SpB and I met up around Austin Street recently and headed over to 5 Burro Cafe, but it was unfortunately super packed!  So we turned around and headed to MG’s, which was… really empty.  MG’s used to be Mardi Gras, which I’ve written about here and here.  Neither time was impressive nor horrifying (well, that 2nd time was borderline horrifying), and with the new name, I figured new management or at least a new menu…

The bread was the same as I’d remembered it, nothing spectacular but nice to munch on since I was really hungry.

We started off with a basket of curly fries cuz SpB should be renamed FRIES Bear… these were nice and crispy, hot.  Yummy but how do you go wrong with curly fries? 

SpB ordered the etouffee, which she said was pretty good.  I didn’t try any but she seemed happy with it.

As for me, I was trying to find something interesting or semi-healthy but wound up with ‘blackened’ tilapia, veggies, and hush puppies.  The fish was fine enough, a bit dry but nothing a lil squirt of lemon didn’t take care of quite nicely.  But the fish wasn’t particularly flavorful or anything… BUT THE HUSH PUPPIES.  Oh my, the hush puppies… I’d never had real hush puppies before that I could recall, and these were just awesome.  Crisp ’shell’, fluffy interior, slightly sweet – like the perfect donut bites that I get to eat with my meal, not wait till the end.  Oh my word!  Me like. 

Yvo says: MG’s (formerly Mardi Gras) continues to be an overwhelmingly mediocre, but inoffensively so.  It certainly fulfills a need on Austin Street, to be slightly less than the same as everyone else, and as it wasn’t busy, we were seated immediately, which is a great bonus on busy nights when you just want to eat something quick before a movie or after, even.  It will continue to be on the back-up list; unless and until they improve their food, it won’t move up, but nor will it move off the list, either. 
middle of the road – suits its purpose, but not amazingly so

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On any given Sunday, I take a walk up to Austin St. in Forest Hills for a few reasons.  Partially to get some exercise and fresh air, partially to check out what’s new in the area, and partially just for the heck of it.  It’s a nice brisk walk and there’s always something to buy! 

First stop is always Sakura-ya, especially if I haven’t eaten lunch yet.  I like to wander around inside and browse the Japanese market for all sorts of goodies, most great for bento.  They have a small section of bento supplies, though I find their stuff a bit expensive (and honestly, I think I really do not need more bento stuff!), but they also have Japanese curry bricks (of which I’m a huge fan), frozen udon, frozen gyoza, frozen Japanese treats (such as curry udon), frozen croquettes for frying up for bento or just for lunch… they also have sashimi grade fish (which admittedly does not look as fresh as my markets in Manhattan, so I haven’t bought any of this yet), various kinds of tofu, seaweed salad, even burdock root!  While a lot of their prices are a bit high, I consider it the little premium I pay for being able to purchase this stuff so close to home.  And though I can’t speak to their authenticity, the clientele there tends to be Japanese people – I often hear the store owners speaking Japanese with their regulars. 

What I’ve found myself going back for each weekend, though, is by the register… on the counter.  They sell onigiri, which you know I love, and is a quick, inexpensive, filling lunch or snack.

Spicy tuna, tuna with mayo, salmon, seaweed, and on one recent visit, a shrimp tempura one.  $1.49 except the shrimp tempura one, which was $1.79.  The prices aren’t bad, about comparable with the ones in Manhattan, and the taste is about the same.  Not bad at all, and close to home

On another recent visit, I saw this sitting on the counter as well.  I can’t read Japanese, and had never seen anything like it before, so I shyly asked what it was.  Curry pan!!!  (Bread with curry insides.)  I was so excited I almost dropped everything I was holding to grab one. 

The inside.  It was pretty tasty, though it reminds me of “curry gok” (a Chinese bakery item)… the spicing is similar, anyway, though this was much bigger and the outside chewier.  I would definitely get this again, although I haven’t seen this since then, sadface.

I’ve also seen freshly made croquettes and “pork pancakes” on the counter, it just varies all the time what they have.  I’ve liked the croquette much more than the pork pancake, which wasn’t quite flavorful enough for me, sadly. 

Next, after I scarf down my quick and cheap lunch, I make my way across the street diagonally to Natural Market.

Half of which is an organic, slightly upscale grocery, the other half of which is pretty normal.  Their prices seem pretty normal for this style of store, but I always go straight back to the left, where the “butcher” stand is – I put it in quotes because it doesn’t seem like they will cut all meat to your specifications, I’m not sure.  From the first time I went, I was asking “Do you have duck breast?” and I was told to check back in a few days.  I checked back every week for about 5 weeks – half a duck; whole duck; smoked duck breast; finally:

A bit pricy, but I had the duck I wanted, anyway!  They have a decent cheese selection as well though let’s be honest… Cheese of the World is much better since it isn’t pre-cut and packaged up, just waiting for you. 

In good weather, I might stop by Uncle Louie G’s as I walked back for an Italian ice – I like FDNY cherry the best, with its little bits of maraschino cherries.

I’m forever eyeing this place, wishing it would open already so I could have a fish market.  I’m desperate for a fresh fish market, and a butcher in this area, so if any realtors or businesspeople are listening… please open a damn butcher already.  Thank you.

If I’m looking for cheese, or if I’m with the BF, I might stop by Cheese of the World here, just to grab some stuff for dinner ….. or a living room picnic while watching a DVD … and if we’re doing that, definitely a quick stop by Martha’s to pick up some tarts or cookies!

Ahhh… this is one of only two locations for this chain of Chinese bakeries that are located in non-Asian neighborhoods.  Cheap baked goods and delicious bao is my kind of place.  If you’re familiar with the area, I’m obviously making my way back home at this point… I pick up a week’s worth of breakfast here usually for about $5 – steamed bao from the case next to the register.  I freeze them and just microwave one in the morning for my breakfast, and at 95c a piece, you can’t beat that. 

Last but not least, because the grocery store closest to me (a block from me, literally) sucks big butt, I usually stop by

if I have anything that I know I need, some bread, ground pork, small things.  I don’t like to carry too much back, and I don’t want to push my grannycart all the time  

After all that, it’s time to go home, unload my goodies and start cooking up a storm, whatever moves me! 

In the summertime, I would bring my boyfriend with me and drop him off at the comic book store that is above Corfu Grill, where he’d happily wait until I was done running my errands.  Occasionally, we’d grab a bite to eat at Nick’s – or Corfu Grill – or Mardi Gras – or Cheeburger Cheeburger – or wherever struck our fancy.  And yes, we catch movies over at the Midway all the time.

I’ve told all of my friends this, and I’ll say it again: I love Forest Hills, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to buy a place – young couples or singles.  It’s a great investment and I can’t emphasize how wonderful the area is, with lots of things to do and eat.  I have great expectations for how much more will come in the future, as the bad places are weeded out…

Happy wandering~!!!

Sakura-ya
73-05 Austin Street

Natural Market
72-56 Austin Street

Uncle Louie G’s
72-23 Austin Street

Cheese of the World
71-48 Austin Street

Martha’s Bakery
70-30 Austin Street

Fay Da Bakery
107-50 Queens Boulevard

Key Food
105-02 Queens Boulevard

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Post tags: Bakeries, Breakfast, Brunch, Cheap Eats, Chinese, Creole, Deli, Duck

BB and I recently had a “date” – she was feeling a bit stir crazy, I think, from cleaning and organizing all day, and I was much the same.  I obliged but asked if we could stay in Queens – Forest Hills, to be exact – and she responded positively.  Hooray for Forest Hills! 

Many months ago, at another friend’s apartment in Forest Hills, we’d tried to order delivery from Mardi Gras only to be told they don’t deliver.  Oddly enough, when we went this night, I noticed that on their specials blackboard outside, there it was in chalk: WE DELIVER.  Oh well!  But that’s how this place landed on BB’s radar.  I’m fairly easy going, so I agreed to return to this Cajun-esque place. 

We started off with the Big Easy platter ($12.95), which contained a nice variety of items: popcorn crawfish, finger lickin’ chicken wings, N’awlins fritters, and Jammin’ Jamabalaya.  The popcorn crawfish, which I’d had last time, was worse this time – I don’t think I had any crawfish.  BB trooped on and found one tiny piece in one, but out of all that, that’s pretty bad. 

The chicken wings were very meh to me, I don’t recall why but I wasn’t too interested in them.  The jamabalaya had a great flavor to it, mildly spicy but grew spicier with each bite…

but the best of this dish was hands down the N’awlins fritters.  Described on the menu as “a delicious blend of shrimp, jalapenos, cheese and potatoes, lightly breaded and fried until crispy” – uh yes they were!  Well, I didn’t actually taste any shrimp, it was mostly potatoes and cheese that I tasted, but hello, that’s right up my alley.  Next time I’m there – or perhaps one day, just walking by – I’m totally getting these by themselves as an appetizer.  $6.95 for the single order – not sure how many that is, but delicious!!!  The cheese sauce that accompanied was pretty darn tasty as well! 

Our main course orders though?  That’s where we made our missteps.  Knowing we were headed to see a movie directly after dinner, we both wanted something not too crazy, something that might not yield any leftovers, something maybe a little light.  All the plates around us were loaded with food – this place does not skimp on food, for the price you get a LOT of food – and we just didn’t want to deal with food coma.  So I decided to get a catfish po’boy, and after some thought, BB decided on the same.  Looks innocent enough up there, right?

BB’s order with onion rings.  Ginormous.  I tried one and didn’t find them seasoned enough, though they weren’t soggy and had a good texture to them.

That’s my plate – supposedly with curly fries.  Umm… I’m not sure this picture captures exactly the emptiness of the fries side.  It seriously looked like someone had eaten half my fries before dropping my plate off.  Had I been hungrier, had we not been going to a movie after dinner, I might have said “No, really, you have to take this back, it’s gross,” but I decided against fussing (and even so, I might not have fussed because I’m a pretty passive diner – choosing instead to write about my experiences later, lol). 

There, that’s a bit better to show you how few fries there are – I hadn’t started eating yet.  Hmm, now looking at that pic, it looks like someone had used my garlic spread as well… oh man, I don’t want to know these things!

In any case, while the fries were tasty, the sandwich was decidely not.  Super fishy in that “I’m not quite rotten but you really don’t want to eat me anyway” way… and just not enough fish to too much bread and too little insides!  I will not be ordering this again, though I don’t hold this one bad dish against the restaurant (since I’ve been there a few times and know there are other items worth looking into).  No po’boys!  It’s the cheapest item on the menu, at $9.95. 

Our service was also decidely off that night – our waitress more interested in teaching the table of tourists next to us Spanish than in telling us the specials - but that’s a lot of places on Austin Street, hit or miss.  She didn’t ignore us, and we had what we needed, when we needed it, so it’s not a big deal… just funny to listen to. 

I will return again… especially for those N’awlins fritters!!!

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Post tags: Creole

I actually came here with LTS a few days before I departed for San Francisco, but haven’t had the opportunity to post about it yet.  Since it’s been so long, and I didn’t take notes, I’m just going to share the pictures and the overall feeling with which I came away from the place.

On a Tuesday night, the place was fairly empty, which worked out in our favor.  I can imagine the place being quite a bit louder if there ere more people around, so I was happy that the large place had just a few tables of people scattered around.  Actually, the place, despite its Southern/New Orleans name, gives off the air of being a sports bar – there’s a large bar running along the lefthand side, and the Mets game (sigh) was playing when we were there. 

Really cute, at every table setting there were beads – the kind you get in New Orleans during Mardi Gras for, um, flashing your goods. 

Much like when we’d gone to Mardi Gras, we opted to start with a fried appetizer – this time, fried calamari.  I found it a touch spicy, but not overwhelmingly so, but overall, very mediocre.  Nothing special.

Our entrees both came with salads, and we both noted that we didn’t like the dressing being plopped on top for us.  Yes, in days of “old”, it was normal to request the dressing on the side, but in recent times, that seems to be more the norm, so I didn’t think to request it (plus I haven’t been to places that give you a starter salad like so in a long time).  It wasn’t a big deal, but a point to note.  Also, the waitstaff was a little weird – our waitress may have been high – everyone kept trying to take our fried calamari while we were still eating, and our salads were not served until we’d finished with the calamari.  I think both of us would have been fine picking at both while we chatted (when we get together to eat, we eat, but we also spend a LOT of time chatting).  So otherwise, our salads were fine.

LTS chose the skirt steak.  The FULL skirt steak.  When they say FULL here, they mean FULL.

*To protect the innocent, I had to cut her smiling face out of the picture.

Dude, that’s longer than my arm from shoulder to wrist, maybe to fingertip.  I’m not a short girl, so that’s pretty damn long.  I know she took more than half of it home as leftovers cuz there’s no way she could eat that whole thing.  For $22ish, that’s pretty darn inexpensive… as for taste, I believe she liked it, I don’t remember exactly, but I know it wasn’t negative.

Remembering my positive experience at Mardi Gras, I ordered the ribs with fries.  The giant bread thing is cornbread, which was tasty enough.  The ribs were okay, I don’t remember them standing out much, though I do remember taking half home and eating them for dinner the next night.  Nothing jumps out at me, so it couldn’t be bad or too good.  Fries were standard. 

Yvo says: Overall, not a bad place for some casual fare for moderate to inexpensive prices.  I think they have good drinks too, but its location in Bayside (accessible to me best by car) makes it a place I won’t be frequenting often.  They are also affiliated with the Austin Steak & Ale House, which is right outside the Kew Gardens LIRR stop, and much closer to my location – I could probably go there and order the same food.  To be honest, none of the dishes were much in the way of Cajun or New Orleans-ish – not sure why it’s called Bourbon Street, really.  Tasty, but not destination dining, though they also frequently have specials you might want to check out. 
recommended for casual American fare

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Mardi Gras, as the name suggests, is a restaurant specializing in Louisiana/New Orleans/Southern/Cajun/Creole cooking.  A pretty lofty goal, I admit, and though I’d been here once before – uhhh, 5 years ago, actually, possibly to the day (my memory has weird quirks: I know with whom I went, I know I almost slapped him, but I have no idea what I ordered nor if I liked it or not, and most days, I can’t remember what I ate yesterday, which is why I take pictures of everything… that, and I like to) – I was game to try it again recently for my best friend and I’s occasionally dinner meet up (we’re both very busy people!). 

Its location on busy Austin Street in Forest Hills, Queens, makes it a great location to attract the younger crowd before or after a movie for dates.  However, the Tuesday night we went, it didn’t seem busy at all and I wonder if that’s because the young people who tend to hang in the area might prefer sticking to the larger chain restaurants that also occupy Austin Street’s general area: TGI Friday’s, Pizzeria Uno, Johnny Rockets… 

In any case, the emptier location was a welcome relief – for me, from my annoying coworkers, from other noisy restaurants, from work in general, and for her, from the cacophony of patients she’d been dealing with.  We chatted away our night, but you’re not here to listen to me blather about our friendship…

LTS had done her research beforehand, and told me that reviews had said the ribs were good.  After much debate, we actually wound up both ordering the ribs, along with an appetizer to share of fried crawfish.

We found the dish tasty enough – most things deep fried are pretty tasty if you like fried stuff, as we do – but inconsistent throughout the dish.  For example, I picked up a piece and tasted it plain first to get a handle on whether it needed sauce.  I thought my piece was a bit blandly seasoned, and was about to comment so, when LTS picked up a piece, ate it, and said “Hmm, that’s kind of salty,” to my surprise.  So I tried a piece from her side and she tried a piece from mine, but the inconsistency was sprinkled throughout.  Some pieces were entirely too much batter, and others were just right, crispy and delicious.  We still finished the whole plate, and overall agreed that it was good, but the inconsistency was of note.

On the menu, the St. Louis ribs came with mashed potatoes, but I envisioned attempting to eat ribs with my hands and then trying to fork some mashed potatoes, so I requested a change to curly fries, which the waitress didn’t make a comment.  When LTS ordered, she wanted sweet potato fries, and again, no argument from the waitress.  (Sometimes when I want to make substitutions, I notice servers give me a problem or forget, so this was a bonus point for her.)

I have to say, these ribs were really good!  The meat separated easily from the bone (the way I like them to; I know some people prefer ribs that stick to the bones and you chew off the meat), and the sauce was very flavorful.  Not quite the same as my own personal recipe, but still a nice tangy kick to the BBQ and enough sauce to really meld the meat together.  The fries were fairly standard, and LTS liked her sweet potato fries.  I wound up taking a few ribs home and eating them for lunch the next day. 

The prices were reasonable, not expensive nor cheap, and we were both satisfied with everything.  One odd thing to note was we were both starving when we sat down, and to our dismay, every table around ours but us got a basket of bread.  We received nothing!  I was surprised and so hungry that I wanted to tell someone, but no one was around, either!  I don’t really know what was up with that, but whatever… Also of note is that most people leaving the restaurant carried a bag of leftovers, so order accordingly. 

Yvo says: While not actually a chain (or perhaps it is, and I just don’t know any other locations?), the food, location and decor hold up as though a chain – nothing outstanding and nothing horrible either, comfortable for people to keep going back to, and standard American fare cuisine (with a smattering of more Louisiana-geared items, like po’boys and crawfish dishes).  Not a big deal but not a huge disappointment either. 
middle of the road… recommended if you’re in the area and bored of more mainstream American fare as is dominant in the area

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Post tags: Creole