New York Style Eats: Home of Great Food

best diner in Queens?!

(well, surely the best neon sign in Queens!)

(amazing wall mural... Mark Twain's up there. So are George and Elaine from Seinfeld!)

(this is in the bathroom. it's so cute!)

So you've seen how great the wall decor is- it's kind of like you have just stepped into someone's summer cabin living room. But really, it is all about the fast service and delicious diner fare at NY Style Eats!

Check out the size of the double espresso we got!

(wow! it's like a cup of coffee...!!)

 

The food at NY Style Eats is consistenly yummy and you get a lot for your money. They have typical diner food- eggs, bacon, pancakes, omelettes and whole lunch and dinner menu that I have yet to explore (but it looks good and the place is always busy!).

 (my bf's bacon, eggs and waffles. he pours syrup over the whole thing... gross, right!?!)

But I think the best thing on the menu is the Baked French Toast($8.25).

(probs the best thing on the menu!!)

Six pieces of Cinnamon-bread-turned-French-Toast with bacon and basically a whole banana and a whole container of strawberries. One of my favorite things about NY Style Eats is that they certainly don't skimp on the fresh fruit!

 

I love coming here. It's always good and cheap and fast and the people here are so very nice and so very Queens!

New York Style Eats

45 – 02 Queens Blvd. Sunnyside, NY 11104
Tel: (718) 937 – 4121 • 937 – 1338

http://newyorkstyleeats.com/

Baruir's

the best coffee in Sunnyside!

As seen in my cold-brew-iced-coffee-experiment, their beans are superb!

They have this incredible, giant antique coffee roaster that roasts beans to perfection (and makes the neighborhood smell like burnt toast!).

They also have a pretty amazing selection of "specialty" European items like awesome sardines and mustards and honeys and jams and things like that. They also have bulk nuts, seeds, chocolate and dried fruit which is amazing.

(all kinds of jams)

(nuts and seeds!)

They also have this awesome white cat that hangs around and a BRAND NEW KITTEN and the owner was so amazing, he let me into the back so that I could pet the kitten. omg. it was insane.

(I had to cut myself out of this picture because when I saw it, I thought, "Oh no! I am a crazy cat lady!" ...which I am destined to become one day... but I'm not ready yet!)

Anyway, they offer a selection of different roasts- we love Mocha Java, a lighter, sweeter blend, their House Blend, a darker, spicier blend, and the Columbian French Roast, bold and strong. The coffees are all about $8.99/lb.

 

You can also walk into Baruir's and get a cup of coffee, espresso or iced coffee. I have to say, getting a cup there can be hit or miss, but when it's on it's ON! Especially the iced coffee. They use coffee ice cubes which gets serious props.

(your choice of local Eastern European newspapers!)

Basically Baruir's has been in the hood for over 40 years and they should stay. So much personality and great beans!

Baruir's Coffee

4007 Queens Boulevard
NY 11104-3301
(718) 784-0842

http://www.baruirscoffee.com/

Sunnyside Center Cinemas

I know it's not food, but you really must know about Sunnyside Center Cinemas!

  

Basically it's a small movie theater tucked away on Queens Boulevard in between a divey Irish pub and a local bank. They play first-run movies and it is the cheapest theater of all time!

You can see a matinee movie for $5! Five Dollars.

 

(did I mention that movies are $5?!)

My bf and I just saw X-Men: First Class (yes, and it was actually pretty awesome!) for $10 total!

That's less than I paid (for a single ticket!) to see Thor (also awesome) last week at Astoria Kaufman theater.

Regular priced tickets are only $7.50. Also, there is a Tuesday special- all day and night movies are also $5!

("new" lobby...)

The theater is pretty crappy, but it has improved a lot recently! They renovated the inside lobby and snack counter, which is a welcome improvement. There are more than two employees working there now, too, which is nice because the guy who sells you your ticket outside no longer has to run inside periodically to start the movies (seriously, that used to happen).

The theaters are small, and sometimes empty. I've seen at least three movies where me and my movie-going companion were the only people in the theater!

("just like theater in Serbia!")

Yes, sometimes the movie will stop randomly for a minute or the screen will go fuzzy or the sound will cut out now and then, but come on people, you paid FIVE DOLLARS. And most of the time it's totally normal. 

Also, movies that are sold out elsewhere across the world are not in Sunnyside. It's like a strange void in that way. I bought 3 tickets to the first showing of the latest Twlight movie the day of (and I'm only slightly embarrassed to admit that).

We saw Crank 2 a couple of years ago (totally awesome) with a friend from Belgrade whose comment was "Looks just like movie theater in Serbia!"

Okay, so it's not a super nice theater, but whatever, you can see any brand new movie for five dollars. It's right off of the subway and super easy to get to, not to mention all of the awesome restaurants nearby that you could go to before or after the movie to spend all of the money that you saved by going to Sunnyside Center Cinemas.

 Sunnyside Center Cinemas

42-17 Queens Blvd.
Sunnyside, NY 11104
(718) 361-6869

showtimes and info here

Cold-Brew Iced Coffee Experiment

Today I decided to try my hand at cold-brewing a pitcher of iced coffee! 

I wanted to start with the ultimate awesome coffee, so I got a pound over at Baruir's (post about Baruir's coming soon!), the most awesome coffee in Sunnyside!

(why, yes, I do want the best!)

Baruir's roasts their beans in-house in a giant, antique coffee roaster which makes the whole neighborhood smell like burnt toast on a daily basis.

Their coffee is amazing. I started with a pound of Colombian French Roast ($8.99/lb) coarse-ground.

I looked up the cold-brew process and it's very simple: 4 parts water, 1 part coffee!

I filled a pitcher (from 99cent Treats, the best neighborhood 99cents store!) with 8 cups of water and 2 cups ground coffee and stirred it up! Then I left it "brewing" for about 22 hours!

(let it brew!)

Cold brewing preserves about 90% of the coffee's flavor and caffeine, but only about 15% of the harsh acids, which is why, although time consuming, it is a great way to make awesome coffee!

After the brewing was complete, I used a very fine strainer and ran the coffee through twice until it was clear of all of the unwanted sludge.

(sludge-b-gone!)

I filled a glass with some coffee ice cubes I had made the day before (essential for enjoying proper iced coffee!) and added about a third of a glassful of the coffee "concentrate." It's delicious as is, but it's strong!

(coffee ice cubes to keep it strong!)

I like mine "light," as they say here in NYC, and so I filled the cup up with milk and enjoyed a really, really amazing cup of homemade cold-brew iced coffee!!!

YUM!