The Sunnyside Of Life

Not too long ago, Bronx native (and assistant to the president of Time Out New York) Monika Fabian told Time Out New York why she loves her neighborhood in Sunnyside, Queens here.

We couldn’t agree more! There are so many reasons to love Sunnyside, let me count the ways:

1. Super Tuesdays at Center Cinemas (42-17 Queens Blvd): $4 major films all day!
2. Sunnyside Gardens Tennis Courts: Membership has its privileges in the form of har-tru courts.
3. Old Castle Fresh Farms (39-50 Queens Blvd): A welcome 24-hour addition to the neighborhood and usually a free treat for your child, especially if they’re cute. We were initially super-excited for the “Sweet Corn Ice Cream” but then sadly realized that they were offering “Sweet Corn” and “Ice Cream.” They do have locally baked Eleni’s delicious chocolate chip cookies – you can just taste the butter melting in our mouth.
4. P.J. Horgan’s Burger (4217 Queens Blvd): Order with a side of onion rings and you’ll be in burger heaven.
5. Sugar & Joe Cupcakes (42-20 Greenpoint Ave): Mocha, pumpkin and rocky road – oh my! You had me at sugar.

We’ll continue this list in the weeks to come. Meanwhile please feel free to share some of the reasons you love Sunnyside.

Dine and discover the diverse culinary offerings in Queens during our 14 day restaurant week. Discover Queens Restaurant Week offers patrons the opportunity to visit participating restaurants and dine from special menus at a prix-fixe price of $25.

From October 5th – 15th (Monday through Thursday) enjoy Greek in Astoria, Italian in Sunnyside, French in LIC, Italian in Bayside and Asian in Flushing with restaurants participating from all over the borough.

The launch for Discover Queens Restaurant Week takes place on September 29th with Borough President Helen Marshall welcoming restaurants to Queens Borough Hall Plaza to meet with the press and offer samples of their prix-fixe menus.

WIN A GIFT CERTIFICATE TO A PARTICIPATING RESTAURANT!
Email us the names of your three favorite restaurants and why for a chance to receive a gift certificate to one of our Queens Restaurants. Click here to enter.

Go forth and eat like a king in Queens! List of participating restaurants here.

Cannes, Toronto, Tribeca… Sunnyside!?!? Now joining the canon of great film festivals, we’d like to introduce The 3rd Annual Sunnyside Shorts Film Festival. All great things start small and who knows, you could be catching a glimpse of the next Spike Lee or Spike Jonze…

THE 3rd ANNUAL SUNNYSIDE SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL
SEPTEMBER 12th, 2009
Start time: 7:30 pm with music by Woodside’s own Kristen Cerelli.
Films at 8 pm.

Location: Sunnyside Gardens Park, 49th St. & 39th Ave. 
Rain or cold weather location: Sunnyside Community Center
43-31 39th St. between Queens Blvd and 43rd Ave. Same date and time. 
Refreshments will be served. 

THE 3rd ANNUAL SUNNYSIDE SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM:

Lords of the Playground, Director Matt Fabiano
Ticket to Bollywood, Director Zoe Sullivan
King Jeff, Director Phil Dale
Weeki Watchee Girls, Director Kim Cummings
Steve’s Perfect Vacation, Director Anandh Ramesh
Which Way, Director Nic Beery
Maine Story, Director Nina Chernik
Dated Advice, Director Dan Truman

*All of the 44 films that were submitted for consideration had wonderful attributes. Some will be considered for next year’s festival. Thank you to all of the filmmakers who sent us your work.

For more info, please go to: www.sunnysideshorts.net. 

Bloomerberg’s Summer City Streets finds its way to Sunnyside. Join the fun at 46th Street by the Arch transforms once again into a public plaza and play space. Bring the kids, play giant chess and enjoy! Live Music – 3pm

Saturdays – August 15, 22, 29
46th Street &  the Arch
at Queens Blvd 
12 noon – 7 pm

All Saints’ Episcopal Church present their annual Strawberry Festival.  Naturally, strawberries (and ice cream) will be served up at this homey Sunnyside affair. Parishioners are also cooking international foods and a motley group of vendors are also selling their wares at this event redolent of summertime in small-town America.  

Saturday, June 13th, 2009
10am – 6pm
43-12 46th Street
between Queens Boulevard and 43rd Avenue
Sunnyside
718.784.8031

Red Jacket Orchard Cherries

Tis the season! The Sunnyside Greenmarket will be making its return to the ‘hood on Saturday, June 6th and will be open Saturdays, 8AM-3PM, June 6 through December 19.

Sunnyside Greenmarket
Skillman Ave at 43rd St, Queens, NY

THINK GLOBAL, BUY LOCAL

WHY SHOP AT GREENMARKET? 

The New York Times Dining section today had a story on “New Tofu on the Block.” Of course with all things Korean I read with great interest and was confused by the review of the new “BCD Tofu House,” a chain of Korean restaurants started in Los Angeles with its purported first outpost here in NYC. You see, down the block from me in Sunnyside is the “BCD Natural Tofu Restaurant,” with an eeringly similiar menu. The familiar menus ring synonmous with Galbi-marinated short rib, seafood pajeon, bibimbap, and their speciality;  Korean traditional tofu soup with rice cooked to perfection in stone bowls. The “BCD” in both cases stands for “Book Chang Dong” which sounds like it could be city in Korea, maybe it’s famous for soft tofu.

The Sunnyside BCD is actually a branch of one in Flushing and both are highly respected by the most discerning soft tofu diners: the Koreans. The FLushing outpost was awarded Village Voice’s “Best of 2008 – Korean” award, “Book Chang Dong plies diners with plenty of banchan and all manner of bubbling, silken soondubu (tofu stews), the best of which combines pork, kimchi, and mushrooms. Ask for it spicy.” One bonus for the Sunnyside/Flushing restaurants over this new 32nd street upstart is the prices:

BCD Tofu Restaurant (Sunnyside) vs. BCD Tofu House (32nd St – Koreatown)
Galbi $13.00 vs. $18.95
Seafood Tofu Soup $7.95 vs $11.95

Either way we support eating more Korean & soft tofu in your diet!

BCD Tofu House - New York Times Dining
BCD Natural Tofu Restaurant (Sunnyside) is located at 40-06 Queens Blvd between 40th & 41st street, 718.706.0899.
BCD Natural Tofu Restaurant (Flushing) is located at 46-09 Kissena Blvd. (at Holly Ave.), 718.961.2618.

After a leisurely Indian summer lunch in the Thomas P. Noonan Playground (Greenpoint and 47th Aves, 43rd St) where old timers are frequently found playing chess and a quick trip to the Sunnyside library, we discovered a new eatery on Greenpoint. Thankfully it’s not another taco store but a quaint cafe-cum-bakery.  It’s a simple, yet delightful cafe and they’re serving up magically delicious homemade cupcakes. The cupcake varieties change daily with any number of the following available: cherry vanilla, rocky road, dark chocolate peanut butter, vanilla bean, lemon, mocha, vanilla chocolate, double chocolate, black&white. We’ve already tried 4 different ones and we’re ardent fans! It could be a dangerous spot for kids as they have a display of swedish fish, rock candy and other childhood faves, but they’re sure to love you all the more for it.



The cafe opened about 2 weeks by its lovely proprietress Christina and also features cookies, chocolates, muffins, mini-tarts and Ciao Bella gelato – always a treat! There is a daily brunch menu featuring homemade waffles, granola and oatmeal. Sugar & Joe is most definitely a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Sugar & Joe
42-20 Greenpoint Avenue
Tuesday – Friday 8am-7pm
Saturday 9am-7pm
Sunday 9am-6pm
Closed Mondays
718.472.1070

Support your local artists at the 2nd annual Sunnyside Artists Fair.  Discover how much talent lives in the neighborhood! Admission is free and affordable food to be provided by some of the finest Sunnyside restaurants; Dazies, Quaint and Bliss Bistro.  Also a free glass of wine with purchase from Lowery Liquors. Sponsors for this special event include; Father Daly, Pastor, Sunnyside Lions Club, WOODSIDE HERALD, Lily Gavin, Kiwanis Club of Sunnyside, Rigoberto Cardoso. 10% artist proceeds go to food pantries.

For more info or questions please contact Father Vincent Daly, Pastor, Patricia Dorfman at blissstreetinc@earthlink.net.

Sunday, October 19th
SUNNYSIDE FINE ARTISTS FAIR II
@ QUEEN OF ANGELS Meeting Hall
44th St. & Skillman
Free admission + Sunnyside restaurants + drinks

Revolutionary food journalist Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, gives a lecture in the P.S.1 courtyard in front of P.F.1 (Public Farm One), an installation designed by Young Architects Program 2008 winner WORK Architecture Company. With this vibrant and productive “urban farm” as a backdrop, Pollan discusses the power of taking the plant’s point of view and why it’s important to solving our environmental problems.

Friday, August 8, 7:00 p.m.
P.S.1
www.ps1.org/calendar/view/52