58 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • OCTOBER 24, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
dining out
Urban desi eatery comes to Steinway
BY JESSICA MILITELLO
Th e Gully is the latest edition to
Steinway Street, an area known for its
great shopping, cafes and hookah lounges
in the heart of Astoria. Th e new “urban
desi” eatery — another term for Indian
Punjabi or Southeast Asian food, according
to one of the owners — off ers the
best of a variety of dishes from places like
Bangladesh, India, Delhi, Mumbai and
South India.
Th e restaurant offi cially opened in the
last week of August and in celebration of
their grand opening, the restaurant held a
ribbon cutting event that featured performances
from two artists from the United
Kingdom: Mumzy Stranger, a British
Bangladeshi singer and songwriter, and
Nish, a singer of Bangladeshi descent. Th e
lively celebration was a packed event and
was a great way to “bring the street fl avor”
and introduce the area to the restaurant’s
colorful atmosphere and vibrant dishes.
Jashim Ullah, one of the fi ve owners of
Th e Gully, who are all longtime friends
and business partners, explained that they
wanted to make sure they were bringing
something to the neighborhood that pays
special homage to the Southeast Asian
culture along with delicious dishes for
anyone to indulge in.
“We wanted to do something very different
in the community,” Ullah said. “To
be able to bring a breath of fresh air to the
area and bring the old-school back a little
bit, and we defi nitely wanted to bring that
retro feel back to Astoria.”
Th e fi ve owners — Razib Hasan, Sazzad
Hossain, Iqbal Ali, Naved Ahmed and
Jashim Ullah — are business partners on
several diff erent restaurants throughout
New York, including Nur Th ai and Sugar
N Coal in Woodhaven, and Indi Th ai on
Allen Street in the Lower East Side. While
all fi ve young men are from diff erent parts
of New York, Astoria has a signifi cant
meaning for the owners, especially since a
few of them had worked in the neighborhood
in years prior.
“We liked Astoria so much,” Ullah said.
“And we also did events here going back
years ago, so it’s just kind of like back to
the old neighborhood.”
Th e focus of the menu is on street food
from Southeast Asia, which has delicious,
authentic fl avor. It’s considered a popular
go-to for great food and bears the inspiration
behind the restaurant’s name, Th e
Gully, which means “the street.” By creating
a menu with the best fl avors from different
countries, the restaurant off ers the
chance to “introduce diff erent cuisines all
on one menu to give customers a variety,”
Ullah said.
Th e menu features dishes such as the
lamb burger made with ground marinated
lamb patty, seasoned with cilantro garlic
aioli, and served with chips. Another
option is the shrimp malai curry, which
is made with prawn and simmered in
creamy coconut milk and traditional spices.
Th e butter chicken consists of marinated
dark and white meat chicken which
is slow cooked in a creamy and buttery
cashew nut tomato sauce.
Photos via Instagram/@thegullynyc
The Gully
25-45 Steinway St., Astoria
718-887-3933
thegullynyc.com
INSTAGRAM: @thegullynyc
But so far, one of the biggest hits on the
menu has been the chicken tikka mac ‘n’
cheese. Th e dish is a unique take on the
traditional chicken tikka masala paired
with macaroni and cheese made with
a three-cheese sauce. Th is creative dish
comes out hot and creamy with delicious
morsels of chicken tikka and cheese that
sumptuously oozes as soon as you dig
your spoon into the plate before melting
in your mouth.
Aside from the tasty dishes that Th e
Gully currently has to off er, there will be
even more delicious bites to look forward
to in the seasons ahead such as warm,
heartier dishes for the winter and cool,
refreshing plates for the hot summer season.
So far, Astorians are eating up every
bite of what Th e Gully has to off er right
now.Th
e interior of the restaurant is just
as colorful as the menu, its walls ornate
with murals of prominent Bollywood
stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s, such as actors
Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, along with
symbols of Queens, like the Queensboro
Bridge. Th e ceiling that features images
of over 230 movie posters of ‘80s
and ‘90s fi lms from diff erent countries
like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Th e
unique artwork is aesthetically pleasing
and a thoughtful homage to the hundreds
of fi lms it portrays for guests to nostalgically
reminisce, or for those unfamiliar to
discover a new genre of classic fi lms.
Th e Gully is certainly a unique spot in
that it not only off ers a variety of tasty,
authentic dishes from diff erent backgrounds,
but its commitment to honoring
the food, culture, and history of the various
cultures that comprise Southeast Asia
makes it equally a place for showing proper
homage to art and tradition. Th is is a
spot that should defi nitely draw patrons
for its delicious food and turn curious
passersby into regulars with Th e Gully’s
colorful décor and lively energy.
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