Astoria, dear country
When Lena Dunham, the creator of Girls , she's hungry and wants to eat well, no nonsense, she walks out of her posh hipster Brooklyn neighborhood and she goes to Astoria. “Everything is authentic and there are not many queues, pain in the ass” she said with the fine style of her already last year.
Although Astorians complain about the transformation (or "Brooklynization") that it is undergoing, now that ** Queens is becoming fashionable **, the reality is that this space bounded between the East River to the North and West, 36th Avenue to the South and 49th Street to the East, is still a neighborhood with its own identity made up of many identities : Greek (majorities years ago), Italian, Colombian, Brazilian, Galician, Bulgarian, Czech, Turkish, Egyptian… Full of bars, restaurants and shops in its avenues and with some quiet and residential streets of low houses, it is a young neighborhood for the low prices and its closeness easy access to manhattan.
Until a few years ago, New Yorkers had only two reasons to go to Astoria: greek restaurants and the beer gardens (or beer gardens) especially, the Bohemian Hall, the first in New York, attached to the Czech house. And to which now the most youthful Studio Square competes.
Both are two good reasons still. Because people come to Astoria to eat and drink. This is so. But to eat and drink well. On terraces in the sun and with good prices.
Garden, beer and good life to the 'Astoriana'
GREEK ESSENCE
Greeks began to settle in Astoria after World War II and from the 1960s and they created their Little Greece in the neighborhood . In the last two decades many have been moving, but their influence is still visible in supermarkets with 20 types of feta cheese , on terraces in the sun where men drink iced coffee and play with their kombolois (his rosary) and, of course, in incredible restaurants with prices that you can't even smell in Manhattan: Kyclades Taverna is one of those few places for which you do have to queue in Astoria, the fault lies with its fish and seafood; the moussaka, the vegetables and the grilled octopus of the Bahari Estiatorio are a personal weakness (I admit it), as is their dessert, always an invitation from the house.
Greek-style Astoria
NEW REASONS TO GO TO ASTORIA
BBB restaurants of the nationality that comes to mind
From the 1980s to now, the Astorian population has diversified so much that there is talk of 'The United Nations of Astoria' , although a Mediterranean culture continues to predominate, many Brazilians, Colombians, Egyptians also live in the area... which brings us to this third and (not so) new reason to go to Astoria. Let's play something: tell me a nationality and I'll tell you a restaurant:
**Spanish: Casa Galicia** (now sadly only open to club members) and the Spanish Center on Broadway and 41st Street, no sign announces it but when you walk through the door It's like traveling six thousand kilometers in a second . Without going too far, there is also the second bar that more Mahou beer on tap sells throughout New York, the burger club , a treasure appreciated by those of us who live around here, which also tastes very good with its impressive hamburgers.
Burger by good Mahou
Yankee: to continue with hamburgers, the best ones are the Bareburger, beef, lamb, chicken, elk, bison, quinoa... with different types of bread, different sauces... And the pulled pork and the ribs and the pickles and mashed potatoes at the Texan Strand Smokehouse are second to none.
India: Seva's all-you-can-eat buffet every day at $11.
Italian: Il Bambino's sandwiches, Antika's pizza, Sorriso's fresh mozzarella, a store with years of history in the neighbourhood...
Burgers with Mahou, please
Egyptian: in steinway between 30th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard is LittleEgypt, Egyptian restaurants and bars with shishas, one after another. Mombar and its ancient temple aspect is the most original.
Mexican: Pachanga Patterson, delicious cocktails and amazing Asian fusion duck tacos.
Venezuelan: Arepas Cafe.
Colombian: The dump, best for drinks and entertainment.
Puerto Rican : Don Coqui, for dinner and above all, dancing. There isn't a dancer who doesn't know him in New York.
Shall we continue?
One more, without a clear nationality, but with a brilliant idea: Beer & Cheese . Well that: cheeses from around the world and craft beers from anywhere. The winning combination.
Astoria's Ultimate Italian
patisseries
Astoria is probably the neighborhood with more patisseries and bakeries per inhabitant . Of course, most of them are of Greek, Italian, Turkish origin and tradition… No cupcakes, popcakes or similar hipsters. Baklavas, real bread, crispy puff pastry... A good route would go to artopolis , Omonia where they made the wedding cake my big greek wedding ; Gulluoglu… And real Italian biscotti and torrone and ice cream at historic La Guli.
sweet and sweeter
Cultural visits
The Museum of The Moving Image It is the center of the cultural life of the neighborhood. One of the neighboring buildings of the studios of Kaufman cinema , where the Marx brothers filmed and now record Nurse Jackie either Orange is the New Black . In the museum, a beautiful minimalist building, there is the girl from The Exorcist, Yoda, Marlon Brando's prosthetics in The Godfather, from The Elephant Man... and his film cycles are the envy of Tribeca.
From Breaking Bad to The Godfather, all in Queens
The Noguchi Museum is the other great cultural institution. A museum that he devised himself Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi in 1985 , shortly before he died, to exhibit his sculptural work both inside and outside this small two-story house almost to the edge of the river and that it is a perfect visit after a walk through the Socrates Sculpture Park , an open-air sculpture museum.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Getting to know Brooklyn with 'Girls'
- 10 reasons to cross the Queensboro Bridge and go to Queens
- New York Guide
- All articles by Irene Crespo
The Noguchi Museum