best of Astoria a bike ride from western Ditmars?

[round2]

We're at Ditmars near 31st, and want to make use of the bike-riding weather to travel a little further afield in Astoria to try some restaurants out of our typical walking distance.  If anyone cares to mention your favorites that would be good for us to check out, that would be great.  The only places to rule out for this mixed omnivore/vegetarian couple would be someplace where the vegetarian can find nothing whatsoever to eat.

The destinations out of our walking distance that we do get to more frequently are Vesta, Ukus, and occasionally Kabab Cafe.  We'd like to expand our repertoire!

[Harlan]

Well, most everywhere in Astoria proper's easy to get to via N/W train. There are a couple places East of Steinway that might be good. That French place that posts ads here, maybe?

What about going to Jackson Heights, Sunnyside/Woodside, or Elmhurst? Those are nice rides away, and somewhat tedious by N->7 train combo. Indian food is veggie-friendly, as so many Indians are vegetarian. I like Deshi Biryani in JH (avoid the Biryani, though!)...

[round2]

It's more that we want to ride, even to where we could easily get to by train.  Great point though about the destinations that seem harder to get to by N & 7.  We've riden the bikes out to Jackson Heights recently a few times, which is surprisingly quick compared to how it can be by train.

There are lots of restaurants in Astoria that have been well-discussed on this board, but not so much for the last months (or years).  This board (or is it me?) can sometimes seem sort of Ditmars-centric, so I was interested to hear people's current favorites out from this part of the neighborhood.

Harlan, thanks for those ideas by the way.  You can bet I'll be heading over to Deshi Biryani, if not tonight, then soon.

[TRX]

I would not really see a reason to branch out beyond Vesta.   
But if you are looking for somewhat nearby places, there could be Les Minots.
Is Stove still doing okay?

Near LIC, Tournesol and perhaps Manducatis Rustica or Creek/Cave.
Might as well go over the bridge to check out Brooklyn Ice Cream.

How would be the ride to thai outside of Astoria?


Please share if you find some welcomed discoveries.

[SpokesmanCycles]

Near LIC, Tournesol and perhaps Manducatis Rustica or Creek/Cave.
Might as well go over the bridge to check out Brooklyn Ice Cream.

How would be the ride to thai outside of Astoria?
[/quote]

Great suggestions, especially Manducatis Rustica! Also in LIC, we like TukTuk and SushiSiam for Thai. With any of these, you can end up at Water Taxi Beach for a drink.

If you'd like to go further, the bike land makes 34th Avenue to two-wheeled equivalent of the 7 train. You'll have lots of Indian and Latin American Places to choose from in Jackson Heights and can keep going for Chinese food in Flushing. And Lemon Ice King of Corona is always a great place to stop on a bike ride! (Just keep in mind this weekend that Flushing Meadows and the surrounding area will be very crowded because of Tennis.)

[round2]

These are great ideas!

It was SUCH a perfect bike-riding night last night.  We ended up heading out into Elmhurst and eating at an Indonesian restaurant, Minang Asli (sometimes listed as Minangasli).  It's on Whitney Ave., that cool little curved street winding east (?) off of Broadway alongside the elevated Long Island railroad tracks in Elmhurst, where other chow spots include Chao Thai, Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House, and a second Indonesian place, Mie Jakarta.

Terrific place.  The meat-eater could do little more than groan with pleasure plowing through the 5 skewers of chicken satas (satay) with peanut sauce.  We shared two appetizers - perkedel jagung, fried minced corn pancakes, and tahu isi, fried stuffed tofu and vegetable, which came with a different, very tasty peanut sauce.  I had a very good gado gado (especially with the addition of the hot chili sauce on the side).  His glass of shredded young coconut on ice was a little too sweet, but my Indonesian style lemonade was excellent, just barely sweetened.  We finished with Kolak Pisang, sort of a dessert soup with banana and sweet potato in coconut and brown sugar.  I was expecting something more like a custard or pudding, but once I adjusted, it seriously grew on me - kind of addictive.

Now today's another beautiful day for a ride - so many options.  Maybe Flushing, or Greenpoint.  I never have been to the Lemon Ice King of Corona either, and then there's Andre's Hungarian Bakery out past Rego Park...

[Christine]

Ah, I'd love to lead a ride to Corona Ice King, but might not have the time this weekend (wedding crap + mtb rides).

Someday I could do a tour of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and even the Kissena Corridor to Alley Pond and back for those who are ambitious. Could even be a week-evening thing, say 5-7:30pm. Tricky part is getting from here to the park, though 

Corona has a couple of other amazing food places: Corona Pizza, Mama's deli, Italian bakery next door, and a pasta store.

Flushing is a mob scene (like Chinatown) but also has some great, cheap eats. And bubble tea! 

[round2]

Great day today!  Rode out to Flushing, then hit Corona on the way back to Astoria.  Had the weekend lunch buffet at Southern Spice, an excellent South Indian restaurant that does not focus on dosas, etc.  Didn't have the meat things (goat, lamb, chicken, etc.), so can't report on them.  On the veg side, there was idli and sambhar, vada, a spinach dish, a cauliflower dish, a potato dish, a rasam (soup).  Only the (good) naan, and the papadum seemed essentially similar to what I've had other places.  Everything else was not just fresh and flavorful, but distinctly spiced in a way that made it taste different than similar dishes I've had elsewhere.

Needless to say, I left there pretty full, to wander the block a bit, since Southern Spice is around the corner from two legendary Flushing institutions, Dosa Hutt, and the Temple Canteen.  I've been to Dosa Hutt, but it's been a few years now, but what a great place.  Virtually all they do is dosas - it sort of reminds of very humble neighborhood rib joints in the south from years back, except it is dosas that you get at the counter.

The Temple Canteen is in the basement of the Ganesh Hindu Temple, which is open and functional while currently undergoing renovation.  As I passed the main entrance of the Temple, it looked extraordinary inside, but as worshippers removed their shoes to go inside, I didn't feel like it was appropriate to enter just to gawk.  I did join the crowd downstairs in the Temple Canteen, I guess just to gawk, since I was still stuffed.  What a great place - I can't wait to come back to try the dosas and other items listed available when you wait on line to order and pick up your food, cafeteria-style.

Leaving Flushing, I rode into Corona and made a bee-line for Timmy O's Frozen Custard.  Timmy was there, and enthusiastic to describe the difference between frozen custard and ice cream - far less air pumped into it, in part.  I had the very thick, creamy, excellent strawberry, and enjoyed it while Timmy demonstrated his pride in his business (he was making chocolate frozen custard while I was there) with each interaction with everyone who wandered in, apparently mostly folks from the neighborhood.

Never having gone before, I couldn’t resist seeking out the Lemon Ice King of Corona while I was in the area.  Just a few blocks away, I intended just to eye it, but ended up getting a small mint shaved ice which was phenomenal.  That’s a cool place actually.  Not just hype.

Good thing I had a decent ride to get back to Astoria, because I seriously needed to work off some of what I’d consumed by that point.  I intended to head for the 34th Ave. bike lane, but couldn’t resist riding most of Roosevelt west, which was completely bursting with life on this warm, gorgeous Saturday.

[round2]

Christine, you seemed to have a little ESP going on, while I was typing away there.  Another Corona spot I'd be interested in is Tortilleria Nixtamal, which I keep hearing about.  I stopped by on my way to Timmy O's, and that place looks pretty great too, a nice guy working there said that while it's mostly a carnivore's dream, they make a couple of things for vegetarians, with awareness of avoiding the lard they use in their masa.  Will go back, and then struggle with deciding whether to hit up Timmy O's again, or the Lemon Ice King - or both.

[megc]

Nixtamal is wonderful - it's just a couple blocks away from Timmy O's, which is also awesome.  I need to get back there soon!

[Christine]

Oh wow, that's one helluva tour!! Thanks for posting it 

I've tried Nixtamal, but it's a little far from my office so I can't indulge often. Ice King, however, is within walking distance.

I'll have to try that custard place, not even sure where it is. Amazing the hidden gems in that area.

OH, how could I forget- Empanadas del Parque- further down toward the LIE on 108th St. Amazing and cheap.

[KevieJ]

I have to agree that Empanadas del parque is one of the greatest places to grab some food.  We often end up going places that conveniently make for an easy detour there!

[pineapple]

What route are folks using when they bike to Flushing and other interesting non-Astoria spots?