I was on that glorious mode of transportation the other day, the LIRR. My ticket hadn’t been checked and we were just pulling into Flushing. I did what any person with a decent appetite would do. I hopped off. I then crept in the footsteps (or drag marks) of those of you who have crawled above. (Thanks to all.)
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Lin Cafe, in the interestingly named “Friendship Shopping Plaza” (41-42A Main St), next to the Golden Mall. That name (FS Plaza) narrows your idea of “plaza” to a thin corridor through which you have to squeeze and jostle. Still, the close proximity to fellow humans – my bum hasn’t brushed so many others since I was a grad student at Stony Brook – is certainly conducive to friendship. Lin Cafe is on the right a couple of counters down after you enter. I got an excellent radish+driedshrimp panfried bun, a very good pork (plus cabbage?) one, and an equally good steamed roast pork bun. I didn’t ask for this last one but was made to take it. (See end of this post, ye who get there.)
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Northern Dumpling King (41-22 Main St). Pies. Pickled cabbage and pork, Chinese cabbage and pork, and – the best – green turnip (nibbling on that leftover as I write). Also an excellent container of peanuts riddled with crisp, tiny anchovies.
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Wedge of some sweet pie with dried and candied fruit, and possibly a nut or two, off some vendor on Main. Excellent.
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Landmark Quest Mall (136-21 Roosevelt Ave), jianbing (w/sausage). This was a coarse (the wrapper) disappointment. My first ever jianbing was in Beijing and I saw that it was good. Since then I’ve had decentish ones in the New World Mall across the street from LQM and, oddly, in the otherwise nondescript Corner Mall in Downtown crossing (DTX to us locals) in Boston. The one here was only so-so in comparison. Next time I’ll try the snail noodles from the stall further into this space that so perfumed the air.
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The dumplings and pies at the window near the NW exit from the 7 train. I had good, juicy pork+crab dumplings and a decent radish pie. Here, too, I was pushed into buying more than I wanted.
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The main reason I hopped off the LIRR (and was barely able to waddle back 90 minutes later) was the crab roe at the stall on the immediate left as you walk into the The New York Food Court (133-35 Roosevelt Ave). I was intrigued by the backstory of the stall. A physicist turned restaurateur. (I once briefly shared an office with an ex-student of Stephen Hawking, but he only ended up running a Carvel in Riverhead. True Story. Despite the pictures that dotted his parlor of “The Proprietor with the Pope” – long story behind that – the business failed.)
The crab roe sauce was spectacular. Sweet from the crab and complex. I had it on rice.
Overall comments:
- There were empty counters/stalls everywhere I went.
- I had to counter upselling at almost every stop. I’d ask for 1 of something and would have 3 pushed on me, or would have something added to my order. I resisted as much as I could, but a couple of times I gave up.
