The Sunnyside Of Life

The Sunnyside annual tree lighting is on December 1, 2009 at 6:00pm at Sabba Park located at 50th Street and Queens Blvd. Little Friends School, a local early education school where my nephew attends will be contributing their ornaments to the celebration.  It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas!

In exciting news, the highly regarded international French dining guide Michelin has recommended local Bliss Bistro for their 2010 Guide. Michelin has been in the business of evaluating and recommending restaurants and hotels for over a century. Their anonymous full-time professional inspectors visit restaurants and hotels, and evaluate them on a range of criteria. The Michelin Guide New York City 2010 is the fifth edition since Michelin began reviewing restaurants in New York.

Bliss Bistro serves classic French bistro fare, making it the only French restaurant in Sunnyside. Open every day with an outdoor garden open in good weather and serving brunch on the weekends.

Bliss Bistro
Menu
45-20 Skillman Avenue
Sunnyside NYC
718.729.0778
www.blissbistro.com

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.

Join The Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce for their annual Christmas tree lighting tonight to officially open the Holiday season!

Christmas Tree Lighting
December 1st
6pm – 7pm
The Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce
Joe Sabba Park
50th Street & Queens Blvd.
Hot Chocolate- Santa Claus – All are Welcomed!
After the lighting, you are invited to a $25 prix-fixe supper at Dazie’s Restaurant (3941 Queens Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11104).

In news from our neighbors to the east, the Woodside on the Move Tree Lighting will be held this Saturday, December 6th.

Saturday December 6, 2008
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Sohncke Square
58-01 Roosevelt Avenue
Woodside, NY 11377
(718) 476-8449

This year it seems the holiday lights along Queens Blvd are stretching further west than ever before. More holiday merriment for us!

Sunnyside Shines Holiday Lighting and Ribbon Cutting
Thursday November 20, 2008
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Sunnyside Arch
45-10 46th Street
Sunnyside, NY 11104
Hot Chocolate- All are Welcomed!
Presented by the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District

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.

As read in The New York Times… In this Sunday’s New York Times’ Real Estate section, The Hunt chronicled a young couple in search of a home. They settled briefly in Sunnyside but poor vetting on their part seems to have marred their choice. The lack of their due diligence aside, two things that did resonate from the article – “I read great articles about how Sunnyside is the new Williamsburg” and a shout-out to our favorite cafe;

There was a hip coffee shop nearby, the Grind, where they had a lunch of coffee and turkey wraps. “It was the cutest little coffee shop that made me feel I was in Greenwich Village,” Ms. Galbo said. “Any doubt we had, sitting there eating lunch eased our minds.”

I’d be a little wary of comparing ourselves to Williamsburg by any stretch but The Grind has definitely been a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Looking for love and a strong buzz? In honor of Valentine’s Day, The Grind is hosting a round of Speed Dating. Sign-ups are available now.

The New York Times: The Hunt – Queens Lives Up To Its Billing (February 10, 2008)

Welcome to Sunnyside, New York City. The sunshiniest neighborhood in all of Gotham. I spent the first year of my life in Sunnyside (b.1974) and returned 28 years later. Needless to say, in the 28 years since and more significantly in the 5 years since I’ve been here the neighborhood has changed immensely and continues to do so at a rapid rate. This blog is here to chronicle the happenings of the neighborhood and hopefully become a resource for others. Come see the Sunnyside of life!