenty new dishes I have tried during the past month from five different restaurants--including two newcomers.  In no particular order, here's a rundown of some of the best new bites definitely worth giving a try... As an added bonus, you'll also find Bear's new fall menu attached at the end.

The Queens Kickshaw
40-17 Broadway (half block east of Steinway M-R Station)
http://thequeenskickshaw.com/

I am absolutely an omnivore in the literal sense that I will try (and have) almost anything at least once; so when you constrict my options, I can feel claustrophobic.  That said, the vegetarian cuisine at The Queens Kickshaw is just so delicious, inventive, and lovingly conceived and prepared that I always forget the absence of meat on the menu.  Owners Ben and Jen are two of the kindest hosts you could ever hope to meet, and along with the talents of Chef Evan, they've recently expanded their menu with some superb new additions perfect for the upcoming months.

Basket of warm, golden, flaky mini knishes with celery root and blue cheese, served with beer mustard

Crunchy-coated tender cabbage croquettes, topped with melted asiago and roasted tomatoes in a cilantro-pepper sauce

Fantastically hearty wild mushroom shepherds pie, with red wine braised root vegetables and a cap of golden-peaked cauliflower mash

Crispy roasted ravioli with cheddar and fresh horseradish, cloaked in a tangy tomato and zucchini ragout

A whimsical ice cream beer-wich with a Coffee Labs macaron stuffed with Imperial Stout ice cream

Sugar Freak
36-18 30th Ave (five blocks east of the N-Q 30th Ave station)
http://sugarfreak.com/

Michelle Addeo is so passionate about bringing the foods of her childhood to Astoria, that she even had her mom stop in from Louisiana to make sure the kitchen was getting her recipes just right.  The new changes are drool-inducing, and unlike anything else in the neighborhood.  If you think you knew the menu at Sugar Freak before, I reckon you're due for a fresh gander.  They've even added popcorn alligator to the menu.  Word has it that their new sister bakery will be opening up soon (hopefully within the month) just down the street, featuring Addeo's boozy baked treats.  In the meanwhile, she'll be previewing some of the upcoming sweets as dessert specials at Sugar Freak.

Pulled pork po' boy with coca-cola BBQ and battered fried onion straws--grab a side of the pork and beef rice dressing

Gooey skillets of breadcrumb-crusted mac 'n cheese are now available mixed with jambalaya or succulent crawfish (pictured)

New starters included popcorn okra (pictured), hush puppies, and popcorn alligator

Buttermilk chicken is now served in 4 varieties: classic, spicy, zesty cherry pepper, or sweet & savory brown sugar-cinnamon (pictured), all of which can be drizzled with cheese sauce -- and hallelujah yes, that's deep-fried corn on the cob as a side!

A N'Awlins classic pastry treat: fried to-order beignets, served with a bananas foster rum sauce for dipping

Queens Comfort

40-09 30th Ave (between Steinway & 41st St)

http://www.queenscomfort.blogspot.com

It has admittedly become an addiction.  Each morning, before checking even e-mail or Facebook, there's an uncontrollable urge to visit the Queens Comfort website to see what crazy new dish they are serving up.  Chicken fingers coated in cereal with bacon caramel for dipping?  A gourmet take on a McDonald's classic breakfast sandwich?  Grape Kool-Aid ice cream?  They've tried all of that.  The menu rotates almost daily, and there's always a blend of down home comfort with good old-fashioned delicious creativity.  So if you like what you see below, go there soon.  Chances are some of these dishes won't be around next week.

The chicken and waffle has been a standard at QC for awhile, but it recently got an upgrade.  Formerly served with an Eggo waffle for the sake of nostalgia, they now make their own Belgian waffles, the bird glazed with Tabasco and maple syrup, then dusted with confectioner's sugar.

Atomic Fire Balls: take Queens Comfort's award-winning mac and cheese, rolls it in cayenne breadcrumbs, fry those puppies, drizzle with sriracha, and dip 'em in ranch dressing, and you've got a major hit.

The new billionaire bacon salad is topped with brown sugar candied bacon, blue cheese crumbles, a poached egg, and maple shallot vinaigrette. 

The bacon and chicken enchilada topped with bubbling browned cheddar, a fried egg, crema, and pico de gallo

Antika Family Style Pizzeria

36-08 30th Ave

http://www.antikapizzeria.com

Antika Family Style Pizzeria finally opened on 30th Ave, serving classic Italian-American dishes (try the provolone-stuffed meatballs!) in Individual & Family portions, as well as several varieties of pizza (yessir, they have brunch pizzas with fried eggs.)  Toppings range from classics like pepperoni, to broccoli rabe, grilled tiger shrimp, and even a drizzle of truffle oil.  The kitchen is open 'til 11PM, but the bar and pizza oven stay open 'til 2AM. Lunch specials Monday through Thursday include a personal round pie for $9.  The white tile floored dining room is pristine, and the service just as warm as the steaming pies.  Welcome to the neighborhood, Antika!

“Old Fashioned Grandma Style Square Pizza” with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, grana padano, pecorino, extra virgin olive oil, and oregano

These aren't just any meatballs... they are stuffed with gooey provolone cheese, blanketed in a bright, tangy marinara

Tobiko Asian Fusion Lounge

30-27 Steinway St (half block south of 30th Ave)

http://www.tobiko88.com/

Opening the doors to the place formerly known as Yamashiro Sake Lounge & Restaurant, this spot may not look much different to the untrained eye, but open the menu and it's a whole new ballgame.  To promote their opening as a completely new restaurant with a new chef and brand new menu, all sushi items are 50% off, and dishes from the kitchen are 30%.  Sound too good to be true?  The deal won't last forever--maybe just a "few months" according to management.  So run, don't walk while standard sushi rolls now range from $2.50 to $4.00.  Don't feel like running?  Order for delivery--the discount still applies!

Sushi Pizza -- a crisp scallion pancake spread with spicy tuna, then topped with tempura flakes, tobiko, avocado, sliced mango, and drizzled with eel sauce, mango sauce, and strawberry sauce.

This tuna dumpling, the size of a large grapefruit, is actually a thinly pounded slice of tuna carpaccio wrapped around spicy king crab, topped with avocado and bonito flakes, resting in an olive cilantro puree.

Just one of several varieties (try the dim sum sampler) these dumplings are stuffed with duck confit, and served with a thick hoisin sauce for dipping

Lunch specials are $6.99 and served with miso soup and salad, including this "Asian Grilled Chicken Pancake Sandwich", essentially a fantastic chicken teriyaki scallion pancake wrap

Bear Bar & Restaurant
12-14 31st Ave (a few blocks west of 21st St.)
http://www.bearnyc.com

A decadent chocolate cake truffle drizzled with raspberry port wine reduction, flagged with strips of candied bacon

Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky is turning out some of the most exquisite, meticulously plated, intricate dishes that Long Island City has ever seen.  But given her expertise and free-spirited culinary creativity, she recently decided to do away with a traditional menu, daily sourcing ingredients she has foraged from local green markets.  While the Bear website will display the final updated selections for each meal service, below are the sample menus she released today, offering a glimpse into what can be expected at brunch and dinner.  If you have yet to check out this true neighborhood gem, definitely schedule it into your dining plans soon.

click menu to enlarge

click menu to enlarge

Octopus balls & noodles with jelly round out new menu at HinoMaru

Takoyaki are like piping hot seafood-stuffed zeppoles topped with dancing bonito

When HinoMaru (meaning "circle of the sun" -- a nod to the Japanese flag) first opened on Ditmars just a few months ago, it caught the eye of noodle enthusiasts everywhere, especially considering the lack of slurpable options in Western Queens.  Although I genuinely enjoyed that initial visit where I sampled two of the eight regional ramen, alas with the breath-stifling heat of summertime came a lack of desire to lower my face to a steaming bowl of pork broth with a monkey-shaped fish cake.  But during a recent trip to Spa Castle, after watching a gaggle of sauna-soaked lunchtime ladies (with fluorescent green head towels wrapped into princess leia nuggets on each side) vigorously sucking down noodles like famished baby birds, I developed a hankering for a return visit.  Little did I realize that my sophomore meal would spark two more return visits within the next 72 hours...

When HinoMaru first opened, Chef Koji Miyamoto had told me that the menu would be gradually expanding, offering a few specials and introducing new dishes as the restaurant slowly eases into a rhythm.  To say I was surprised at how much this little noodle shop that could has grown in just a few months is quite an understatement.  The menu now includes all of the original regional soups and dishes, along with the addition of a chalkboard of daily specials, as well as a whole second printed page of nearly twenty Japanese tapas-style plates and seasonal noodle and rice bowl additions -- almost all under $10.

These softshell crab niku man (steamed buns) with scallions, cucumber straws, and sriracha mayo were some of the most delicious bao buns I have enjoyed.  The crunch of the breaded shellfish tucked into that heavenly soft (see how even the slightest fingerprint dimples the bread in the top bun?) Pac Man-shaped rice flour bread was simply fantastic.

The steamed nikuman are also available stuffed with spicy crab, tender pork belly, and even tempura shrimp.

And how much fun is this summertime strawberry ramune drink?  See how the bottle is "pinched" creating a figure 8 shape?  A glass marble is secured at the mouth by the pressure of the carbonation.  A little pushcap is served with the bottle, which you press into the marble until it pops down, and rattles around the upper drink chamber as you pour the soda.  Neighboring tables watched in amusement while we clumsily struggled to open this children's soft drink, but the refreshing result was worth it.

As if the variety of regional staples on the regular ramen menu aren't enough, the specials are wildly varied and interesting.  One of my favorites is this uni ramen, the noodles tossed in a very light parmesan cream, with a generous heap of sea urchin on top, along with fish cakes and nori shreds.  Like a seafood carbonara, it is undoubtedly one of the most original ramen dishes I have enjoyed, and wonderfully delicious.

Because piping hot ramen doesn't exactly strike a temptation in the stuffy New York City August heat, this cold seafood ramen is a refreshing departure from traditional noodle dishes.  Served chilled, a haystack of noodles is loaded with butterflied sweet shrimp, calamari rings, slivers of salmon sashimi, sea urchin, and shimmering dollops of a yuzu-soy-seafood jelly.   As you mix the jelly into the noodles, it melts, creating a delicate and playfully flavorsome glaze of Asian citrus and seafood, making this a very special dish.

A spicy jalapeno citrus base lays the flavor foundation for a unique shrimp ceviche, greenified with creamy avocado slivers and large chunks of red tomato and onions, sweetened with tangy cubes of fresh mango.

Jalapeno and mandarin orange studded salmon sashimi arrives on a bed of field greens. 

The menu also includes some less traditional and surprising dishes, like these browned, scored links of kurobuta sausage.  These bershire pork links are served on a bed of satsuma potato puree, a golden sweet potato whose rich color symbolizes wealth.

Vegetable small plates range from a cubed watermelon-tomato salad with yuzu vinaigrette, to sautéed cauliflower, seaweed salad with sweet corn, and this tender bowl of miso nasu--eggplant drizzled with a sweet miso glaze.

The menu now even boasts east and west coast oysters, though when we visited they only had Long Island oysters available--which were extremely fresh.

Alongside daily ramen and small plate specials, fantastic lunch deals rotate throughout the week, sometimes including a beautiful bento box like this with juicy chicken terriyaki, crunchy coated Japanese fried chicken, and a steamed pork nikuman.

Expected sweet endings include chewy, frosty orbs of various flavored mochi, but a delicious surprise includes this wonderfully silky coconut panna cotta, topped either with strawberries or diced mango, like a heavenly creme parfait.

The service is impeccable.  The prices are extremely affordable.  The space is pristine, and surprisingly spacious with several communal tables in a large back room, and a sweet graffiti garden patio in back.  Considering so many Americans seem to equate Japanese cuisine exclusively with sushi or chicken and vegetables flying across a flaming table, HinoMaru is an exceptional introduction to just some of the lesser known culinary delights of this fascinating country's kitchens and street food carts.

HinoMaru * 33-19 Ditmars, Astoria * 718-777-0228 * http://hinomaruramen.com

Ready... Set... SLURP!

HinoMaru Ramen, 33-18 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria; (718) 777-0228
Closed Mondays


Astorians may finally slurp away, as HinoMaru Ramen (from the group that brought Spot Dessert Bar to the East Village) officially opened on Ditmars Blvd. (near 35th St.) this week, just a few doors down from the currently expanding Watawa (one of Astoria's most celebrated sushi joints, presently under renovation).  Filling in a void that has been hitting the city by storm, the residents of Western Queens can now choose from over 8 different regional bowls of ramen, plus an entire side menu of add-ins.  Check out my article today on GrubStreet.com for the abridged version.

Gyoza, made fresh in the restaurant, are what I regard as the most delicious I have tasted in a long time.   They are steamed to a juicy tenderness, and then beautifully seared to add crunch.

The Niku man (pork belly bun) are pretty straightforward and delicious... a definite must-order at $5.  The pork belly is remarkably tender, balanced with the sweetness of hoisin and the crunch of sprouts, lettuce, and scallions--all served on the most angelically fluffy steamed bun imaginable.

They also offer a handful of vegetable sides, like this refreshing $4 watermelon salad with tomato, yuzu vinaigrette, and scallions.

The soup broth simmers with the pork bones for nearly twelve hours.  Ramen variations include Hakata, Hokkaido, and Tokyo (pictured above) styles along with a selection of donburi (rice bowls).  The kitchen is led by Chef Koji Miyamoto, and will be continually evolving to offer new flavors and dishes for customers.

It's not available for ordering (yes, I tried), but boxes of chocolate ramen are even on display on the counter... intended to show that ramen is available in endless variations.

The 60-seat space is comfortably open, with two large rooms separated by a long noodle bar, where guests can watch the chef at work in the large open kitchen.  Masks of Tengu adorn the walls (the Japanese spirit of mischief).  Service is dine-in only, and they are closed on Mondays.  Dinner service this week starts at 5:00 p.m., but lunch is anticipated to begin next week.

The chorus of staff chiming "Domo arigato gozaimashita" as guests exit the restaurant may be unfamiliar to the neighborhood, but it's music to the ears.  The staff is extremely friendly, the food delicious, and the space perfect for an intimate Lady & the Tramp noodle dinner, or a communal meal at one of the large tables in the back.

Welcome to Astoria, HinoMaru... and domo arigato gozaimashita!

Japanese Comfort Food at Haru Hana

(suribachi & surikogi--Japanese mortar & pestle--for crushing sesame seeds into tonkatsu sauce)

Haru Hana (28 W. 32nd St., NYC)

The summer I spent in Japan witnessed three months of the healthiest eating I have ever enjoyed.  Though 100% culture-shocked coming from the Midwest--and sad to have to momentarily retire the word casserole--I was committed to trying new flavors and textures.  True, among the bizarre (and absurd, in retrospect) items I had packed from home was a box of Chef Boyardee pizza mix (in case I needed an emergency pizza fix).  Still a bit wonky with my amateur finger muscles, my very first evening there I accidentally tossed a brown-gravy drenched potato across the room with my chopsticks, which I then staked into my steak before scrambling to clean up the mess, ergo triggering a roomful of horrified gasps (no one had informed me planting your chopsticks upright into your food wished bad fortune to the family!)  And so what if my knees had become strangely calloused after a week of showering (no one explained to me that the shower head actually detached from its hoist three feet off the ground, with a retractable cord--those were some painful and awkward showers!)  And true, the über-evangelical younger me took a suitcase of Gideon Bibles to share the gospel with a country less than 1% Christian (that's correct, I planned on bringing Jesus and Chef Boyardee to a pagan and pizza-less nation).  I won't even discuss my first experience with their toilets on this food blog!  The stories are enough for a book--or a movie starring Jonah Hill (imagine him as a youth ambassador for the U.S. Senate living in a peaceful mountain village full of Buddhist and Shinto shrines). 

I absolutely credit that life-altering summer for making me a much more adventurous eater (and thinker).  And while the majority of what I consumed contributed to some significant weight loss that summer, a few dishes I also enjoyed fall into the comfort category.  I luckily stumbled upon two of them a few days ago.

Leaving my most recent dentist appointment across the street from the Empire State Building (who gets to gargle and spit while looking at the Empire State Building?!), I was naturally starving.  I never eat before someone works on my mouth, and after having a dentist fiddle with my teeth for a few hours, my stomach always starts to growl.  Taking a walk along 32nd Street (affectionately referred to as K-Town for its endless Korean eateries and karaoke bars--24 hour Korean BBQ is a godsend after a late night at a midtown bar), a Japanese sign caught my attention.  Outside, plastic figurines of some of the dishes made me chuckle, but I instantly noticed they offered okonomiyaki--a dish I had loved in Hiroshima, but rarely find in America.

Okonomiyaki at Haru Hana is offered either with mixed seafood or caviar & cheese.   I went the seafood route, and was extremely pleased.  My photos were admittedly rushed, but the base of this dish is like a Japanese pancake/omelette, with egg, flour, shredded cabbage, and scallion, all studded with very tender pieces of crabmeat, octopus, calamari, and shrimp.  It is quite similar to a cross between egg foo young and a scallion pancake you might order at a Chinese restaurant, only stuffed with seafood.  This is then glazed with a thick, sweet sauce, often compared in flavor to Worcestershire sauce, a drizzle of mayonnaise, and then bonito flakes (dried, smoked skipjack tuna) that literally "dance" in the steam coming off of the plate.  It's like an umami breakfast, lunch, and seafood feast all rolled into one.  You cut it like a pizza, and should enjoy it while it's hot.  The version at Haru Hana was delicious, although more of an Osaka-style rather than the Hiroshima version (both styles are popular in different regions) I enjoyed over fifteen years ago (which was prepared table side, had noodles baked in, and stood significantly taller).  Yes, it's that good that I recall the taste and textures a decade and a half later.

Another Japanese comfort food I love it tonkatsu, a deep-fried pork cutlet.  Panko breadcrumbs yield a crunch unlike any other.  I also love this dish as katsudon, when served with an egg and sauce on a bed of rice.  But when I saw Haru Hana offered a mozzarella katsu, well, there was really no debate.  Paper thin pork loin is stuffed with mozzarella, dredged in panko bread crumbs, and served with a salad, rice, vegetable curry, and a bowl of miso soup for just $10.50 at lunch.  The pork was wonderfully tender.  I also loved that they brought the mortar and pestle to the table so I could grind my own sesame powder to add to the tonkatsu sauce (almost like a thick, smoked apple, sweet BBQ sauce) for dipping the strips of the cutlet.

Service was extremely friendly and very attentive.  The atmosphere was casual, yet beautiful with dramatic lighting on cherry blossoms, and columns that looked like tree trunks.  The rather extensive menu (and sake selection) certainly offers far more than what I sampled, including a variety of sushi, ramen and noodle dishes, as well as hot pots and a selection of Korean dishes.  But if what I enjoyed is any indication, this would be a wonderful place to take a friend or a casual date.  The prices are reasonable, the food tasty.  I already cannot wait to return.  Follow them on Twitter for crazy specials, like 50% off special sushi rolls.