Flushing embraces Restaurant Week

Fans of good food, take note. Only in an area as diverse as Queens would you need a Restaurant Week that spans two weeks. So, of course, it does.
The fourth annual “Discover Queens Restaurant Week” will be celebrated Monday-Thursday, September 17-20, and again on Monday-Thursday, September 24-27.
Participating restaurants all over the borough will be offering three-course prix fixe lunch and/or dinner menus during the 2007 campaign, for a promotional price of just $20.07.
Recently, representatives of Borough President Helen Marshall, State Assemblymember Ellen Young, City Councilmember John Liu, the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC), the Flushing Business Improvement District (BID), Destination Flushing Cuisine Association and several participating restaurants gathered at Chao Zhou Restaurant on Main Street in downtown Flushing, to announce this year’s promotion.
QEDC marketing director Michelle Stoddart said, “People are coming to discover Queens,” as she introduced the other participants. “Flushing restaurants are an integral part of Restaurant Week.”
The celebration has grown from a handful of restaurants to over 65 participants this year, spanning the four corners of the borough, from Glen Oaks to Glendale and from Broad Channel to Bayside.
Peter Koo, who chairs the program committee for the Flushing BID confided, “All Asians know Flushing is the best place to shop - and eat - and this is a good opportunity for other ethnic groups to find it out.”
In recent years, Flushing has grown to be known as the new “Chinatown” of New York City and the BID has capitalized on the neighborhood’s new-found fame by issuing “Passport to Flushing” coupon booklets.
The 2007 edition of the pocket-sized booklet contains nearly two dozen coupons. In addition to discounts and free offers to more than a dozen restaurants, the “passport” also highlights such little-known Flushing attractions as the historic Bowne House and the Voelker Orth Museum, the award-winning bird sanctuary and Victorian garden.
Mabel Law, Flushing BID Executive Director, said, “We’re very excited to offer returning and new customers the Passport to Flushing, and we hope that everyone will enjoy the Flushing experience and taste the fine cuisine, visit our cultural sites, and shop our retail businesses.”
For more information about Discover Queens Restaurant Week and Passport to Flushing, call QEDC at 718-263-0546 or the Flushing BID at 718-888-1805, or visit www.discoverqueens.info.