FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 7, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 23
Taste of Sunnyside highlights neighborhood’s delectable cuisine
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e Taste of Sunnyside returned for
it’s ninth season to once again showcase
some of the best food the neighborhood
has to off er — this time with a whole new
format.
On Sunday, Oct. 3, Sunnyside Shines
Business Improvement District welcomed
more than 500 guests to the revamped
restaurant crawl, which featured a diverse
set of 34 restaurants, bars and other food
businesses that served up samples of their
unique and delicious off erings to eager
guests.
Attendees chose between a $50
general admission ticket or a $75 VIP
ticket (which included a few extra perks,
like a fast pass in the event of long lines
and discounts of up to 15 percent for
some of the participating eateries for a
return visit). Upon arrival, guests received
a printed map as well as a badge with
the names of all participating businesses
to check off aft er visiting them.
A QR code also led guests to a
website with maps, directions, routes for
specifi c fl avors (like Taste of Sazón, Taste
of Yum! And Taste of Spirits) as well as
a WhatsApp group chat where attendees
shared photos of their bites while others
showed off their nearly-complete or fully
marked badges.
Years prior, the tasting and social event
would be held at a set location, like at
the P.C Richards parking lot for their
eighth annual festival in 2019. But this
year, foodies got to stroll along Skillman
Avenue, Queens Boulevard, 47th Avenue
and 43rd Avenue — or wait for one of two
trolleys making stops along the way to
scoop them up and drop them off at their
desired destination.
Chakra Café, located on 44-01 Queens
Blvd., off ered chocolate baklavas and
other pastries during the crawl. Sunnyside
resident Cengiz Yildirim became the
owner of Chakra four months ago, and
said the festival proved to him that it was
the right decision.
“Our goal today is to unite with our
neighborhoods, with our customers,
and with our future customers, hopefully,”
Yildrim said. “We’re doing our best to
go through these tough times.”
Guests and business owners were in
bright spirits during the sunny aft ernoon,
despite the challenges brought on by more
than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic
and climate disasters.
Th e extensive Taste of Sunnyside selection
gave way for a little taste of (quite
literally) everything: Atomic Wings and
sliders paired with Singlecut Brewing
beer at 43 Bar & Grill; pollo a la brasa
with sangria at Riko; white rice and lamb
with hummus at Mangal Kebab; rasta
pasta jerk BBQ chicken by Caribbean
Cuisine; arepas and empanadas at Firefl y
Petite Bistro; sushi at Ariyoshi; vanilla
cupcakes with fl ower-shaped frosting by
Cakes by Claire; and refreshing canned
margaritas by QNSY.
While most of the participating
businesses had storefronts, there were
also new or fairly new brands showcasing
Photos by Angélica Acevedo
A group of Sunnysiders enjoy a Taste of
Sunnyside food festival on Oct. 3.
their food, such as Th e Boiis
Co., a Filipino owned mochi-based
dessert shop.
Th eir stand stood out with an
elegant design of light wood and a
selfi e-ready mirror that read “What is up
mochi fam!”
Rivy-Major Oponda, Kert Lasdoce
and Aaron Troy Ortega, all Queens
residents, began the dessert shop in 2019
in Elmhurst, and while they mainly take
online orders and attend pop-ups, their
headquarters is in Long Island City.
What they’re best known for are mooks
— soft and chewy mochi-fi lled cookies
that come in several diff erent fl avors.
At Taste of Sunnyside, they off ered
their ube (purple yam originally from the
Philippines) with ube mochi fi lling, apple
cider with cran-apple mochi fi lling (with
a taste reminiscent of apple pie), and
matcha with ube mochi fi lling. Th ey also
off ered gluten free (yet incredibly rich)
basque mochi cheesecake.
Oponda said they were
Atomic
Wings with
garlic parmesan and
mango habanero sauce at Taste of
Sunnyside.
grateful to be a part of the event as
they try to become more involved in the
Sunnyside community.
“With being a small business, the key is
really just pushing and being consistent
and being active on social media — telling
everyone, ‘hey, we’re still here,’” said
Oponda, adding that while the COVID-
19 pandemic almost stopped their
business, it actually helped them come
up with their mooks, which are their best
sellers.
Resilience was one of the overarching
themes of the popular event, as
Jamie-Faye Bean, executive director of
Taste of Sunnyside returned for its ninth year,
attracting 500 attendees to the new festival.
Sunnyside Shines, noted the tremendous
hurdles that all of the business owners
have endured in some form
during the past year.
“Th e crawl was a way
for residents to rediscover
the neighborhood
and it’s businesses but it
was also a celebration of
our small business community’s
resilience,” Bean said. “Th is
event provided a way for these businesses
and more to come back and increase their
profi le among local residents.”
Kelly Connolly, a Sunnyside resident
who’s attended the Taste of Sunnyside festivals
since it began, said that although
the prior festivals gave them more opportunities
to socialize, the new crawl format
was “really fun.”
“I love it, I always look forward to it,”
Connolly said.
Connolly introduced several friends to
the event, including Max Matthews, who
lives in Jamaica and works at a nearby
school.
“Th is is my fi rst year, I’ve never done
this before,” Matthews said. “I really like
the format because aft er fi ve restaurants I
felt really full, but the walk really helped.
Overall it’s just a really fun experience. I
can’t wait for next year.”
In terms of their favorite food of the
day, the consensus of the group was clear:
Big Shane’s Ice Cream.
“The honey comb flavor,” Ali
Ramataur, another Sunnysider with
the group, said. “It’s a great
bonding experience
with your friends,
and you get to try
everything that’s
around here.”
Chakra Café served pastries like baklava at Taste of Sunnyside. An elegant cupcake from Cakes by Claire.
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