Astorian Weekend Edition 14.02.08

Well, this week brings us Valentine's Day! What a great excuse to go have a fancy meal. Astoria has a lot of great restaurants, and here are our suggestions.

On Saturday, there's a show at Maric Lanes - yep, there's a bowling alley right here in Astoria. Four bands - The Ergs!, The Steinways, For Science, and the Challenged - start at 8pm. $10 and that includes buy one get one free drinks or bowling. Maric Lanes is 19-45 49th Street.

Via MySpace I was reminded that Time Cafe has their lovely $12 brunch every weekend and holiday, 10:30 a.m - 3:30 p.m. And recently I had brunch at Igloo (22-26 31st St), and the fries were truly amazing. Hot and crisp, not soggy at all. Total yum.

Waltz has one of the coolest sounding bands on their calendar, at least according to this geometry fan - The Trapezoids! Looks like jazz to me. They're on at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

I've also been walking past The Blooming Company (22-75 31st Street) over the past couple of weeks and often stop to peer into the windows. They have so many cute things there! Plus a nice selection of clothes. Speaking of clothes, Kristees (24-01 23rd Avenue) has a number of things in stock particularly appropriate for Valentine's Day - lounge wear, lingerie, and some pretty silk flowers.

Recently I've heard good things about Melody (25-95 Steinway St.), a newish spot in the Little Egypt part of town. You can have some delicious Lebanese food, smoke some hookah, and chill out.

Astorian Weekend Edition 18.01.08

Well, to be honest, there are not really any Astoria events happening this weekend - most calendars are empty! However, it is a 3-day weekend for a lot of us, the 21st being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. MLK Day is very important, so here's a little history about it.

On your day off, maybe go out for lunch. Here are some of my favorite places in town to have lunch:

Il Bambino
Luna de Juarez
Sunswick
Wave Thai

I also noticed today that La Guli Bakery (29-15 Ditmars Blvd) is still serving gelato, which is very cool (no pun intended). So if you are craving ice cream in this chilly weather, La Guli is for you. And did anyone hear the Mr. Softee truck last week?

I also wanted to remind you about the free wifi at Time Cafe, and I learned that Tell Astorya Cafe also has free wifi. So, take your laptop out with you this weekend for some sippin' and surfin'.

The MOMI is also showing a couple episodes of the serial Captain Marvel. I love watching shows at Tut's Fever. Be sure to visit the Museum itself while you're there - it is so cool!

Perhaps the best thing to do this weekend is sleep in! Enjoy your long weekend.

Time Cafe

This morning I went to Time Cafe for brunch - and it was great! $12 gets you a drink (mimosa, bloody mary, or juice), coffee/tea, mini muffins, and a main. I thought it was a pretty good deal, as everything was delicious. Plus, great service! They are really nice people there.

I was very happy with my mushroom, pepper, and fontina fritatta and my dining companion was pleased with his burger. The coffee was fine, slightly better than average NYC coffee. I loved that they served fries with breakfast. Oh and the mimosa was terrific! So was the pineapple juice.

The space was lovely, with comfortable chairs, interesting colored walls, and plenty of books to read. They have free wifi, too. And there was a nice jazz trio playing in the corner.

I'd totally go back for brunch, and would like to check out their other offerings. Highly recommended. It's a definite must try!

I took a few shots, too!

Time Cafe
44-18 Broadway in Astoria
http://www.timecafeny.com/index.php

Astorian Weekend Edition 15.11.07

As much as I walk by Bar 36 (36-05-30th Ave) all the time, I still haven't gotten the urge to step in. Maybe now that I know about Martini Thursdays, I'll bite! The deal is $2 off regular price martinis and they've got snacks... what they are I don't quite know! Maybe they are the chocolate chip cookies I saw them giving out today? This is a quote from them I came across online:

Come and hang out with your friends with us in our ultra slick and trendy atmosphere.... we see you all looking in our doors everyday anyway..... so come on in and see why sex and the city the movie chose us for a few scenes....

How hilarious!?!?! OK, now I gotta see what its all about.

Friday night on your way home, introduce yourself to some Venezuelan cheap eats! We've got a new place on the map, and I've tried it - Yum! The Arepas Cafe (33-07 36th Ave) Give the menu a gander or just go-go-go. There is something for everyone pretty much and it's something just a wee bit different.

Saturday afternoon at the Greater Astoria Historical Society (35-20 Broadway, 4th fl) catch a screening of "New York, the Way It Was: Queens." Its a walk down memory lane for some and an interesting peek for others. Movie time is at 1 p.m., so grab an arepa and get going.

Sunday brings you live jazz, brunch, mimosas, bloody marys and a good time at Time Cafe (44-18 45th street)

Doyle's Corner (42-02 Broadway, 718-278-9402) has a plan for Sunday night. It's got something to do with drinking and a ride out to a boat and an open bar...they've even chartered a 150-foot yacht!

Everything gets going at Doyle's Corner with an open bar and nibbles at 6 p.m. Then promptly at 8 p.m., the bus arrives to take all the party people into Manhattan where the festivities really get in gear. After the four-hour cruise around Manhattan, you get to drip-dry in the bus ride back to Doyle's. All of this can be yours for $50! See Barry or Brendan at Doyle's Corner for tickets - not many left!

And of course, if I missed anything- you can find it here!

Astorian Weekend Edition 19.07.07

Even the week's end starts out rainy, we should have a beautiful weekend. On Saturday, there are a couple of Trunk Sales going on. The Trunk Sale put on by the Astoria Craft Collective will have jewelry, accessories, and clothing. It will be at the patio on the corner of 29th Street and 35th Avenue, 11am-5pm, plus there will be refreshments! It goes on rain or shine, but it looks like a dry Saturday. Candy Plum (30-98 36th Street) has a lot of t-shirts to offer with a 10% discount. 1-3pm and they'll have sweets and snacks. If you can't make it to either of the Trunk Sales, you might consider the Blooming Company at another time, a cute little boutique on 31st Street between 23rd Ave and Ditmars.

There's always plenty of music happening in Astoria, and this weekend is no different. Stop by Waltz on Thursday for Samba music, performed by Anthony Lanni and friends ($2 cover and a $7 drink minimum). Check out their newly renovated digs, too. Hellgate Social that same night presents indie punk rock in the form of The Johns. HGS also has a movie planned for Sunday around 9pm.

Time Cafe (44-18 Broadway) this weekend has live jazz during brunch on Sunday. Hear the Jacob Varmus Quartet from 12-3 while you enjoy some tasty food. And if you were thinking of heading to Sparrow (across from the Beer Garden) for brunch at 10:30am, you might want to reconsider - I tried eating there last Sunday at 11am and they were still closed! Best bet - check them out at noon. I also hear Ovelia (34-01 30th Avenue) makes a superb frappe.

Head to the AMMI for more horror films, including 1970s classic Carrie and 21st century Japanese film Itchi the Killer. Warm Up at PS1 is Saturday from 3pm-9pm, and particularly interesting sounding that afternoon is Eric Singer's LEMUR (League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots)

More fun, here.