“Maybe in the near future, we will be celebrating Discover Queens restaurant month,” said Borough President Helen Marshall speaking about the past successes of Discover Queens Restaurant Week now in its eighth year. Beginning on September 19 through the 22nd and September 26 through the 29th, close to 100 restaurants from around the borough will participate in specially prepared menus at reasonable prices with the intention of showing off what Queens eateries have to offer. Many of those restaurants participated at the kick-off event in front of Queensborough Hall where passers-by and local employees got a taste of things to come.
“We look forward to restaurant week every year,” said Les Barnes, owner of London Lennies in Rego Park who was serving up hot New England clam chowder to a long line of patrons. “It’s an opportunity for our customers and Queens residents to taste the great cuisine of the borough.”
Most of the growing list of participating restaurants will adhere to a three-course prix fixe menu for $25 like Pop Diner in Elmhurst who took first place at the Queens Economic Development Corporations (QEDC) A Taste of the World event for their plantain wrapped seasoned ground beef earlier this year.
“We will have a new, extensive menu,” said Angel Almonte, general manager. “We are hoping we will see a lot of business in the coming weeks.”
Other dishes served in front of Queensborough Hall included empanadas from El Coyote restaurant in Jackson Heights, penne a la vodka from Uncle Peter’s in Jackson Heights, sliced steak and Sambuca shrimp from Austin’s Steakhouse in Kew Gardens and Asian delicacies from Jade in Flushing. Seth Bornstein, executive director of the QEDC, hopes that this year will be even more successful than last year’s record setting number of participating restaurants.
“The Discover Queens Restaurant Week is the most delicious bargain in New York City,” said Bornstein. “There truly is something for every palate.”
Discover Queens Restaurant Week is sponsored by TD Bank, JetBlue Airlines, The Queens Courier, Restaurant Depot, Il Bacco Ristorante Italiano and Trattoria Thirty Five. For a full list of participating restaurants, visit www.discoverqueens.info.
