Queens is among the most various counties within the U.S., and 47 % of residents are foreign-born. Stroll the 5 miles from Astoria to Corona via Elmhurst, and also you’ll catch conversations in Greek, Makassarese (a language spoken in Indonesia), and Cuicatec (an indigenous language of Mexico).
The immigrant communities that decision Queens house do a lot of the all-hours labor that fuels New York. Practically 24/7, there’s a gentle stream of residents headed from Queens into Manhattan for work and coming house to sleep. Whether or not it’s a 5 a.m. corn husk-wrapped breakfast tamal from a road vendor in Corona on the commute to work, or a comforting bowl of effervescent tofu soup in Murray Hill on the way in which again house, this borough’s meals tradition is designed to maintain its residents in any respect hours.
That is New York Metropolis, so nothing stays the identical for lengthy. Gentrification has been rolling via Queens, now hailed as a extra inexpensive housing different to Manhattan and Brooklyn. In 2023, the borough-wide asking lease for residential properties rose to a document excessive, significantly hitting the neighborhoods in northwest Queens closest to Manhattan. Small immigrant-owned companies in Queens are coping with a few of the greatest lease will increase within the metropolis.
Regardless of the challenges going through many small enterprise homeowners in Queens proper now, these native legends—some have been thrumming alongside for over 20 years—proceed to cater to their communities. Whether or not in Little Egypt, Little Guyana, Little Manila, or Little Colombia, the eating places in Queens’ cultural enclaves function pillars of group. I grew up and nonetheless reside right here, and I’ve been reporting on Queens’ meals scene for years. And nonetheless, it’s exhausting to maintain up with the sheer breadth of eating places opening and growing round me. This information is just not exhaustive by any means, however it’s a good way to begin attending to know considered one of New York’s most scrumptious and layered boroughs.
The various neighborhoods of Queens
To get probably the most out of a go to to Queens, it’s useful to situate your self in every of its neighborhoods. Queens is the geographically largest of New York’s 5 boroughs. Making up the easternmost a part of town, it sits on an enormous island that it shares with Brooklyn within the southwest. Instantly to its west, above Brooklyn, the East River separates it from the Bronx and Manhattan.
Lengthy Island Metropolis and on to its north, Astoria, make up the northwestern finish of Queens. Simply above Lengthy Island Metropolis, Astoria is a large, sprawling, residential neighborhood that spans 5 subway stops and, past the final station, a community of bus strains. Many immigrant communities—Greek, Mexican, Brazilian, Serbian, and numerous others—have settled and arrange eating places on this expansive neighborhood. Stroll east beneath the prepare tracks in Lengthy Island Metropolis and also you’ll end up in Sunnyside, the place Irish bars stand alongside eating places promoting Ecuadorian stews, Paraguayan truffles, Bolivian empanadas, and Turkish flatbreads.
