56 The Queens Courier • buzz • OCTOBER 27, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com buzz Take a sneak peek inside NYC’s first Cheesecake Factory in Queens By Angela Matua amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua Instead of trekking out to Long Island, city residents will be able to devour the more than 250 menu items that The Cheesecake Factory offers in Queens. On Oct. 25 at 11:30 a.m., The Cheesecake Factory will open at the Queens Center mall in Elmhurst. Located at 90-15 Queens Blvd., the 8,000-square-foot space seats about 190 customers and also has a patio with retractable windows for guests to enjoy warm summer days. About 280 employees will serve up the dishes, which range from crab cakes on a bed of puffed rice noodles to a skyhigh Chinese chicken salad. More than 30 cheesecakes will be available and with options like Toasted Marshmallow S’Mores Galore to Fresh Banana Cream, there’s something for everyone. “The Cheesecake Factory has been eager to open in New York City for quite some time, and we couldn’t be more pleased with our new location at Queens Center,” said Alethea Rowe, senior director of public relations for The Cheesecake Factory. “Queens Center is an incredibly busy mall, and our restaurant is in a highly visible location on the corner of 59 Avenue and 92 Street. We are looking forward to opening on Tuesday, October 25, and look forward to being part of the local community.” The restaurant’s origins date back to the 1940s when Evelyn and Oscar Overton opened a cheesecake shop in Detroit, Michigan. Though the shop eventually closed, the Overtons eventually moved to Los Angeles to open The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, where Evelyn Overton baked more than 20 varieties of cheesecakes and other desserts. In 1978, the couple opened the first Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills, California, and it now boasts nearly 200 locations nationwide. Take a look at some of the dishes and the interior of the first NYC Cheesecake Factory: Astoria restaurant hit it big at the New York City Wine & Food Festival By Emily Davenport edavenport@qns.com A local Astoria restaurant took home two awards this week at Backyard BBQ, one of the last events of the New York City Wine & Food Festival. Butcher Bar, a smallscale barbecue restaurant located in the heart of Astoria, was one of many barbecue joints that took the opportunity to go against some of the city’s best pit-masters and barbecue chefs. This inaugural event was hosted by Food Network chefs Bobby Flay (“Beat Bobby Flay,” “Iron Chef America”) and Michael Symon (“Iron Chef America,” “The Chew”). The public had the chance to vote on their favorite dishes for the people’s choice award, which went to Astoria’s Butcher Bar. Butcher Bar founder and chef Matthew Katakis accepted the award, but after receiving the trophy was told to hold on as Bobby Flay announced the winner of the Coca-Cola BBQ challenge, which was voted on by a panel of professional chefs. This award also went to Butcher Bar. As Chef Katakis accepted the $5,000 check, Bobby Flay literally dropped the mic to celebrate the success of Butcher Bar. The dish that had the judges’ and public’s mouths watering was Butcher Bar’s “Meat Candy.” The dish consists of succulent, crispy pork, double-smoked beef burnt ends, homemade pickled cucumbers, a little bit of barbecue sauce and habanero sauce for an extra kick, and coleslaw on the side. QNS has reached out to Chef Katakis for a comment.
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