Queens is the borough I’ve always wanted to spend more time in.  Noticeably absent from my neighborhood travels are such places as Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Flushing and Jamaica.  I did have the chance to spend time in Astoria, Kew Gardens, and most recently Forest Hills.  Forest Hills is an upper class neighborhood and such people as Hank Azaria, Dale Carnegie, Donna Karan, Simon and Garfunkle, and the Ramones have at one point or another called Forest Hills home.

My host for the week was not famous, but he provided an excellent glimpse into this unique neighborhood. Michael is a law professor and recent transplant to New York City.  He is a nomad by way of living in 12 different US cities over the last 12 years.  It was interesting to hear about some of the places he’d lived and I think I’m more impressed by moving to a different city every year than I am by moving to a different neighborhood every week!  Michael also is well versed in urban planning and explained to me that Forest Hills was one of the first “streetcar suburbs.” It’s easy to see a lot of the homes were built with the expectation a family might have one car, but not one car for the entire family.  Check out the photo below.  Doesn’t exactly look like New York City does it?

Staying with Michael was a unique experience.  I think I finally have a good grasp of Kosher values after spending a week with Michael who keeps a Kosher home.  I basically just stayed out of the kitchen, but we did have a meal at a Bukharian restaurant which was technically Rego Park, another neighborhood which borders Forest Hills.  Austin street is the main street in Forest Hills and offers quite a few chains like Starbucks, but also some nice family run bakeries and restaurants.  Among them, a place called Brownies and Cream that does macaroons and brownies.

Forest Hills also marks neighborhood number 52.  I get tired just writing that, but look for some upcoming posts attempting to wrap up my project.  It’s not going to be an easy task.

Related articles

• Astoria, Queens (thenycnomad.net)
• Brighton Beach, Brooklyn (thenycnomad.net)

While some say Astoria is ugly, there is a lot that is great about this neighborhood.  The Socrates Sculpture Park is an old landfill which has been made into a park and there is also Astoria park which makes for a great stroll.  The neighborhood definitely feels European with its many cafes.  The neighborhood has a huge Greek influence and the delicious desserts to go with it.  On the first night, I went to a meditation class (my first ever) at the neighborhood yoga studio.  After 48 neighborhoods of nomadding, I’m still experiencing new things.  I loved the class and actually went the following Sunday.  It’s a great way to start your week.

The nomad sponsored dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Vesta.  The food was superb, especially the brussel sprouts and the “baby Jesus” cake.  We sat at the bar and met a couple of locals.  My project came up and the people lit up at the prospect of the idea.  They have lived in Astoria for a long time, but loved the idea.  There are times I get tired of talking about nomadding, but not when you can see in people’s eyes how exciting it seems to them.  And I didn’t really get tired of talking about it with Tracy.  She had a lot of questions but many that I hadn’t thought about before.

We also went to a party put on by Boro Magazine, monthly magazine about Queens that launched a year ago.  It was at the Z Hotel, in kind of a bizarre location, but really a great space with incredible views of Manhattan. We met some other friends in the neighborhood and went to Queens Kickshaw for the famous grilled cheese.  It’s a place I’d become a regular at if I lived in Astoria.  There is often live music and on this night there was an Armenian guitarist playing.  Sweet!

One of my favorites stories of the week was going to a local pizza shop thats been around for 40 years.  An old Italian guy walked in, ordered a slice, and a shot of espresso.  You had the sense he’d probably doing this since the store opened.  The younger guy running the joint was clearly friendly with the guy.  He poured the shot of espresso into plastic up and asked, “Do you want some medicine?”  A bottle of Sambuca appeared and a shot went in the espresso (they definitely did not have a liquor license.”  I chuckled, and the young guy said “hey, i gotta keep my customers healthy.”

I like Queens and I like Astoria.  Spending a week in Astoria isn’t really enough, which Tracy reminded me of often.  It’s quite large geographically and I was pretty busy with my new job – my typical exploration and search for an interesting person to chat with wasn’t really possible.

I have to come back, and I will!

Related articles

• Welcome to Astoria, NY (poodleandpitbull.wordpress.com)
• Brighton Beach, Brooklyn (thenycnomad.net)
• Is it New York City New York or New York New York (wiki.answers.com)
• Zombies Invade Astoria for the 2011 Queens Thanksgiving Zombie Walk! (923now.radio.com)

Stayed

With Charley, a friend of former host Nate in Park Slope. We were both going to Cape Cod for the weekend so it worked out well. He’s got a nice modernly furnished apartment in Kew Gardens. This was the third borough. I am still working on Staten Island and the Bronx for anyone who wants to help a Nomad out

Commuted

On the F train, which was fine with the exception of 1 day when it took me over an hour to get to work.  I haven’t written too much about commuting, but its an interesting part of the project.  I’ll probably write a longer post at some point.  I LOVE walking to work.

Watched

A movie at Kew Gardens theater.  It’s an art house theater and pretty neat inside with posters of classic movies.  They also have discounted movies on Tuesdays and Thursdays (I went on a Wednesday). Here’s a photo of the outside of the place.  

I saw Winter’s Bone, which won best picture at Sundance. It was shot on the “red” camera which I learned about from my former hosts in Williamsburg. It’s a great movie about the impact of meth in the Ozarks. Bleak and disturbing, but powerful and worth seeing.

Ate

I met Charley for a late dinner at Dani’s House of Pizza. They have a great beer selection like these.

Say what you want about outer borough living, but these beers are about 50% off Manhattan prices.  And I really liked Dani’s — It’s an old school type of place where you can only get pizza at the bar area when you first walk in.  I would recommend dinner and a movie (the restaurant is across the street from the theater) to anyone looking for a reason to go to Queens.

We also ate at Diner when Charley came and picked me up (which was far better than the hour bus ride I had planned on) in Williamsburg. They have a Grass fed beef hamburger which is excellent. My one complaint is this place is a diner and they laughed at me when I asked for a milkshake!  Too hip for milkshakes, apparently.

Missed

Baker’s Dozen Bagels

Getting a real feel for the neighborhood. It was a pretty short stay.

Here’s some history that I’m curious to read up on.