We Heart Astoria Food Talk: 5/1/13

Welcome to May everyone! We can’t believe the year is going by so fast and that spring is officially here.  The weather looks great for this weekend, so we hope you have a chance to explore some of the below neighborhood delights.

The We Heart Astoria crew got first dibs on a dinner preview at MP Taverna, which was truly awesome.  Some of the standouts included    this charred octopus dish, their homemade meatballs, Cypriot lamb sausage, and the desserts such as the Greek yogurt with fresh fruit was simple but irresistible.  We also lent our thoughts about MP in yesterday’s Daily News – check it out.  31-29 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria.  718.777.2187

Did you hear that a new high-end Japanese restaurant called Hibino is opening up in LIC?  It’ll be right next to PNT Fitness – healthy body and sushi…the two go together :)

Last week we mentioned The Queens Kickshaw’s new dinner menu, but tonight we actually gave it a try.  Wowza…it was stupendous!  My personal favorites were the wild sesame spaetzle (the sesame just burst in your mouth), the fontina and hard cider arancini, and for dessert, you can’t skip the beer ice cream affogato. Oh my!  40-17 Broadway, Astoria.  718.777.0913

Don’t forget that Rest-Au-Rant’s brunch debuts this weekend – think anything from a fried apples waffle to a beer braised short rib grilled cheese and fried egg sandwich.  30-01 35th Avenue, Astoria.  718.729.9009

We loved seeing Astor Bake Shop’s, Chef George McKirdy alongside Sandra Lee (yeah, don’t make fun of us), Mario Batali, Martha Stewart, and other celebs, baking for a great cause today at Grand Central Terminal, #worldslargestbakesale.  Proceeds went to Share Our Strength to end childhood hunger.

I was totally salivating over the meaty yummies over at Sunnyside’s Salt & Fat.  Their most indulgent eats are the meaty kind and this Berkshire Pork Trotter with spicy mayo and a slow cooked eggs looks mighty inviting.  Check out some of their other enticing eats on their Facebook page.  41-16 Queens Blvd, Sunnyside.  718.433.3702