John Brown Smokehouse

After I posted about John Brown Smokehouse many months ago, my friends really wanted to go check it out. After a false start, we rescheduled for just after the New Year, and traveled 4 strong to the remote location in Long Island City. Coincidentally, we were there the same night Frommers was there checking it out… Dean way over-ordered; cole slaw, burnt ends, lamb chops, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, collards… We each got our own trays overflowing with food, but since I hadn’t yet tried the mac & cheese, I took a photo of TC’s m&c and tried a bite.  [...]

Birthday Bar Hopping – Canz & Sweet Afton

Following the Heinz press event, I headed into Astoria to meet up with friends for one last happy hour – at Canz.  Unfortunately, Canz has some weird happy hour that isn’t every day, so on this Thursday, we contented ourselves just drinking and eating what TC and I had enjoyed last time, for full price.  Close to Halloween, El Pizza Padre showed up to show off his muscles.  Hilarious.  There are other pictures of El Pizza Padre in action that night, but those’re for those who were there…  I ordered a side of sweet potato waffle fries to munch on [...]

John Brown Smokehouse

James is one of my favoritest people ever.  Why?  Because he discovers these places I would never discover on my own, and he invites me to join him while exploring them.  Hello?!  What’s not to love about a person who shares awesome discoveries?  In any case, one October Friday, I joined him and Noah for lunch at John Brown Smokehouse, a relatively newcomer to the BBQ scene.  I don’t know much about BBQ, I only know what I like to eat, but that’s enough for me After I arrived and a small bit of conferring, our order was placed at [...]

Uncle George’s Greek Tavern

After Canz, TC really wanted to go to this street meat cart.  The games had been called on account of rain, none of us had umbrellas, but we gamely trekked around Astoria and discovered they’d gone home.  So instead we wandered over to Uncle George’s, where both TC and Gary had been before (separately), and got our Greek food on.  As soon as I saw taramosalata (cod roe spread/dip) on the menu, I had to get it.  I seek this out everywhere I go, and luckily, the boys obliged and helped me eat it.  This was definitely not the jarred [...]

Canz A Citi Roadhouse

  I love baseball, passionately.  My team is not in the playoffs, and by the time this post goes live, we’ll know who’s in the World Series.  But I love watching baseball, and if I can extend the season by watching other teams… well, so be it.  And so it was that TC and I headed over to Canz in Astoria to check out the Hooters-wannabe place, enjoy a great happy hour special ($5 apps), and watch the game on one of the many TVs around the sports bar.  (And then the game got called on account of rain.)   Canz [...]