A Food & Drink Tour Of Ridgewood, Queens
14 photos
Ridgewood Pork StoreHop off the M train at Seneca Ave and follow your nose a few blocks until you see a throng of pink plastic pigs artfully arranged in the Ridgewood Pork Store's window. Take a moment to enjoy the bizarre happy little piggies, then step inside and saturate your senses with the rich and savory smells of cured meats that dangle all around you. Without hesitation, the shopkeeper will cut up samples for your tasting. Try the hot capicola, the Cevapi, or our favorite, the wine-infused salami decorated with hazelnuts. Repeat: Wine. Infused. Salami. NOT a typo. With over 80 different meats, you'll have too many to choose from. Prices range from $6.99 to $16.99 per pound. Language barrier alert: communication with your friendly neighborhood eastern European charcuterie could prove challenging. When in doubt, point, sample, nod and pay. We always end up leaving with more than we intended to buy, but supporting this decades-old local Ridgewood business is always a pleasure. 516 Seneca Ave, Ridgewood // (718) 381-0686
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/Gothamistbun-kerThis is the one thing us Woodies have got on all you people. Yeah, maybe you've got a view of the Palisades from your bedroom, maybe you live a block from the Williamsburg Waterfront and Wythe Hotel, maybe you own a Park Slope duplex where you can see every bridge in the entire city from your roof deck. But we've got Bun-ker on Seamless. BAM!!! There's little we can say that the Times and the Michelin Guide haven't said already. Yes of course Bun-ker's upscale Vietnamese street food is freaking amazing, but their Vietnamese iced coffee (which is about 4x stronger than regular coffee, so steel yourself for a serious brain zapping) might be the best in the city. 46-63 Metropolitan Ave, Ridgewood // (718) 386-4282
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistNepalese Indian RestaurantThe name may be ridiculously blunt, and it's fun thinking of alternatives (e.g. The Mongolian Monrovian Restaurant), but the decor and atmosphere of the Nepalese Indian Restaurant inspire daydreams of Bedouins crossing a starlit desert right out of a Vimeo timelapse. The waitstaff makes you feel like a Sultan with their warm, courtly service. The Indian section of the menu offers the usual fare (Naan, Tikka Masala, Vindaloo) and is generally decent, but the Nepalese section is a genuine standout. Be sure to try the Vegetable or Chicken "Momo" (spicy, steamed dumplings accompanied by a carrot-ginger dipping sauce) and the Chicken Thukpa, a zestier and more flavorful take on chicken noodle soup. 907 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood // (718) 417-1873
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/Gothamist<strong><a href="http://gottscheerhall.com/">Gottscheer Hall</a></strong><p>No need to jump into a TARDIS to time-warp back to Ridgewood ca. 1960. Just take the Forest Ave M stop to Gottscheer Hall, a multi-room social club founded by Gottschee immigrants to the neighborhood in the 1920s. The first thing to catch your eye will be the framed portraits of Miss Gottscheer pageant winners dating back to 1964! Take a minute to honor the Ridgewood beauties of yore before your first Hofbrau. You'll see everything from bee hives to Farrah Fawcett flips and beyond. There's also a large map of the Gottschee region in Germany in the tap room and a vibrant painting of their country church behind the stage in the adjoining hall!</p><p>As for the food, you'll feel like you have your very own Ridgewood "Oma." Bratwurst and krainerwurst are hearty choices. But the best part is the sauerkraut which cooks in the weiner juices for hours. Go for the potato pancakes topped with sweet warm apple sauce if you're craving something sweet. And lastly, the cheesy spatzle is worth every calorie.</p><p>Friday is the locals' night down at the hall, so come early for dinner and stay for the Hofbraus. Our beloved bartender Trina will keep your glass full and the regulars will keep you entertained. It's a buy-back kinda bar and ladies take note: random shots with German men are not uncommon. The jukebox is loaded with classics, and spontaneous dance parties have been known to break out. Whether you're in the mood for a mind-warping classic Queens Friday night or a chill weeknight to enjoy a German brew, Gottscheer Hall is where it's at for us Ridgewood folks.</p><p></p><form class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" mt:asset-id="818675" style="display: inline;"> <img alt="gotthall.jpg" class="image-none" height="426" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/gotthall.jpg" width="640"/> </form><p>657 Fairview Ave, Ridgewood // (718) 366-3030</p><p>(Photos by <a href="http://saimokhtari.com/">Sai Mokhtari</a>/Gothamist)</p>
La Taqueria KermesThere needs to be a very compelling reason for a Woodie to voluntarily submit to the hellish maelstrom of chaos that is Fresh Pond Road, but Ridgewood's best kept secret of a restaurant, La Taqueria Kermes, is more than enough of a draw. Although the exterior signage is garish and will likely keep the New York Times forever at bay, this taqueria is essentially a teleportation doorway to South Austin. Although most of the menu items (e.g. mole burritos, guac & fresh chips, Hawaiian quesadillas) are excellent, the tacos are as good as you will find anywhere in New York. Accentuated with offbeat toppings like pineapple and quinoa, the tacos are offered either regular or fajita-style with peppers, onions, and guac for 50 cents more. We found the shepherd chicken, fish, and steak tacos to be particularly fantastic, not to mention the housemade habanero sauce with which you'll want to generously suffuse your tacos. You can top off your meal with daily special agua frescas (e.g. hibuscus, strawberry lemonade) and desserts like tres leches cake and flan, and if it's warm enough and the sun is a-shining, you can enjoy it all in Kermes' pleasant back patio area. One more thing: best clear your schedule upon visiting, because with Fresh Pond lurking outside, you won't want to leave. 66-36 Fresh Pond Rd, Ridgewood // (347) 463-9263
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistGrimaldi's BakeryAfter four decades in the baking game, Grimaldi's is still going strong with the best pastries, cakes, cookies, and breads in the neighborhood. On the weekends there may be a line, but at least you'll be pleasantly distracted by the elaborate seasonal decorations all around you. On our last visit, we inquired who creates these wonderful displays. The cashier answered "We got a guy that comes in from Lawng Island." As flashy as Grimaldi's seasonal decor is, their specialty seasonal sweets are just as eye-catching and, more importantly, delicious. A must-try is their chocolate and nut candy apple and the honey-drenched strufoli. We dare you to walk in and leave without a sweet treat. Cannolis are always filled fresh and if you ask nicely, theyâll give you the pastries from the front of the tray. (They're the freshest, no?)Grimaldi's bread is baked fresh daily in their facility adjacent to the store front, which is a full city block in size. They don't call it "Home of bread" for nothing. Grimaldi's delivers to most restaurants and bodegas in the Wood and beyond, covering all 5 boroughs and the tri-state area. Best bread recs: the semolina and the Pane di Altamura. With the right olive oil, you could end up eating the whole loaf in one sitting. 2101 Menahan Street, Ridgewood // (718) 497-1425
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistRudy's Pastry ShopYour laptop is charged, you need caffeine, and your sweet tooth aches; where do you turn? In Ridgewood, there are precious few answers, but Rudy's Pastry Shop is undoubtedly one of the best options. Featuring a storefront sign that Bushwick graphic designers dream of, Rudy's display cases are chock full of mouthwatering treats: chocolate marzipan, red velvet cake pops, bee sting cake, and much, much more. Towards the back are comfortable chairs and tables where you can you munch on a cannoli and blog the hours away. And though we can't exactly recommend the coffee, we can confirm that it is brown and is a liquid, so there's that. 905 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood // (718) 821-5890
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistRidgewood EatsThere would be an uproar by our neighbors if we were to exclude Ridgewood Eats from this tour, not because it's particularly great, but because it is the indisputable epicenter of the Ridgewood universe. If you find yourself haggling with your landlord over the rent, that conversation will occur at Ridgewood Eats over a Ridgewood Omelette and a side of sweet potato fries (fyi, he won't be picking up the check). There's just something comforting about seeing their ubiquitous delivery cars whizzing around the neighborhood at all hours, like maybe everything's gonna be okay after all. It's a diner, so you know the menu by heart (despite it being 30 pages long): chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, waffle fries, burgers...we all know the drill. And as is generally the case with diners, everything's pretty okay. But in the end this restaurant serves an important function, specifically that Saturday morning when you can't quite remember what happened the night before and are still grappling with the consequences. Ridgewood Eats will be there at your side. 903 Seneca Ave, Ridgewood // (718) 366-3287
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistRosa's PizzaThe rest of the city seems perpetually at war over which pizza is the best (to be honest, we agree with our next mayor), but in Ridgewood the question was settled long ago. Rosa's Pizza offers superb grandma slices and L&B Spumoni-style Sicilian (i.e. cheese under sauce), but for us it's all about the specialty slices, with the Chicken Caesar, Baked Ziti, and Taco slices ranking among our favorites. On the weekends, while the rest of Ridgewood has gone dark, Rosa's pulls an Artichoke and closes at 2 a.m. It's your last hope for edible food at that hour, so be sure to give thanks to Our Lady of Ridgewood that Rosa's Pizza is still open. 6265 Fresh Pond Rd, Ridgewood // (718) 497-7672
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistJoe's RestaurantDon't expect to find vegan meatballs or gluten-free pasta at this 'off-the-boat' traditional trattoria. The menu features staple Italian and Sicilian recipes. Warm bread and roasted peppers in oil will be on the table before you decide on your appetizers. The parmesan is always left on the table, which usually portends well. The portion sizes are large, and most dishes come with your choice of macaroni or broccoli. Our favorite is the eggplant parmesan with buttery mashed potatoes, a unique combination. Mix the potatoes with the sauce for a divine taste overload. Fish lovers: you must try the perfectly spiced fra diavolo sauce.The waitstaff at Joe's is all male, and they always dress in black. The weekend crowd is a blend of regular Queens people, large family groups and locals out on date night. Rumor has it they give preferential treatment to paisans, but the service is always perfecto for us. Prices are reasonable. You won't be disappointed. 6611 Forest Ave, Ridgewood // (718) 497-1300
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistHoudiniWhenever you read any of the countless articles predicting the gentrification of Ridgewood (the NY Times has been at it since 1983), one thing you can be sure of is that they are not talking about South Ridgewood. We recently found ourselves strolling in this industrial area along a dark, deserted street towards the Houdini Kitchen Laboratory location, when, out of the darkness and desolation there appeared a large building with warmly illuminated windows, beautiful brick interior with improbably high ceilings, as well as people sitting at tables eating and drinking. Was it all just a dream, we wondered? Was Harry Houdini (buried nearby in Ridgewood's Machpelah Cemetery) somehow responsible? No, it turns out, it's real. That large building was in fact the Decatur Studios, which has partnered with Pilar Rigon and Massimiliano Bartoli (former co-owners of Miss Williamsburg) to open Houdini, a Roberta's Pizza-style restaurant specializing in artisanal pizza made with local ingredients from farms in Upstate NY. It's a familiar genre of restaurant in NYC these days, but Houdini legitimately raises the stakes with offerings like stracciatella margherita, habanero pepper + spicy pork loin, and wine-cured sausage w/ broccoli rabe pizzas. The also-outstanding appetizers included salads made from seemingly just-picked vegetables and homemade burrata. We heard at least 3 different European languages being spoken by the ostensibly artist-heavy clientele, leading us to ponder just what in the world these people were doing in Ridgewood. Perhaps they didn't feel like waiting 2 hours at Roberta's for pizza that is equally great and decided to stay on the L train 4 more stops instead. Rosa's Pizza may still be the local king of pizza and Bun-ker may still be Ridgewood's reigning ambassador to Food Nation, but this very new kid in town is one to keep an eye on. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy it profusely until the rest of the city comes and ruins it all for us.15-63 Decatur St, Ridgewood
Photos via Houdini's FacebookEstrella Del MarIts name translated means "Star of the Sea," but Estrella Del Mar knows on which side its bread is buttered, per the massive display of glistening rotisserie chicken languidly rotating in its storefront window. And we really cannot recommend their juicy, scrumptious rotisserie chicken enough. We'd also suggest trying the rotisserie chicken. Lastly, maybe order the rotisserie chicken!Estrella's warm, convivial family vibe makes for an enjoyable atmosphere, but the service is notoriously mercurial, with there being a roughly 40% chance you will ever see a waiter more than once. Consider yourself warned, and maybe just relax. 552 Seneca Ave, Ridgewood // (718) 456-7496
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/GothamistCo Co Lin Vegetarian HouseCo Co Lin's offerings will be familiar to anyone who has ever been to Wild Ginger or Zen Palate: exclusively vegan/vegetarian cuisine, with lots of soy protein dishes that are "good for you," if not necessarily good for you in reality. At some point we figured out that Co Co Lin is mainly a delivery/takeout hub based on the extreme friendliness of the waitress/manager, who seemed to relish the opportunity to interact with other human beings not via phone or computer. As far as the decor is concerned, if intense exposure to the color Lime Green causes you seizures, you might want to steer clear. The menu highlights for us are the General Tso's "chicken" (which contained small, crispy pellets of soy as opposed to the bulky slabs of goo other vegetarian places tend to offer), the chip-like salt and pepper tenders, and the scallion pancakes, which were crunchy and thick unlike the usual cumbersome sogginess. Overall, Co Co Lin may not quite reach the heights of Wild Ginger, but it's right down the street, and we will gladly take it. 64-19 Fresh Pond Rd, Ridgewood // (718) 416-1688
Photos by Sai Mokhtari/Gothamist