We Heart Astoria Food Talk *Almost Thanksgiving Edition*

With a week before Thanksgiving, we’ve got one thing on our mind – food! There’s so much to indulge in, as we prepare for next week, why not start eating well now? Here’s a few suggestions to get you going:

There’s a new burger at 5 Napkin, and it celebrates the bird – turkey that is. Packed with lots of hearty flavors such as goat cheese, crispy shallots and a cranberry ketchup, it’s the perfect thing to get you excited for Thanksgiving. 35-01 36th Street, Astoria. 718.433.2727

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we’ve got lots of suggestions for you, so make sure you check out our big Thanksgiving post of tasties, which we’ll keep updating all the way through next week.

Doing a little gluten free experiment for the next two weeks, I’ve been paying special attention to Astoria restaurants that help cater to special diets. Check out my top gluten free Astoria recos. If you’d also like to get gluten free ideas from a local Astorian, make sure you check out our friend Erin’s Gluten Free Blog Fun blog.

Can you believe that The Strand has officially turned 1? Love it or hate it, this much talked about smokehouse celebrated their baby b-day with a not so baby shin-dig on Sunday eve. We enjoyed lots of smoky bites including their brisket, pulled pork, and the totally irresistible, maple glazed chicharron! 25-27 Broadway, Astoria. 718.440.3231

The We Heart Astoria crew had the pleasure to dine at Bear last week where we sampled their new winter menu items. Chef Natasha proudly showcased comfort food eats such as hearty borscht, smoky paprika fries, a stew-like trout dish, homemade sausage, beet salad and some homestyle desserts for good measure. 12-14 31st Avenue, LIC. 917.396.4939

The Baroness, a new bar on Crescent Street just north of Queensboro Plaza, bills itself as “The Long Island City Local” and opened Tuesday night, serving beer, wine, and flatbreads. We tried a couple of pints, which were tasty, and had one of their delicious flatbreads, ours cheekily titled “Som’ Bitch” at $14. It was like a rectangular, very thin crust pizza topped with chorizo, tasso ham, hot dry milanos (a kind of salami), mozzarella, and a house spicy sauce all on a fennel crust. It was a true flavor bomb, a meat lover’s delight, and extremely delicious. 41-26 Crescent Street, Long Island City. 718.784.5065

2 Comments

judith November 24th, 2013

Thanks for the feedback, Courtney. We’ll definitely consider adding more gluten free content in the future. In fact, we may tap into some external contributors that are focused on this topic, and we’ll keep you posted about that. Thank you for your Pinterest boards – they are great.

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Courtney November 21st, 2013

Keep the gluten free posts coming! My husband and I don’t have many issues in Astoria but I have to always talk to the rest/staff/waiters etc. Love that a few places have separate GF menus or have stars next to them etc. The Sandwich Bar, Locale, Butcher Shop, Ovelia, Brick Cafe, Bare Burger, Sac are just some my favorites! .
I try to add all GF friendly restaurants to my Pinterest boards. I also have a Astoria/Queens Boards:
http://www.pinterest.com/eventsbeyond/gluten-free-dining/
http://www.pinterest.com/eventsbeyond/astoria-lic-queens-new-york/

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