In honor of my first JIA post and in celebration of a big submission I just made on a project, I decided to treat myself to a nice little afternoon around Astoria on Wednesday. It seems the stars were aligned for me, because everything came up roses.
I started with a wonderful yoga class at the new Giving Tree Yoga Studio (22-56 31st Street between 23rd Ave and Ditmars). Co-owners (and husband-wife duo) Anne-Margaret and Anthony have created a space that is at once yoga (and pilates) studio, community center, and massage studio. I could go on ad nauseam about how amazing their classes are, and what a delight it is to be part of their warm, nascent community, but I’ll let you find out for yourself. New students can try three classes for $25, and their mid-summer yoga and massage specials (available through the end of July) include a month of unlimited yoga classes for $80, an incredible deal.
I followed my bliss down the stairs and a few doors over to Mojave (22-36 31st Street), the southwestern restaurant I’d often passed with a shrug. I walked through their main restaurant area and was transported to Taos (seriously, it was a shock). Sitting in their charming garden area, complete with water fountain, I ordered the $11.95 prix fixe lunch and a side of guacamole. Now, I’ve kind of come to expect mediocrity from cheap prix fixe lunches, especially at 2:30 on a Wednesday afternoon. I was happily mistaken.
The menu included a tasty mini-margarita, and I chose the MotherRoad Roadhouse Chili (beef and pork braised in Dos XX beer and chile) and a spice-rubbed salmon sandwich on grilled sourdough with avocado, a southwestern aioli, and house-made potato chips. The chili was packed with tender pieces of meat and tomatoes that tasted like they’d recently been attached to a vine. The salmon was perfectly medium-rare and its accoutrements were all spot-on. As someone who fancies herself a guac artiste, theirs gets my whole-hearted stamp of approval: it was the perfect medium between smooth and chunky, with a kick of fresh lime.
In my sunny little garden paradise, I was tempted by the Invisible Rattlesnake (vanilla ice cream with D’Aristi Mayan honey, anisette, and crème de menthe), but got a hold of myself (and my distended abdomen), and took a raincheck. Mojave boasts 130 tequilas, happy hour specials ($5 wine, sangria, and house cocktails, and $3 beers) on weekdays from 4 – 7, and live music on Wednesday nights and during Sunday brunch. Yum.
This is the last weekend for the flea market that lives in the Astoria Walk (22-09A 31st street). The market features handmade designers and artists, some of whom we featured back in December 2007. The vendors will be selling jewelry, arts, handbags, candles, bath and body products, clothing, accessories and more. For more information contact AstoriaEvents@gmail.com.
