Queens embraces innumerable small neighborhoods within neighborhoods, and no single cuisine or family of cuisines holds sway in them all. The local favorites in food and drink, and the favorite ways to enjoy them, seem to change before our eyes every time we turn a corner.
A healthy day’s walk might carry us from a single savory slice of flaky Balkan burek, to a plateful of the lush Afghan dumplings called mantu, to the excess of a Brazilian steam-table feijoada, to the splendor of a Neapolitan delizia al limone, literally a “lemon delight.”
Or maybe, instead, we’ll begin with a fried oyster onigirazu, a jewel-like Japanese sandwich framed in sushi rice and nori; indulge in a Veracruz-style cóctel de camarón with a sporty crest of avocado; tuck away an order of flame-kissed tawa kaleji, chicken livers reanimated with chili powder and ginger, Punjabi style; and put our appetite to rest with all variety of empanadas – savory, for sure, but why not sweet empanadas, too? Read more on Culinary Backstreets.
