Ben's Best: One of the "Dying Breed" of Real Jewish Delis

The Times Ledger has a great article on Ben's Best, one of the last of a "dying breed".  I agree.  I feel lucky to have one of the few real Jewish delis left in the city, right in my neighborhood.  Read the article at the above link.  I don't go there as often as I used to, because high blood pressure and a body of an older age dictate that deli food is not healthy for me to eat anymore.   But I need a "fix" every once in a while.  Recently, a friend of mine wanted good matzoh ball soup, and I couldn't think of better matzoh ball soup than Ben's, so we went.  I am more vegetarian, so I had the mushroom-barley soup and a hotdog [a real no-no for someone with hypertension like myself].  If I had more room, I would have had a square knish and a pastrami and tongue sandwich [I pondered doing takeout but my better judgement prevailed for once].  70-years in business and nothing like Ben's.  When Tung-Shing went out of business, I suffered a definite mourning, but if Ben's ever went away, I would have to sit shiva.

Bora Bora Juice Bar

Cafe Bora Bora on Queens Blvd near the RP Jewish Center has a [somewhat limited] juice bar.  I had a carrot-ginger-beet juice there and it was fabulous.  Since the health-food store closed on the north side of 63rd Drive, I have been missing a place where I can buy fresh veggie juice.  I think they also offer orange and celery.  There also used to be a veggie restaurant on the north side of QB near 66th and I miss them so much.  I wonder why these places fail.  The place on 63rd Drive was owned by Russians ans catered to Russian clientele, so I figured it would survive, but it didn't.  I guess the rents are just too high.  We need a Whole Foods Market close by. 

Derailed LIRR Train in Rego Park

Yesterday I heard the helicopters above.  This is the third day of the LIRR mess, which will probably continue through Friday.  A train derailed in Rego Park and of course that puts a track out of service, and so the largest commuter railroad in the country is a mess!!  Trains cancelled and delayed........a total disaster........read about it here and also here.

Do you know that, until June 8, 1962, there was a Rego Park LIRR station.  It was part of the now-defunct Rockaway line, which was abandoned on that same date.  As a matter of fact, plans are underway -- upon approval -- to turn those abandoned tracks into a Queens version of the "high line" and would be called the "Queensway".  I wrote an Examiner article about it a while back, which you can read by clicking here.

Tandoor

Ate at Tandoor for the first time since they moved to the other side of the boulevard from their location next to Applebee's, where they were for a hundred years.  The space is much smaller, so they are not doing the weddings and parties they were before.  But the space is much more tastefully done as compared to their big two-story space across the street, which was swimming in tired and hackneyed [and tacky] Indian wall decorations that adorn almost every Indian eatery.  There is exposed brick on the walls and modern artwork.  It really looks ike it could be in Manhattan or Cobble Hill in Brooklyn.

Since it was Saturday, I and my friend decided on the $10.95 "brunch buffet" and we were very glad we did.  The last time I went to Sajni 026 [until now, my go-to Indian place], I was disappointed.  I couldn't have wine, because they had either lost [or never obtained] their liquor license -- not even for wine and beer. And the food had no taste; I don't know if they "blanded" it down because we were white Americans, but the dahl had less spice than campbell's split pea soup.

Tandoor restored my faith.  The food was tasty and had just the right amount of heat.  In the buffet, there was salad, tandoori chicken, chicken in spinach, some kind of hollow balls I had never seen, with which we stuffed potato salad and a vinegar sauce, chick-pea fritters, fresh naan brought to the table, lentil dahl, basmati rice and a few other things that escape my memory.  For dessert, there was all the Indian rice pudding we could eat [and we ate a lot of this]. And we ordered merlot and it came in the proper red wine glass [not a given in this neighborhood] and a generous glass at that.  The merlot was not cheap junk  -- it was full-bodied and woodsy.  I will be putting in my review on Yelp and going back there.  I ended up not spending much more than my soup and sandwich at Panera.

Rego Park Pastry reborn?

Two summers ago, there was a store on 63rd Drive called Rego Park Pastry.  I went in there because I felt like bringing home something sweet.  They had fancy litle round pudding-like confections.  Not the most freshly-made and this was expected since I almost never saw anyone in there. So obviously the pastries were not selling and not moving.  Then, in what looked like a desperate attempt to stay open, there was a chalk board out in front for a while offering a "lunch special", consisting of a knish and soda.  What kind of lunch is that?  Maybe at Knish Nosh, but not a pastry shop.  So now there is a sign that they are offering sandwiches. We'll see. Maybe for someone that can't get seating at the bagel store, and doesn't want to walk to Panera [or spend money at Panera].

We need a good eatery on that strip of 63rd Drive.  It's a wasteland over there, except for J&D and the bagel store.  Even more, we need some kind of public space to sit and eat a lunch or a cup of coffee. I'm one of the unfortunate ones who don't have a seating area for my building.

Nothing seems to survive on Austin Street in Forest Hills.  Johnny Rockets kicked the bucket and will soon be an Irish gastropub.  And Kung Fu Tea is opening.  Since Kung Fu is a chain which is also in Flushing, Lower Manhattan and Jackson Heights, maybe they can afford to cover the rent and count on their company size to cover a loss leader.....read more

New article on Examiner.com   Welcome to New Businesses in Central Queens
Welcome to new businesses in Central Queens: St. Paul's School of Nursing in Rego Park, and Chipotle and a new arts and crafts studio for kids and their parents in Forest Hills.  St. Paul's will breathe new life east of 63rd Drive into Queens Boulevard.  Ever since Rego Center opened, the other side of Queens Blvd has been a ghost town.  I swear, recently over the summer I went with some friends to Sajni to have some Indian food and when we stepped out after dinner, it was creepy.  There was almost nobody walking around at 9pm.  But go to Rego Center on a summer night and the whole neighborhood is in Panera, Red Mango or BBQ.