Brazilain Street Food the Tasting Queens Way

In this recipe we've turned Brazilian street food on it's heels. The biggest twist was that we indulged and used Shiitaki Mushrooms in place of bread and chose to serve them with grilled zucchini wedges rather than the traditional oily French Fries. Not to worry, we didn't spare any of the flavor. So break out that grill already and enjoy this Summer recipe with your friends.

Ingredients:

Two large Shiitake Mushrooms
6oz All beef burger patty
One large Steak Tomato
1oz Fresh Corn Kernels
1oz Micro Greens
1 Egg
1tsp Capers
1/2 tsp of your favorite steak seasoning
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1tsp Green Goddess Anything Dressing

Now let's get cooking. I used a George Foreman grill for this recipe but feel free to fire up your outdoor grill if you have one. Heat grill to 500-600 degrees (outdoor) and place seasoned patty on it. Cook with lid open for about 3 minutes on each side. I like my meat close to well done, so feel free to cook yours the way you like them.

While the burger patty is getting those gorgeous grill marks, heat medium pan and add vegetable oil. Beat the egg and fry. Before flipping, top with corn and capers. Remove from pan and set aside. Slice tomatoes and set aside. It's now time to remove the burger from the hot grill and leave it to rest. You can either grill the mushrooms for approximately 2 minutes or if you so desire (as I did), you can heat a pan and sear them for about 1 minute on each side using a quick spritz of cooking spray. Next sear cut Zucchini wedges and set aside.

Now it's time to stack! Start with one of the mushrooms, then add the fried egg. Place beef patty next and top with greens. Add dressing and top with remaining mushroom bun. Finish plating your master piece by adding a quick salad and vegetable wedge. You are now ready to indulge your senses. Dig in and enjoy!

Tasting Brazilian Street Food at Pao De Queijo

A brisk Monday night took my sister Shannice and I to Astoria, Queens to taste some classic flavors of Brazil. This was not to be the typical meat fest like most would expect at a Brazilian Grill but rather a taste of authentic Brazilian street food in the form of a Burger.
Pao De Quijo is a quaint little eatery is located at 34-01 30th Street in Astoria, NY. It can be easily identified by the large flag of Brazil that's hung outside. At the entry is a counter and dessert case and a friendly member of staff is ready to greet us.

We are then told to seat ourselves as he followed us with the menus. The list of burgers are quite extensive and the various toppings intriguing. Our server took time explaining his recommendations in the most beautiful accent. We both found this a really great addition to our experience and I share in a schoolgirl-like giggle or two with my sister ;-)

We finally get down to ordering and chose Mandioca Com Carne Ou Frango (A Yucca patty filled with beef and cheese) and Pastel De Carne Ou Queijo Chicken/Cheese (Brazilian Empanadas). They arrive, and do not disappoint. They are cooked to golden perfection and served hot. The Yucca patty is moist with a slight breaded crust and the beef/cheese filling is delightful. The Cheese Empanada is a crusty, crunchy cheesy goody. It was amazing that we managed to share equally. The Chicken version is also well received, leaving us anxious for a taste of the burgers.

Our first Burger was made of Sliced Beef, Cheese, Bacon, Egg, Brazilian Sausage, Corn, Potato Sticks, Lettuce and Tomatoes or second Burger was a Chicken Burger with Cream Cheese, Corn Lettuce and Tomatoes and our third was a made of Ground Beef, Ham, Egg, Smoked Sausage, Corn, Lettuce and Tomatoes. The Chicken and Beef Patties were seasoned to perfection. The Sliced Beef was succulent and full of flavor. Let's face it, anything that's served with Bacon and Sausage is a winner in our book. Simply put we enjoyed these hearty, meaty offerings but were unable to finish them all because of their hefty nature. We were optimistic, however, to take the left overs home and try again the following day.

Our desert consisted of a Strawberry, Banana and Peach Smoothie and a slice of Brazilian Flan. The experience here can be summarized in one word...PERFECTION! The Smoothie was all natural and delicious. The Flan was rich and smooth with a perfectly caramelized top.

We left here full and happy and highly recommend this little Brazilian Cafeteria to all who will listen. A solid A was earned by Pao De Queijo.

A Ship out of Portugal

On a chilly, rainy night in Eastern Queens, my sister and I set off in search of dinner. We decided that Peruvian food was in order and made our way to a restaurant that I had always wanted to try. To our dismay, we found the location closed with a "for rent" sign posted in bright yellow and red. Whatever should we do now? We were super hungry and weary of driving too far from home. A dull silence fell over the car as we each pondered our options when my sister came up with the much needed solution. "How about that Portuguese place on 101?" she asked. At first I was unsure of where she meant, but it quickly came rushing back to me; all but the name of the place. The drive over was filled with many sore attempts at guessing the name of the place we had passed for more than 10 years but never tried.

We arrived at O'Lavrador Restaurant on 138-40 101st Avenue in Jamaica Queens and left the car with the valet. After entering through the large wooden doors, we were greeted by Chica our server for the night. She promptly seated us and left us to peruse the menu. Right away we noticed that this was very much a Seafood Restaurant but neither of us was really in the mood for the gifts of the sea.

Our appetizers consisted of a unified favorite of Fried Calamari and to it we added three croquettes, one Salted Fish, one Shrimp and one Beef. The appetizers proved to be a bit of a disappointment, with the shrimp croquette being filled with imitation crab meat, the beef version having no detectable beef just mostly seasoned bread crumbs and the calamari not being of the fresh variety. The fish cake however was average, so we split the tiny log in two and enjoyed the bite.

To wash it all down we opted for Mojitos, Passion Fruit and Mango. The first attempt at these was somewhat less than a success but our very nice server Chica remade them herself and they were quite enjoyable the second time around.

It was time for dinner and up for review were Costeletas de Borrego com Molho de Alecrim and Vitela a Lavrador (Grilled Lamb Chops with Rosemary Sauce and Veal Scallopini with Fresh Mushrooms).
The presentation was lovely! After the rough start to the meal we were super excited to see delicious looking, warm plates set before us. The Grilled Lamb Chops were delightful and cooked a perfect medium well as was requested. The sauce was bold and beautiful, boasting a rich dark color. I only wished that the chef used fresh rosemary instead of dried to make the sauce.

Next up for review was the Veal Scalopini. They were great! Tender, thin pieces of veal in a bright sauce with fresh mushrooms were hard to resist. I could have eaten two servings of these. Confession time...we are both mushroom lovers and find them hard to resist in whatever form they find us. Thankfully these were perfectly cooked and delicious. The let down on this plate however, were the potatoes they were served with rather than the rice that was promised on the menu. The potatoes were boiled and slightly gluey on the inside. This was sad for the somewhat of a potato connoisseur that I consider myself but I refused to let this sway me from the other great parts of the meal.

Dessert consisted of Serradura (Sweet cream mousse layered with crushed Portuguese vanilla crackers), Tiramisu and Coffee.
Serradura was blissful...smooth, creamy, vanilla cookie bliss. The Tiramisu was forgettable however but the Serradura made up where that fell off.

The one thing that stood out the entire night was the impeccable service. I am a sucker for great service as I think in most cases it can be even more important that having the very best tasting food. This restaurant had it highs and lows in the food department but the service continued to soar from start to finish. So all things considered we give O'Lavrador a solid B and recommend the entrees for a family dinners or even date night.

The Return Tour: A Hungarian Outing by Shannice Noel

    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~

Mini Tour of Central America

I lost the file of the review of the Philippines a few weeks ago but miraculously my friend was able to recover part of it. In the mean time here is an episode of a mini tasting tour of Central America.

Puerto Plata located at 149-17 Jamaica Ave, had been in the neighborhood since I moved to Queens in 1997. So on a classic Fall rainy afternoon, while heading home from a long day that left me famished and tired, I decided to venture in and see what it was all about. After speaking with the manager, I understood that Puerto Plata was more of a Spanish Fusion restaurant. Combining the flavors of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. He then arranged for me to have a mini sampling of what their establishment had to offer. He served up most of the meal himself, telling me of the restaurant's longevity in the neighborhood (17 years).

I partook of Stewed Pork Chops (very good with a rich dark sauce), Pork Chops with Peppers (which I found to be a bit too salty), Stewed Chicken (Good, but left me wishing it was made with dark meat instead of breast), Sauteed Eggplant, Mangu (needed more Latin flavors), Boiled Green Banana/Yuca, Yellow Rice (Very good with green pigeon peas) and Steamed Vegetables.
Overall it was a good experience, no real highs or lows but the service was good and the manager was really friendly and helpful.

So take a look at the photos and take the food journey with me as we have another little sample of some Latin flavor.