Nestled beneath the LIRR station on 71st Avenue sits the appropriately-named Forest Hills Station House, a new bar and restaurant in the Queens nabe of the same name. It's a casual, neighborhood kind of place, decked out with a wood, steel and brick decor that echoes the train station above. Distressed barn wood and handcrafted furniture create a homey backdrop for the 11 flat screen televisions, which are tuned to various sporting events from NYC and beyond.
The elevated pub grub menu has some inventive takes on classic bar food. Empanadas ($9) come stuffed with braised short rib, in-house kimchi and sriracha mayo for dipping. Instead of a dip in Frank's Red Hot, whole jumbo wings ($9) are coated in a fiery in-house pickled pepper sauce, though you can get them in traditional hot sauce or bbq flavorings as well. The kitchen also turns out Fried Chicken Livers ($9), Beer Battered Meatballs ($8) and a variety of burgers, like the Decadent Burger ($14) made with braised short rib and topped with boursin cheese, fried onions, shiitake mushrooms and a demi-glace. Don't forget to order the bacon and bourbon-glazed deep fried Snickers ($6) for dessert.
At present, the solid beer menu includes 16 brews on tap, 17 in bottles, 7 in cans and 1 cask ale. Offerings from Six Point, Flying Dog and Evil Twin share the menu with a selection of German brews and other more far flung breweries. Mercifully, there's not a Bud Lite in sight. A respectable amount of bourbons, ryes and other brown liquors can be imbibed neat or found in one of the bar's signature cocktails like an Old Fashioned ($12) made with Woodford Reserve or The Boulevard ($12) made with Templeton Rye, Campari and Camparo Antica.
106-11 71st Avenue, Forest Hills, Queens; 718-544-5000. Open Saturday through Tuesday from noon until 2 a.m., Wednesday through Friday noon until 4 a.m.
