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14° BELOW Café

Tucked away on 14th Avenue, between 150th and Clintonville Streets in Whitestone, you’ll find a cool spot for good food and a warm welcome at 14° Below Café.

Since January, new co-owner and local heavyweight boxing prospect Vinny Maddalone has been welcoming all to this neighborhood restaurant, with a knockout menu and prices that won’t put you on the canvass.

It’s “American dining with a little Italian,” he says modestly, although the choices include dishes that reflect the neighborhood’s diversity, with Greek, Middle Eastern and Asian influences to complement selections that include Central and South American, too.

The menu’s opening round of appetizers that satisfy include outstanding mini-burgers, fried calamari and buffalo wings – featuring a house-original hot sauce that packs a punch without knocking out your taste buds.

Their hummus, guacamole, cheese or spinach pies are a few of the vegetarian selections among the nearly three-dozen starters you can enjoy.

If you’re in training, you can go 10 rounds with salads – including Italian, Greek, Asian and even Israeli varieties – that can come with fat-free dressing, though their Classico Caesar dressing was just too good for me to pass up.

Pita pies (individual-sized pizzas) in eight varieties include the Pasquale, with grilled chicken, mushrooms, artichokes, prosciutto and mozzarella, and others that feature a quite good fresh Marinara sauce.

In addition to a number of tempting pasta dishes and entrées, including a surprisingly good Chicken Francese and Argentinean (marinated skirt) Steak, 14° Below has a mouth-watering selection of paninis and wraps for every taste, from vegetarian to steak. I had the Bari (grilled chicken, hot cherry peppers, fontina cheese, tomatoes and prosciutto) and it was delicious.

Maddalone is a neighborhood kid, (eastern Flushing actually) and this is a neighborhood place; our server Shauna, who shares duties there with her sister Melissa, is also a local girl, and they want their neighbors, near and far, to feel welcome. There’s an elevator for the handicapped.

Of course, American dining means sizeable burgers, including turkey, veggie and beef that you can order a variety of ways.

But before you choose, go the distance on the menu and you’ll be floored by their selection of crepes. Yes, crepes – from a main-event steak and mozzarella cheese crepe, to the dessert variety – featuring various combinations of banana, strawberry, caramel, peanut butter and nutella (hazelnut butter) that just might put your diet on the ropes.

With a well stocked bar, entertainment and specials on select nights, friendly owner and staff and lightweight prices, 14° Below is a champ.

14° BELOW Café

150-33 14th Avenue

Whitestone, NY 11357

718-747-1414

Open 7-days

Free local delivery ($10 minimum)

All major credit cards

Meter street parking until 7 p.m. (except Sunday)

Q14 bus

Bar/dining area handicap accessible
14° BELOW Café
150-33 14th Avenue
Whitestone, NY

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