Blend, 47-04 Vernon Blvd @ 47th Ave, LIC 718.729.2800

Aah. Another restaurant. Even from the few short posts, it must be obvious how excited I get for new food in the hood. Blend popped up a few months ago on Vernon Blvd between 47th Rd and 47th Ave, nestled between longtime hood favorites Lounge 47 & Communitea. In fact, the first time I stumbled upon Blend, their opening night, I gossiped with the owners of Lounge 47 about the new kid on the block. Judging by the crowd on the first night, they seem to have hit a solid 2-run base hit. Word on the street »

On 51st Ave btwn Vernon & 5th st, there’s what I like to call “The Cursed BBQ Place”. It’s no longer a BBQ place, and every restaurant I’ve seen in that spot has failed miserably (including the BBQ place). I will say I was not sad to see the neon lights of Smokey’s BBQ go dim… and was actually excited at the prospect of a new restaurant that’s not BBQ pop up in its place. As we all were. Hunters Point needs all the restaurants it can get until that glorious day when we get a full-fledged grocery store.

Turns out the new restaurant, Lucky Mojos, is sort of a BBQ place in disguise: Tex-Mex and Sushi. Yeah, sounds like a strange combo, and from the word on the street (the ACTUAL street), the union is not necessarily a marriage made in heaven. Lucky Mojos, I truly had high hopes for you…but that damn curse is a force to be reckoned with. (Aren’t they all?) Smokey’s BBQ brought a carnivorous, drunken crew to the hood, but Lucky’s touts itself as a family oriented place - which is GREAT. I’ll give them that much. 1 point for LM. But that’s all they get. »