Oh, the joy to be back in my hometown of NYC, if even for a week! I wouldn't have fully enjoyed my Thanksgiving vacation without a Tasting Queens trip with my big sis, Shauna. So, on Monday, the day after I returned to New York, Shauna and I got up and planned our day. By 11 AM we were out of the house, on our way to a quick hangout in Manhattan. I fangirled over everything. "I can take the traiiiinnn!!!" "Look Shauna, I get to swipe the MetroCard!!" "OMG I haven't been in a tunnel in three months!!" "I miss the subway so much!!!"
After our little excursion we hopped on the M train to 67th Drive, and got off on the Queens Boulevard side. Just up the street was our Tasting Queens country destination, Andre's Hungarian Strudels and Pastries (Being only a bakery because there was no true Hungarian restaurant to be found.) We step inside and were welcomed by lots of delicious -looking desserts and a kindly woman, named Gabriella, who was running the register. The bakery had a rather nice feel to it even though it was an undoubtedly small space. For the dessert sampling I chose the walnut-roll beigli, apple fruit square, and a cherry-and-cheese strudel. I couldn't wait to devour it all but of course my sister strongly suggested that we waited until we got home so we could take nicer pictures of it, and that we had an actual meal to eat first.
We walked down a few streets, our main dilemna being that we didn't know of any good restaurants in that part of Forest Hills. We were both in the mood for Asian food, but I was not having any oily American-style "Chinese" food, which Shauna suggested. So just in time I spotted a Thai restaurant directly across the street. After the delicious meal we decided that it was finally time to go home and eat our Hungarian desserts. We hopped on the F train and then the bus home.
I was so ready to taste the delicious desserts and almost sunk my fork into the strudel before I was quickly stopped. "I didn't take any pictures yet!" Shauna said. Bewildered, I grabbed my fork and waited (im)patiently for Shauna to slowly place each treat on a white placemat and slowly reposition for the pictures. It probably wasn't more than a couple minutes but it felt like forever until Shauna finally handed me my plate with a slice of the studel, a piece of the beigli and most of the apple square. The strudel was a piece of fruity, creamy Heaven-- thin, crisp cover (crust) on the outside that melted into a soft, smooth cheesy inside that the soft, tasty cherries didn't fail to complete.
The apple fruit square was also really nice--the covering was a bit hard and crunchy and the apple inside was fresh and moderately sweet. The beigli? That was a whole different story. I really didn't know what exactly to expect in terms of flavor, but the amount of it made me feel like there was a sense explosion going on in my mouth, and that's an understatement. The beigli had a chocolate layer at the top, then an overly sweet cake layer followed by an even sweeter fruit-gel layer, followed by a sour, creamy coffee mousse layer followed by the nutty walnut layer. The layers formed a roll and kept repeating. It was just too much for the mouth to handle. I just couldn't tell if I liked it or not because there was too much going on!!
The desserts were indeed a memorable experience, and the strudel and beigli indeed had an extended life, as the large strudel strip lasted for a good 3 days and most of the beilgi still remains untouched in the refrigerator. I enjoyed spending time with my sister and enjoying some multicultural deliciousness together. Hopefully on my next vacation I can enjoy another adventurous experience!
~teh end~
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