32 North Shore Towers Courier n April 2013 dining out BY BRADLEY HAWKS According to Merriam-Webster, a kickshaw is “a fancy dish; delicacy; trinket; gewgaw.” While the name The Queens Kickshaw undeniably denotes its location, the double entendre also implies a collection of exquisite and rare morsels fit for royalty, which this caférestaurant certainly is. With one of the most carefullyedited food and beverage menus in Astoria, a visit to The Queens Kickshaw is an expedition into unique, fantastic tastes in both food and drink, all in a rustic and warm epicurean gallery. In a renovation that extended well over a year, husband-wife owners Ben Sandler and Jennifer Lim partnered with EcoSystems in Brooklyn to design a uniquely green space, with refurbished, recycled, and reclaimed materials mostly collected by the Sandler and Lim, achieving the intimacy of a downtown coffee shop, but with surprisingly grandiose spaciousness and reclaimed wooden tables of every size and shape imaginable to accommodate individuals to couples or large groups. An alwaysfriendly staff fires orders to the kitchen via mounted iPads. The menu showcases a collaboration between the husband-wife team and executive chef Youngsun Lee, whose credits include substantial kitchen time at the original Momofuku Noodle Bar, CraftBar, Blue Fin, and even two of his own endeavors, the Kimchi Taco Truck, as well as Persimmon in the East Village. Grown-up grilled cheese headlines, including a toasted gouda sandwich with black bean hummus, guava jam, and pickled jalapenos. The Great Hill Blue arrives on cranberry walnut bread with sweet prune jam and slivers of fresh pear. Small plates range from mini knishes filled with celery root and blue cheese to a bowl of pepper-studded queso laced with asiago and Scottish ale served with crispy Nixtamal tortilla chips. Highlights from the larger plates include a wild mushroom shepherds pie with red wine braised root vegetables capped with a whipped cauliflower Grilled Cheese & Gourmet Brews Grown-up The Queens Kickshaw 40-17 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11103 718-777-0913 www.thequeenskickshaw.com Hours: Mon-Fri, 7:30am-1am; Sat-Sun, 9am-1am; brunch weekends/ holidays 9am-4pm vegetarian, free wi-fi mash with golden toasted peaks—or savor a generous helping of the gruyerecheddar smoked-mozzarella macaroni and cheese, which is glistening with ribbons of French beans and caramelized onions adorned with a diagonal sash of creamy tomato sauce. But be sure to save room for dessert, perhaps a scoop of luxuriously decadent fontina cheesecake, or a mug of mocha which is cocoa-fied with actual crumbles of Mast Bros. chocolate bars. Chef Lee’s sophisticated whimsy really shines on the brunch menu, with dishes like the umami explosion of Japanese-style cold poached eggs with miso butter and mustard seed ‘caviar’, or the scotch eggs, presented here as quail eggs wrapped in sweet potato puree, dredged in crispy panko shell, over a garlic-leek confit. The roster of beverages is equally enticing, from cone-capped pour-over coffees to brews from Coffee Lab Roasters in Tarrytown, percolated in the Marzocco Strada machine. Those vinegars that magically transformed the blueberries for the salad now become drinking cordials spritzed up with soda water—an age-old classic known as a shrub. The drinks are spirited as well, with rare craft ales (some commissioned exclusively for TQK), nearly 30 alongside wine and mead (also known as honey wine). In honor of NYC Beer Week, check their website or Facebook page for special events this week, including chef’s tasting menus and the tapping of specialty beers like a cask-conditioned collaboration between Peekskill Brewery and Coffee Lab Roasters on March 2 at 5 p.m. View Over 200 Reviews at queenscourier.com #1IN SALES & LISTINGS AT NORTH SHORE TOWERS THE SOURCE FOR THE LARGEST SELECTION OF LISTINGS AT NST! Annette Kroll MAGIC 718.631.8867 OF GREAT NECK REALTY 516.487.6300 ON-SITE RESIDENT ST NN www.AnnetteKroll.com ORTH SHORE TOWER SUPERMARKET KOSHER • GROCERY • DAIRY • FROZEN 272-74 Grand Central Pkwy. Floral Park, NY 11005 Tel: 718-428-7998 Fax: 718-428-7949 YOUNG 1 CORP. Legally Speaking By: Scott Baron, Attorney at Law THE LIGHTING IN A THEATRE Advertorial Q: A puppet show at the theatre – that’s where I took my pre-kindergarteners. As I put-out my foot to go down a step, the house lights went off without warning, and I fell. Someone must have given a premature cue to turn off the lights – while people were still being seated. I injured my left ankle and feel the owner caused my injuries by suddenly turning off the lights. A: A landowner has a duty to maintain its property in a reasonably safe condition in view of all the circumstances, including the likelihood of injury to others, the seriousness of the injury, and the burden of avoiding the risk. Landowners and tenants who operate places of public assembly, such as theatres, are charged with the duty of providing the public with a reasonably safe premises, including a safe means of ingress and egress. There is no rule of thumb that a theatre must flash or dim its lights before they go off, or that house lights may not be turned off until everyone is seated. So long as there are strips of lights on the stairs, and those lights go on when the house lights are turned off, the theatre has a good shot at establishing that it provides the public with a reasonably safe premises insofar as its lighting is concerned. Every theatre-goer expects that the lights will be turned off before the show begins. You will need positive evidence that the lights were turned off in a negligent fashion. Otherwise, you will not be able to make your case that an act or omission on the part of the theatre proximately caused your injuries. The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice Copyright © 2013 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878
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