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Dining-around days
Being a publisher of a
media company with outlets
online and in print
in Brooklyn, Queens and Long
Island, I have the joyous opportunity
of meeting great people
from those areas and visiting
many restaurants in those communities.
This past week, I went from
Italian food in Brooklyn to
Chinese food in Queens to an
American sports bar-restaurant
on Long Island, each unique in
its own way and highly recommended.
DINING IN BROOKLYN
My friend, Toni Yuillle
Williams, works for Con Edison
in Brooklyn, and we met for
lunch at the DeKalb Market,
adjacent to a street I walked
along throughout my childhood
since my dad had a store on
Fulton Street that’s now a Shake
Shack. For years, I worked at
his store when I was in school
and loved visiting it often. After
working, my dad would let
me walk down Fulton Street,
where major department stores
drew me in and down as far as
Flatbush Avenue where it intersects
with DeKalb Avenue.
Today a massive, 30-story
building called City Point houses
a food mall downstairs; upstairs,
there is a Century 21, Target and
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a
unique seven-screen movie theater
that serves food while you
are enjoying the movie. More
stores are coming, and it is a happening
place.
Downstairs, Toni and I met at
Fortina, famous for its woodfired
pizza and foods cooked
in its ovens. This is the chain’s
first venture in New York City,
having multiple locations in
Westchester. The owners have
invested dearly in creating a
warm, inviting environment
using wood and dim lighting
to set it apart from the bustling
DeKalb Market food hall.
I could probably spend every
day eating at the 40 different
choices including my alltime
favorite pastrami heaven,
Katz’s from Manhattan. I
resisted but I will be back.
Our meal at
Fortina was an
arugula salad
enhanced by pistachio,
lemon and
shaved Parmesan
with wood-roasted
chicken that
was the juiciest,
tenderest and tastiest
chicken I ever
had. It must be
from being cooked
in the wood-burning
ovens. It’s a
must eat place!
We shared one
of Fortina’s famous
mouth-watering
pizzas, the Luigi
Bianco, $22 but
worth every dollar.
It’s topped with
burrata, robiolona,
Parmesan cheese
and black truffle
oil. We both found room to eat it
after big salads and take seconds.
It was so good!
With the mall open seven days
a week, it’s a great destination for
food, fun and shopping for you
and your family.
ON TO FLUSHING
Then, one evening, I invited
members of the Roslyn Chamber
of Commerce to join me at
Flushing’s famous New Mulan
Restaurant (136-17 39th Ave.),
famous for its Cantonese cuisine.
The men I met with have a
“club” called the Chinese Quest,
(www.thechinesequest.com),
meeting monthly at Chinese
restaurants to find and rate them.
Being proud of the great places
for Chinese food in Flushing,
they were happy to join me at the
New Mulan.
We had the pleasure of dining
in one of its private dining
rooms that has a large round
table with a lazy Susan rotating
glass top set for 12 people. The
room is set off with two TVs on
the walls and a stunning sculptured
lighting fixture on the ceiling,
creating an elegant environment.
My guests, all aficionados
of Chinese food, admitted
they had never eaten in such
a beautiful environment with
such superb service. They also
loved the food! You will, too.
ON TO LONG
ISLAND
I was introduced
to a
p o p u l a r ,
ol d - f a s h -
ioned, local
restaurant,
Legends on
Broadway
(646 South
Broadway,
Hicksville),
an American
bar and grill in
Hicksville down
the block from the
famous IKEA store
on Broadway.
The bustling
place, located in
a strip shopping
center next to a
beauty parlor and a bakery, had
plenty of free parking.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
there are changing weekend specials
chosen by the chef, and
every Monday and Tuesday is
Italian night. Wednesday is steak
night and Thursday is lobster
night.
We were there on a Friday night
and tried the specials. We began
with a crunchy baby kale Caesar
salad with sliced red onion,
chopped tomatoes and capers, all
tossed in a rich and tasty Caesar
dressing. Then I chose the salmon
pappardelle, which was my
favorite salmon, tossed with zucchini
ribbons and shiitake mushrooms
in a roasted garlic dill
cream. It was delicious and plentiful
enough to take home leftovers.
One of my companions had
the chef’s trio of lobster, succulent
flat iron steak and shrimp
presented with perfectly creamy
mashed potatoes with crunchy
string beans.
My other friend ordered
from the regular menu, selecting
a thickly packed steak and
melted cheese sandwich on a
long, crispy roll served with the
crunchiest French fried potatoes
I’ve ever eaten.
restaurant is
for its wide
variety of draft
beers from
the famous
Gu i n n e s s
draught to
local beers
from Port
Jefferson to
Greenport
t o
Montauk.
You can visit
Long Island
through its
beers!
There are as
many wines to
from and on
Italian night,
the wine is only
$5 a glass.
F r o m
Brooklyn, to
Queens, to Long Island, there is
dining to delight every pocket
and every palate. Try it. You, too,
will love it!
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Members of the Chinese Quest searched for and found a great Cantonese meal
at Flushing’s New Mulan Restaurant
Toni Yuille Williams with the manager of Fortina in
Downtown Brooklyn
Chef Craig McKelvey serves amazing
food at Legends on Broadway in
Hicksville