Bratwurst & Beer at Studio Square, 35-33 36th St, LIC (718-383-1001)

Long Island City has a new biergarten! Ok, well it’s technically in LIC at 36th St & 36th Ave, but realistically and vibe-wise it’s Astoria. That should not stop you, Hunters Pointers, from venturing north of the Queensboro Bridge. There’s a whole world out there full of amazing restaurants and bars, including the latest addition, Studio Square, a German-style beer garden.

Astoria, and Queens in general, has a legacy of biergartens, however »

Filipino BBQ & Sushi at ‘Ihawan’ to open soon, Long Island City

For over a year now, the stalled restaurant-to-be, Ihawan, has sat vacant and forlorn on 50th Ave right across from Cafe Henri. There have been all sorts of rumors as to why… something about the C of O not legally permitting a kitchen. Let’s just say, there were probably lots of lawyers and tears involved to get a restaurant to the finish line and not be able to cross it for one year and almost 4 months.

Well whatever the conflict is, it seems to be resolved now »

Tomato & Wasabi, 25-36 Jackson Ave, Court Square, Long Island City (718) 361-0110

Long Island City really is becoming a nexus for sushi fusion… the latest is Tomato & Wasabi on Jackson Ave at the corner of 44th Drive in Court Square. Taking fusion to new heights (?) by combining Korean & Japanese cuisine with good ol’ NYC pizza. Hence »

Ion’s Corner Cafe, 36-01 Vernon Blvd

If you’ve been biking down the not-so-new bike lanes on Vernon Blvd, perhaps you’ve noticed a not-so-new Romanian restaurant called Ion’s Corner Cafe on Vernon Blvd @ 36th Ave, right across the street from the pink bridge that goes to that little island between Queens & Manhattan. It’s been mentioned a few times in the liQcity comments, and a great not-so-new blog about happenings in Queens, local718, has a fantastic and detailed review of Ion’s Cafe »

Sage General Store, 24-20 Jackson Ave, LIC

Sage General Store, true to Long Island City “soft” opening style, is holding a free tasting tomorrow Thursday, Oct 2nd, from 12-2pm in their new location at 24-20 Jackson Ave, right next to Court Square Wines. The soft opening begins over the weekend, and the new Sage is offering an expanded menu including daily casseroles, gourmet sandwiches, salads, brick oven pizza, soups, Blue Plate Specials, and desserts. Not to mention »

Manducatis Rustica, open for biz

Fall brings another kind of bloom in LIC, that of eateries! Well hallelujah and praise… Jesus? Uh, in this case, let’s praise the Cerbone family instead, who have brought to Vernon Blvd an old world style Italian cafe called Manducatis Rustica.

Think European style »

The view from SHI, new Asian fusion restaurant at Queens West, LIC

The long awaited SHI restaurant opens tonight in QueensWest, featuring a full bar & lounge, sushi bar, dining room, and outdoor terrace seating with LIC’s famous Manhattan skyline view. With of course, LIC’s signature signage, the soon to be migrating again Pepsi Cola sign.

Anyway, it’s a good week to be in this particular hood, because there are many ways to get your drink, art, and theatre on in LIC, and some of it for FREE. Check it out »

SHI, New fine dining Chinese fusion restaurant, Queens West, LIC

The long awaited SHI is on its way to a soft opening a bit later this month… which will inevitably lead to the hard opening – no pix yet, but Queens Wester’s are about to get some fine dining in the mix.

UPDATE: SHI is currently open for take-out only:

Hello all,

First, I’d like to thank everyone in LIC for making us feel welcome and really showing us their support and encouragement. There is a sense of community here that we don’t see in the city. We can’t wait to add to the character of LIC.

After much delay, we’re finally ready to open our doors! (The Take-Out side at least anyways.) Perhaps another week for the dining room to follow. So please stop by and say “Hi” starting after 5:00 pm.

Thanks, ShiBrothers

SHI
4720 Center Blvd
Reservations: 347-242-2450
Take Out: 347-242-2448
Website: www.shilic.com
MENU

It’s interesting »

5 Star Banquet, Long Island City

liQcity would like to say welcome to it’s newest sponsor, 5 Star Banquet, though it’s not a newbie to the LIC restaurant scene. The four year old Indian restaurant is more commonly known for the 5 Star Punjabi Diner, the cult and cabbie favorite, which is right next door. 5 Star Banquet is, as the name implies, is a huge banquet hall that can accommodate various events: weddings, private affairs, corporate events, TV/Film productions, and more. Eye (and stomach) candy »

Blend on Vernon Blvd @ 47th, LIC

The Latino fusion restaurant, Blend is jumping through hoops of fire with the community board to get their liquor license, and seems to be getting burned. Which is too bad, because one really does crave wine with their food. Not to mention, it really sucks for a restaurant business to not get those precious alcohol sales…which is where they make the bulk of their money.

It seems though, from a fervently supportive tipster and general word on the street, that the trouble is not with the board itself, but with a disgruntled neighbor(s) brandishing a conspiracy theory »

1) I’m still sad about the Amish Market, and hopeful about the Fairway rumor, but there was a time when I also hungered for more restaurants in LIC. I can’t say we’ve hit capacity (what hood has the problem of too many good places to eat) but at least now we have a variety of options. Trouble is, all the new restaurants seem to be some variety of Asian fusion. Now that 5SL has moved their sales office on-site, the corner spot on Vernon & 48th they used to occupy is being leased by another Asian fusion place. This is confirmed by many, but no one seems to have any specific deets. If you know what’s going in that spot, hit us up.

2) It seems Toll Brothers made a bit of a land grab when they bought the lot for 5SL because they also purchased the adjacent lots, including what’s dubbed as the ‘Zipper Building’ on 48th. Yes folks, that used to be a zipper factory. According to QW, seems the Zipper Building is getting more than just a face lift, but being knocked down altogether. Which I find rather sad, since the building is unique and distinctive, and if done nicely would probably shine up rather well. Like the base of the Powerhouse. But that’s Karl Fisher and this is Toll Brothers, so we’ll see what transpires.

UPDATE 1/29/08 » The info about the Toll Brothers is being challenged and we are looking into it and will update. We did hear from some reliable sources that it’s owned by Toll Brothers, but there does seem to be legitimate confusion.

Still it would be nice »

No sooner than I had posted about Ihawan did I stumble upon another new Asian fusion restaurant in the works at Vernon-Jackson. This time on Jackson, there’s a new storefront emerged at 10-57 Jackson right next to the Chase bank on the corner, with the sign BANY, Ten 57. Looks like this Asian fusion restaurant will be leaning more towards Japanese food, giving Ihawan (Asian Grill & Sushi Bar) and Lucky Mojo’s (Tex-Mex & Sushi Bar) a run for their fusion money.

I spoke to the broker who er… brokered the lease, and he said that BANY should be open in about 4-6 weeks. In LIC time that usually means 4-6 months, but even if it does delay, our Asian fusion options in LIC are plenty.