6 AWP Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 October 25–31, 2019
RETURNING TO CITI FIELD
THIS WINTER
theworldsfare.nyc
Take a Trip to Lebanon via
Sunnyside & Souk Al Shater
When it comes to Middle Eastern cuisine,
many Queens residents immediately think of
Astoria’s Little Egypt and they are right to do so,
but did you know there’s a portal to Beirut in
Sunnyside just steps away from the 7 train? It’s a
family run market/grocery called Souk al Shater.
“Souk means like a bazaar and ‘el shater’
means clever in Arabic, so it literally translates
to bazaar of the clever,” says Hussein
Osman, as he shaves some beef shawarma
off a rotating spit that sits inside the front
window. “Shater was my grandfather’s nickname.”
That beef shawarma seasoned with herbs
and spices imported from Lebanon is excellent
in a tightly wrapped sandwich as is the
chicken. Can’t decide? Get a combo platter
of both drizzled with tahini sauce. It comes
with a salad sprinkled with dried sumac and
batons of crunchy electric purple pickled turnips.
That white blob in the center isn’t more
sauce, it’s toum, a lemony Lebanese garlic
paste that along with a jalapeño and parsley
hot sauce will enliven your taste buds as you
enjoy your feast at the narrow counter that
lines one wall.
Since Souk El Shater is also part butcher
shop, the beef and chicken kebabs are
excellent as is sujuk, a spicy Lebanese beef
sausage. If you are lucky enough to be there
when they are making rotisserie chicken, be
sure to grab one. It’s one of the most unique
birds in Queens, and at $13 with two sides,
it’s a steal. Hussein who runs the shop with
his brother Mohammed and their father,
Ahmad, is especially proud of the crunchy
falafel, made from a blend of fava beans and
chickpeas.
The family matriarch, Salwa, is in charge
of desserts, which include five varieties
of baklava. Got a really sweet tooth? Go
for the nutless version, made with apricot
jam and coconut. Even better is shabiya,
a triangle of crunchy phyllo dough filled
with rose-scented ashta cheese. And then
there’s maamoul mad, a date filled semolina
cake, that for all the world tastes like a Fig
Newtown that spent a semester abroad in
Beirut.
Should you wish to try your hand at
Lebanese fare at home the shop has all manner
of ingredients, including one pound bags of
Lebanese za’atar perfumed with thyme and
sumac, as well as tahini and cans of Americana
brand fava beans and labne cheese. On the way
out ask for some Sharawi chewing gum made
from mastic, a resin from the Pistacia lentiscus
tree, that’s been used as a breath freshener long
before Wm. Wrigley Jr. was born. It’s a clever
way to clean your palate after a trip to Lebanon
via Queens.
43-03 Queens Blvd.,
Sunnyside, nr. 43rd St.;
718-392-2702
BY JOE DISTEFANO
As the Culinary King of
Queens, I’m so very fortunate
to live in the most diverse and
delicious destination in all
of New York City. Really I’m
not royalty though, I’m an
ambassador, and a hungry one
at that. Today, we take a trip to
Lebanon via the International
Express—aka the 7 train— to
savor the offerings at the family
run Souk El Shater.
The beef and chicken shwarma platter sings
The shop’s homemade desserts, include several varieties of baklava.
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