FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 23, 2018 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 57
Home cooking and homebodies
BY CLAIRE LEADEN
“I am Th e Freckled Moose,” said chef
and owner Peter Lyman when describing
the name of his brand-new restaurant
on 31st Avenue. Sandwiched between
Bareburger and an apartment building, the
sign will defi nitely make Astorians do a
double-take as they walk up the block. With
a cartoon moose head and Comic Sans
font, the restaurant looks humble and laidback,
which is exactly the vibe Lyman was
going for.
“I really wanted a place that would be cozy,
comfortable and would let people come in
and feel like they had been invited to my
house for dinner,” he said. “Our Wi-Fi password
is ‘Welcome Home,’ one of our signature
cocktails is called the Cordial Inviter
Catoctin Creek Brandy, Giff ard Crème de
Peche, Cinzano Dry Vermouth...I want
everyone that walks through my door to feel
like they’re coming to hang out.”
As for the unique moniker, Lyman said
close friends have been calling him “Th e
Freckled Moose” for years, and it has
quickly caught on. With Irish and Scottish
heritage, the freckled part is understandable.
But the moose? Defi nitely not what
you’d expect.
Of course, besides just having a great
name, a restaurant needs someone with
a food background running the show —
and Lyman is a high-end concierge turned
self-taught chef. Working for fi ve years for
American Express Centurion Card holders
and Abigail Michaels in Manhattan, he
developed a palate for fi ne dining and travel,
and his love for food culture increased
tenfold.
What began as hosting elaborate
brunches for friends (with dishes like
challah bread French toast with cinnamon
whipped cream and hot apples)
turned into the desire to one day open a
cozy bistro or pub. So, when the opportunity
with his friend and now business
partner Bryan Corbitt came about in
Astoria, Lyman jumped at the chance. It
didn’t hurt that he had already been living
in the community for three years. He
even gets to walk to work every day now.
Classic New England cuisine and his
grandmother’s use of fresh, quality ingredients
played a huge part in Lyman’s menu
development for Th e Freckled Moose.
Th ere are traditional items like New
England Clam Chowder, of course, but also
more creative takes like crab tater tots and
lobster ravioli. You can even order “Baba’s
Melt in Your Mouth Cookie Plate” for
dessert—a delicious batch of brown sugar
based cookies that caramelize and fall
apart in your mouth as you savor each bite
(or shove the whole thing in right away).
Th e rest of the recipes on the menu are
ones Lyman has been working on for years
and all fi t into home-style, comfort food.
Grilled cheese takes a turn with gruyere,
fontina and cheddar on toast slathered with
garlic butter and paired with homemade
tomato soup, and one of his favorites is
“Pete’s Stuff ed Chicken” — a chicken breast
loaded with baby spinach and goat cheese,
wrapped in prosciutto and served with garlic
lime green beans. Lyman plans to establish
a savory brunch menu (with possible
rosé deals) over the next few weeks.
Alcohol was also an important element
of the eatery, as Lyman is a self-proclaimed
“beer guy.” Coming from a fan of supporting
local business, expect draft beers from
LIC Beer Project and Big aLICe Brewing,
as well as more New England fare like
Smuttynose. Happy hour is from 4 to 7
p.m. on weekdays and off ers $1 off all draft
beers and wine — which, with beer hovering
around $6-7 and wines at $8-9, is quite
a good deal.
Photo by Claire Leaden
The Freckled Moose
33-17 31st Ave., Astoria
718-433-9933
thefreckledmoose.com
INSTAGRAM: @Th eFreckledMoose
dining out
THE WET MOPPING
Q: On Friday afternoon, the lobby of our building was wet mopped. In
the course of this process, the maintenance workers were supposed first to
remove the floor mats, and afterwards to mop the floor dry and put the mats
back in place.
On the next Monday, a new tenant was moving its furniture into the
building. When one of the movers displaced a floor mat, he exposed some
water. While exiting the lobby, I slipped on this water – which I observed
immediately after I fell.
A: As an initial point, it may be that the building owner will not be the
only defendant in your case, as oftentimes the maintenance of a building is
entrusted to a separate management company, and both should be sued.
A landowner has a duty to maintain his or her premises in a reasonably
safe condition. To impose liability on a defendant for a slip and fall on an
alleged dangerous condition on a floor, there must be evidence that the
dangerous condition existed, and that the defendant either created the condition
or had actual or constructive notice of it and failed to remedy it within a
reasonable time.
From what you tell me, it seems that the accumulation of water on
which you slipped was created by the maintenance personnel. However, your
attorney will not take this theory, of what happened, for granted. Rather, he
or she will want to engage in discovery, involving documents and deposing
witnesses – either to make sure that your theory stands up in court or to find
a better theory.