Sotto Le Stelle – Sunnyside, Queens Pizzeria

Translated as "under the stars," Sotto Le Stelle's name captures the warmth and dazzle of this new pizzeria. Recently opened in my own neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens, it's owned by Manuel De Gregorio, who is also partners in the nearby...

SoleLuna – A Great Restaurant in Queens

Believing I had exhausted local restaurants to enjoy in my Sunnyside neighborhood, far from Manhattan, I was delighted to find SoleLuna, a two-year-old restaurant on Queens Boulevard. It took over a diner I had rarely visited except when desperate for the...

Casa Del Chef Bistro

A neighbor of mine in Sunnyside introduced me a new restaurant in Queens. Please understand. That's no small event for a borough that may have fertile centers of traditional ethnic food (e.g. Flushing's Chinatown), but overall seems on a slow boat toward...

Jonel Picioane – Master butcher/Charcutier

My charcuterie friend Jonel Picioane has the most awesome store. His Sunnyside market was my go to shop where I buy nduja and all sorts of good things. But to visit his Ridgewood European Pork store….well, it’s smoking! Literally as you walk to this hidden...

Salt and Fat

For years, my New York City neighborhood of Sunnyside has been a culinary wasteland. As part of Queens, it is home to wonderfully varied ethnic populations. But unlike Brooklyn, whose great parks and public green space – as well as a blocks and blocks of small...