Best & Most Affordable Food - Roosevelt Ave, Queens

Courtesy of GOOD Magazine...

Roosevelt Avenue, Queens

On Roosevelt Avenue between 62nd and 82nd Streets, rice is the common language, and its preparation varies as widely as the languages spoken on the 7 train, which rumbles above the adjacent neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Woodside. From stores, supermarkets, carts, stands, and trucks, the cuisines and cultures of Latin America and Asia intersect. Treat Roosevelt Avenue as a 20-block destination; it requires several return visits to truly appreciate.

Hopping off the 7 train at 61st Street, your first treat is about 35 paces away. Grab a toothsome pollo verde tamale from the friendly Mexican man under the station stairs, and then hoof it seven blocks to El Sitio, the venerable Cuban lunch counter, for ropa vieja, delicious fork-tender skirt steak stewed in tomato sauce. Next, try Asian chicken three ways: Experience the global evolution of fried chicken and Korean fast food at Unidentified Flying Chicken, hit the Little Manila fave Krystals for chicken adobo, and then, last but not least, is the authentic pad kra prow鈥攁 traditional dish of saut茅ed ground meat with basil sauce (get it with chicken, naturally)鈥攁t the Northern Thai standout Zabb Queens.

It%26#39;s worth returning for a nighttime pilgrimage to Little Colombia, which begins around 75th Street, to visit the Arepa Lady%26#39;s small cart on Roosevelt Avenue. Her crispy, cheese-oozing Colombian corn cakes鈥攐nly available after 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays鈥攈ave inspired devotees to erect a MySpace page in her honor.

Don%26#39;t Miss!

AREPA LADY Roosevelt Avenue between 78th and 79th

Try the: Cheese arepas

EL SITIO 68鈥?8 Roosevelt Avenue

Try the: Ropa vieja

UNIDENTIFIED FLYING CHICKEN 71鈥?2 Roosevelt Avenue

Try the: Chicken wings with soy garlic sauce

ZABB QUEENS 7128 Roosevelt Avenue

Try the: Pad kra prow

Best %26amp; Most Affordable Food - Roosevelt Ave, Queens

Big ups to Unidentified Flying Chicken. Man, that stuff is good... anyone know if they have their liquor license yet?

Best %26amp; Most Affordable Food - Roosevelt Ave, Queens

Ugh...';Little Colombia'; would actually be Northern Blvd from 82nd - 90th....with much better restaurants. That area on Roosevelt is a South American mixed bag. Would it kill these food critics to actually venture more than a block away from the train to earn their supposed ';street cred';...?

Thanks a lot, LTT!! Now I%26#39;ll have to weave and dodge map-weilding tourists there, too! ;o) I%26#39;m sure cbcito is thrilled.

Anyway, great info, if I do say so myself.

Thanks LTT! Here%26#39;s a vote for a TA meetup at one of the Queens Thai places.

Oops, spoke too soon!

Zabb is a bit disappointing. Where are all the Thai people and why aint they eating there ? Explanation ..... small portions and a bit pricy for this area of Queens. Zabb is Isan cuisine similar to Laos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isan

..... their best dish is actually %26#39;larb%26#39; ..... gorund pork bolied and then mixed with roasted rice, chili and mint

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larb

Kra Pow is actually very easy to make yourself at home.

Ate in Zabb several times ..... it%26#39;s definitely a miss in my opinion ..... but it does stay open till late at night.

Don%26#39;t get me wrong...I love Roosevelt. However; the better food is not located there. (But for nightlife...and loud latino culture it cannot be beat.)

The Arepa lady also strikes a chord; and I%26#39;m somewhat of a regular there. She%26#39;s set up right outside one of the gay clubs, and I think the presence of said gays have made it chic. It%26#39;s quite a scene to behold obviously, and makes for great conversation. But the reality is that they are just arepas, comparable to most in Jackson Hts.

I also don%26#39;t understand the love of Zabb. If you want world-class Thai, go to Sripraphai, it%26#39;s a few blocks away. If you want nice neighborhood Thai, go to Rice Ave. If you want weird southeast Asian, go to Burmese Cafe.

I also generally hate the foodie obsession with carts. Especially the ones on Roosevelt. Where TF are you supposed to eat your taco? Carry it home and wait for it to get cold? Eat it under the stinky, noisy 7 train deafening you every three minutes? Drop your taco fixings on the street as you try to juggle it with whatever else you%26#39;re holding?

No thanks. I%26#39;ll get my Mexican food at Coatzingo (76th and Roosevelt) and fire up the Norteno jukebox, or get my Colombian food at that bakery place on 37th and 80th or so. Or get my Peruvian food at Pio Pio. Or Papa%26#39;s Empanadas. No overhead trains involved! And they have heating!

I%26#39;ll second the vote for UFC though.