A Magical Evening with the Foodie Magician through APAC

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FoodieMagicianAPAC[From Astoria Performing Arts Center]

Plans for Valentine’s Day? Join us for A Magical Evening with the Foodie Magician on Feb. 14 at 7pm as the Foodie Magician astonishes across a Zoom screen!

Tickets are “pay what you wish” with a suggested donation of $10. More info at: www.apacny.org

Local attendees will receive a 10% discount off a future purchase at Astoria-based Bench Flour Bakers!

 

BOAST: Best of Astoria Winter Virtual Party 2021

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Join us for the BOAST: Best of Astoria Winter Virtual Party 2021! This year we will be celebrating the 2020 BOAST Winners over Zoom. There will be music, comedy, a raffle, and we’ll hear from some Queens community groups. More details coming soon! It is happening on Sunday, Feb. 21, 4–5pm. You can register at boast.nyc/party. There is a suggested donation of $10, which will help BOAST continue supporting local groups and establishments. It is free to join the raffle—with prizes from Astoria Bier & Cheese, The Bonnie, and The Thirsty Koala—but send us a message that you would like to be entered in order to do so. We hope to see you at the virtual party!

Recognizing Astoria Restaurants

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Illustration by Jen Robinson

Queens Together and BOAST: Best of Astoria want to recognize Astoria restaurants for the good work and community service they’ve done during the COVID-19 crisis.

These establishments provide meals and groceries to community fridges, hospital workers, senior centers, shelters, Ramadan Iftar boxes, food pantries, teachers and PAL centers.

Astoria stands strong in its commitment to small businesses, community service, and neighbors facing food and economic insecurity. We can get through this together.

Participating Astoria restaurants

Sac’s Place
Bund on Broadway
Eatnom
Ornella Trattoria
Zenon Taverna
Bareburger
La Mian Lounge
Sami’s Kabab House
Gyro World
Dino’s Pizzeria
Bel Aire Diner
Boishakhi
Pochana Thai
Il Bambino
Nneji
Bonoful Grocery
Kurry Qulture (now closed)
Nino’s AQ
King Souvlaki
Astoria Pizza Factory
Namaste
Titan Foods

What can you do to help? Support these restaurants! Let’s get them through the COVID-19 crisis one meal at a time.

Photos from Queens Together

Don’t Idle Your Car

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We’ve been walking around Astoria the last few days and have seen many people sitting in their car, idling their engine. We know it’s cold out, but please don’t do that! Not only is it bad for the car (wastes gas, burns up oil, drains car battery), but it’s bad for the environment and is detrimental to everyone’s health (contributes to air pollution). If you’d like to read more, below are some articles.

Here are five reasons to stop idling from New Roads.

Here is how idling affects your car from WBTV.

Here is why idling is bad for your car (and the environment) from Scott’s Fort Collins Auto.

Extras from the Survey

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Vintage / Photo by Mor Mezrich

Not everything from the BOAST: Best of Astoria 2020 survey made it onto the site. Here are some noteworthy categories and entries, in alphabetical order. (Please check to make sure they are open before going.)

Best Brazilian Food
Barzola
Favela Grill
Pao de Queijo

Best Date Spot
Mosaic
Sanfords Astoria
Sweet Afton
The Ditty (It’s scheduled to re-open once indoor dining resumes.)
The Letlove Inn
Vesta Trattoria & Wine Bar
Via Trenta Osteria & Wine Bar
Vintage

Best Gym
Astoria Park
Blink Fitness
Lucille Roberts–Astoria
Matrix Fitness Club
Rock
Unlimited Body NY
Yoga Agora

Best Haircut
Casablanca Hair Salon
Crush Studio
GiGi Salon & Styling Studio
Imagination Unisex Hair Designs
Kings Hairstyling
Nikos & Tasoula Hair Style
Redken Saloon Salon

Best Happy Hour
Bubba’s Bistro
Chano’s Cantina
Judy & Punch
Watawa Sushi

BOAST: Best of Astoria 2020 Winners – By the Numbers

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Here are some numbers from the BOAST: Best of Astoria 2020 winners.

Number of Categories
26 – EAT
12 – DO & SEE
10 – DRINK
50 – Total

Number of Winners
82 – EAT
33 – DO & SEE
23 – DRINK
138 – Total

Winners by Location
25 – 30th Ave (N/W)
23 – Astoria-Ditmars Blvd (N/W)
20 – Broadway (N/W)
14 – 31st Ave
9 – Steinway St (M/R)
8 – LIC
7 – Astoria Blvd (N/W)
3 – 36th Ave (N/W)

Businesses with Wins in Multiple Categories
4 – Astoria Park (1st–1, 2nd–2, 3rd–1)
4 – Queen’s Room (1st–1, 2nd–2, 3rd–1)
3 – Jujube Tree (1st–3)
3 – Compton’s (1st–1, 2nd–1, 3rd–1)
3 – Sanfords Astoria (2nd–1, 3rd–2)
3 – Socrates Sculpture Park (1st–2, write-in)
3 – Comfortland (1st–1, 3rd–1, write-in)
3 – Martha’s Country Bakery (2nd–2, 3rd–1)
2 – New York City Bagel & Coffee House (1st–2)
2 – Q.E.D. (1st–2)
2 – Sal, Kris and Charlie’s Deli (1st–2)
2 – Sweet Afton (1st–2)
2 – Judy & Punch (1st–1, 2nd–1)
2 – Madame Sousou Cafe (1st–1, 2nd–1)
2 – Seva Indian Cuisine (1st–1, 2nd–1)
2 – Astoria Bier & Cheese (1st–1, 3rd–1)
2 – Mom’s Kitchen & Bar (1st–1, 3rd–1)
2 – Souvlaki Lady (2nd–2)
2 – The Bonnie (2nd–2)
2 – Gossip Coffee (2nd–1, 3rd–1)
2 – Sac’s Place (2nd–1, 3rd–1)
2 – The Noguchi Museum (2nd–1, 3rd–1)
2 – Las Catrinas Mexican Bar & Eatery (1st–1, write-in)
2 – The Thirsty Koala (2nd–1, write-in)

BOAST: Best of Astoria 2020 Winners – Full List

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Here is a full list of the BOAST: Best of Astoria 2020 Winners.

EAT
Best Outdoor Dining
Queen’s Room
The Bonnie
Oliver’s Astoria

Best Takeout/Delivery
Jujube Tree
Seva Indian Cuisine
Mom’s Kitchen & Bar

Best American
Sweet Afton
The Bonnie
Compton’s

Best Bagels
New York City Bagel & Coffee House
Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company

Best Bakery
Parisi Bakery
Martha’s Country Bakery
Carasella
New York Bakery Café

Best Brunch
Mom’s Kitchen & Bar
The Thirsty Koala
Queen’s Room
The Shady Lady

Best Budget Dining
Create
Souvlaki Lady
Orale!! Tacos!!

Best Burger
Burger Club
Burgerology
Bareburger

Best Chinese
Jujube Tree
Golden Dragon

Best Deli
Sal, Kris and Charlie’s Deli
D & F Italian Deli

Best Dessert
Ample Hills Creamery
Sanfords Astoria
Martha’s Country Bakery
Al-Sham Sweets & Pastries
Comfortland (more…)

BOAST: Best of Astoria 2020 Winners Announced

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As we say Goodbye and Good Riddance to 2020, the BOAST: Best of Astoria 2020 Winners have been announced and posted on the website. You can see all the new winners on the EAT, DRINK, and DO & SEE pages. If you’d like to see the winners on a map, you can go to the LOCATION page where they are organized by location. We want to congratulate all of the winners, and we want to thank those of you who filled out the survey, and for doing short write-ups. You may even see some of your choices and write-ups on the site. We also want to thank the businesses that provided prizes for us to raffle off: Queen’s Room, Rivercrest, Sweet Afton, The Bonnie, and The Brass Owl. This was such a strange year, and because of that, there are some changes—we have new categories for Best Outdoor Dining and Best Takeout/Delivery, and we do not have categories for Best Movie Theater, Best Live Music, Best New Bar or Best Bar for Trivia Night. But this year we have more categories than ever before in the EAT section. Even as options for nightlife have been limited, we can still eat out, and Astoria has great options for that. Also, this year we have the most winners for Best Dessert (5), Best Bakery (4), Best Hot Chocolate (3), and Best Park (4). This reflects where we are right now—eating and drinking sweets, and spending time in parks. We hope that everyone continues supporting local businesses, and here’s to wishing 2021 will be better.