Astorian Weekend Edition 09.04.09

With Passover this week and Easter on Sunday, there are plenty of interesting happs and offerings, guaranteed to spice up the weekend.

Enjoy a delicious Italian Easter feast at Vesta. Their offer includes a mix of brunch and dinner dishes such as hangover pizza and delectable braised lamb shank (pictured above). There’s no prix-fixe, which is probably better on the wallet. 21-02 3oth Ave, Astoria. 718.545.5550.

The Beer Garden will also host an Easter celebration this Sunday from 1pm – 5pm, complete with an Easter egg hunt, egg painting and live entertainment. Feast on traditional Czech dishes for $19.95 per person. 29-19 24^th Avenue, Astoria. 718.274.4925

Are you looking to treat your family and friends to some Easter yummies? Check out Rosario’s Deli, an Italian specialty foods shop with tasty sweets such as giant hazelnut/chocolate Easter eggs. They feature weekly specials—and I just bought dark chocolate Baci truffles there for a very good price. 22-55 31^st Street, Astoria. 718.728.2920

Besides at Rosario’s, you can get your Easter dessert at the various bakeries in Astoria. Some of the better ones that feature Italian-style treats include Frank’s (36-02 30^th Avenue, Astoria. 718.726.7813), La Guli (29-15 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria. 718.728.5612) and Rose and Joe’s (22-40 31^st Street, Astoria. 718.721.9422).

Aside from Easter festivities, you can attend LIC Bar’s Sunday Social with free live music and $4 beers. This weekly event is hosted by Irish songwriter, Niall Connolly every Sunday from 5pm – 8pm. 45-58 Vernon Blvd, LIC. 718.786.5400.

Astorian Weekend Edition 26.03.09

Thursday brings us the Carnaval a Brick Cafe, a fashion show featuring local designers. Stop by to check out the goods, have a drink, and maybe even buy something! Later that night head to Waltz for a musical benefit for Autism. $5 at the door and a $10 food/drink minimum. Festivities start at 8 p.m.

Maybe work on your Queens Sky postcard? What a cool project.

On Friday there's samba at Cavo (42-18 31st Ave)! Four amazing samba dancers start the show at 8:30 p.m. Come enjoy food and drink and dancing!

If you are curious about what's up with the Two Coves Community Garden, take a stroll down 30th Ave and check it out. They are doing a lot of planting right now, but being near a vibrant open space is always refreshing. On your way, consider stopping in Frank's Bakery (36-02 30th Ave) for some tasty apple strudel, or on your way back, drop in at Vesta (21-02 30th Ave) for a glass of wine and some food.

Additional Delicousness

While walking down 30th Ave to dinner at Les Minots last week, I stopped in at Frank's Bakery (36-02 30th Ave) and bought - yes - a zeppole! I was delicious. I now remember buying one from them last year and really enjoying it. I also bought a little strip of their apple strudel. Can I just say, yum?!?? It was really good. I loved the big sugar crystals on top and the sweet apple filling. There were raisins, and normally I don't like raisins in this sort of thing, but in this case it worked for me.

So, if you are craving something apple-y and sweet, give it a try. I think it's $7.99 a pound, and you can get any size strip you like. Sorry I don't have a picture - I ate it before I could even think of pulling out the camera! Perhaps I'll have to stop in again for another bit so that I can take a picture... yeah... that's it! :)

Astoria Loves Red Velvet

What's with the Red Velvet love? And by Red Velvet we mean cupcakes--of course.

Judging from the signs I've seen in storefronts on 30th Avenue, "We sell Red Velvet cupcakes", "Red Velvet cupcakes available here," there's certainly a demand for these spongy sensations. It struck me as interesting that this very American dessert is desired in our very ethnic neighborhood. What you usually find in bakeries in Astoria is flaky Balkava, creamy Napoleans or luxurious Cannoli--but Red Velvet? I personally love this dessert and scoped out the best places that carry it. And because it's such a rare treat in Astoria, it certainly goes for a premium. The below bakeries make Red Velvet quite well and to keep things more interesting, we even added a home baker extraordinaire into the mix.

Terrizzi Pasticceria - An authentic Italian bakery owned by pastry chef Joseph Anthony Polito. He's known for his elaborate cakes (especially wedding cakes) and has prepared his treats for public figures such as Michael Jackson and Colin Powell. Terrizzi sells Red Velvet cupcakes for $2.00 each. 35-14 30th Avenue. 718.726.9698

Frank's Bakery - Another Italian bakery (one of two Frank's in the 'hood), which offers various types of breads and pastries--my favorite is their olive bread. They sell Red Velvet cupcakes for a whopping $2.95 each. 36-02 30th Avenue. 718.726.7813

Martha's Country Bakery - By far the most designer, Manhattan-like bakery in Astoria. You can easily compare it to Billy's or Magnolia but I think Martha's is much better. The cupcake variety is enormous--Oreo to Carrot Cake to Red Velvet! You can get Red Velvet in cupcake form for $2 each or in various cake sizes: 5 inch cake $10.95, 7 inch cake $22, 8 inch cake $25. 36-21 Ditmars Blvd. 718.545.9737

Baked Goodness by Shaya Elcock - A local foodie and baker extraordinaire, Shaya Elcock is not only a talented treats-maker she's an entrepreneur in the making. Her company Baked Goodness is just the beginning to her lifelong dream of owning a bakery. Shaya makes a mean Red Velvet cupcake for a bargain price of $1.65 each. You can contact her directly to order: 219.510.3923 or bakedgoodnessnyc@gmail.com

Hope that we've satisfied your sweet tooth!