Gourmand's Guide

Bengali In Queens

2008-02-18T20:59:00.001-08:00

Nanking Express
72-23 37th Avenue
Jackson Heights, NY 11372 (Queens)
718-651-3224

For the past month, my friend Sabbir insisted that I come by his neighborhood in Queens to try Bengali food, the country he’s from. Now when a local recommends going to a restaurant that serves his country’s cuisine, common sense dictates that the place is worth checking out, especially if he is a gourmand like yourself! (and if that friend has no idea what it means to have a good meal or doesn’t care about it – then maybe you ask yourself why you’re going out with him for food in the first place! But I digress….) Knowing that Sabbir loves a good meal, and knowing that he is familiar with the area, I had to try this place.

The place he took me was called Nanking Express on 72-23 37th Ave in Jackson Heights, Queens. Walking inside the restaurant, at first it seemed inauspicious. To the side of the door, there was a counter where the cashier stood and above her was a menu with all the dishes. We were a little disappointed to find out that the buffet we planned to get for $8 was only offered on the weekends. But Sabbir still insisted on eating here and I yielded to his judgment. Behind the counter there were clear white tables – not too many, since this was a small restaurant. Still we were able to find a place to sit and eat, with no wait. The restaurant was also crowded, even at 2 PM, which is always a good sign.

Such a helpful and supportive wait staff too! Not only did they give us one menu, they also gave us one catering menu as well! Maybe my reputation for eating a lot of food precedes me, and they know full well that the normal menu simply wouldn’t be enough for me! Actually this was something that we had to call upon the waiter to remedy, but outside of this the service was not that bad. The menu was split down the middle between Thai/Chinese on one page and Mughlai Indian (Northern Indian Cuisine) on the other side, and each page was subdivided into two columns: Vegetarian and non-vegetarian. We decided to be carnivores and chose three dishes to split. He chose goat meat fried in a chili sauce ($7.95), while I chose a fish curry ($7.95) and a chicken curry ($5.95). According to Sabbir, the goat meat is a specialty of northern Bangladesh, the fish curry is a specialty of southern Bangladesh, and chicken curry is just a common dish that is eaten everywhere! We also got three pieces of Naan, which came at $1 apiece, and they were huge! To my dismay, only the fried goat meat came with white rice – doesn’t that seem a little odd? Shouldn’t curry be offered with rice too? Oh, me and my western misconceptions!

Sometimes when eating out you are faced with the irony that a dish that you don’t expect to like turns out to be your favorite. This was the case with the goat meat. The meat was spicy and fresh, and came with onions and a yogurt sauce. Combined with naan, it is fantastic. It wasn’t in a curry, but it was cooked in oil. Expect no less, considering that this dish is fried! One side note: The yogurt sauce is excellent to cure the ill effects of spicy foods. Just dip some naan in it and eat a piece to soothe the burning sensation in your mouth. And believe me, the food is hot enough to make these instructions necessary! It is also ironic that although this dish is served with rice, you’re better off sticking with naan and scooping it up. Rice is completely unnecessary!

It is better to save your rice for the 2 curries that came out with the meal. The fish curry was served in a curry that was orange, and while very spicy, still very tasty. It also came with red chili peppers, which just added to the taste. The white fish was also flaky and boneless. The taste was distinctive from the next curry, which consisted of the chicken and was cooked in a curry sauce that looked brownish and red. To my horror, I broke off some naan, scooped up the chicken and took a bite – only to discover that the chicken had a bone in it! Sabbir pointed out that in Bangladesh chicken curry always has bones in it, since people don’t have time to debone the chicken. Come on, this is the first Indian restaurant that I ate at that served their chicken curry with the bones in it – the chicken curry is usually a deboned dish! Maybe that’s one of the differences between Bengali and “traditional” Indian food, but I would choose the latter any day of the week. Bones simply make it impossible to dip in the curry and eat as a sandwich with the naan, and completely ruin the dish!

One side note: before I eat, it is a custom of mine to wash my hands. This was a unisex bathroom, simply consisting of a blow dryer, a sink and a toilet. When I got back, Sabbir looked at me inquisitively. “Didn’t you find the bathroom disgusting?” he asked. “No, it looked fine.” I responded. “Oh, maybe that’s because its early in the day, but usually the bathroom is disgusting.” People, you have been warned.

Overall, I left that meal feeling completely satiated, but not overstuffed as a buffet might have made me feel. The place is open until 11 PM, but I would recommend this as a lunch place to come in with your friends or family. I don’t see bringing a date here, since traditional American table manners are not exactly emphasized. Even if she does it too, how good do you look scooping up meat with a piece of naan? Ultimately, I would give this restaurant an 8/10. Portions were fairly large, and you could eat a substantial amount of good food for under $20. Given the excellence of the other dishes, I can dismiss the chicken curry as an aberration. The goat meat was outstanding; simply like nothing I had before. The fish curry was also excellent, and its different style from the goat meat created a diversity of flavor. I would definitely come back here, and I recommend this place to all of you to try if you are ever in Queens. As Sabbir put it, sometimes the best meals you can eat are found in the unassuming little restaurants that look like holes in the wall!

First Review: Frankie and Johnnie's Pine Taverna Restaurant

2008-02-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

Frankie and Johnnie’s Pine Tavern Restaurant
1913 Bronxdale Ave.
Bronx, NY 10462
(718) 792-5956

My first review takes us to an Italian restaurant in the Bronx called Frankie and Johnnie’s. The Bronx is known for good Italian food – the Little Italy up there is probably one of New York’s best Italian culinary spots. This place however is not even near that area. Rather, it is closer to the Bronx Zoo, in a neighborhood that might not appear very affluent though is definitely not run down either.

Stepping into the restaurant is like stepping into a classic Italian scene. There is a brick interior, complete with tables with the white stereotypical red and white table clothes, a pizza oven as soon as you walk in, with meat hanging from the ceiling and other Italian delicacies peering out behind glass, such as eggplant rollatini, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella in olive oil, a plate of olives, parmesan cheese and fried eggplant with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. The jazz music also gave the place a classier feel. But its dim lighting and rustic atmosphere is offset by the size of the room, which robs the place of all its intimacy. Though this is not a chain restaurant, it’s never good to be reminded of UNOs or TGIF.

I went with my friend Dan, who I can always count on to enjoy a nice big meal with me. Together, I knew we’d cover a lot of ground. We started out with an appetizer – we agreed to split a fried mozzarella. He then ordered gnocchi with meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. I got a non-Italian dish, a linguine jambalaya, which looked promising. Besides, I was here to critique all the food, and that includes both the Italian and the non-Italian dishes.

We started with some bread, the staple of any meal, which was a rustic Italian bread; crunchy on the outside, but a very thick bread, with lots of dough in the middle. The dough is clearly designed to dip in sauces, and for that it serves a good purpose. However, it is best saved until that moment. The bread came out warm and fresh and was served with both butter and olive oil, but the olive oil did not have a rich flavor.

The first dish that came out was the fried mozzarella. There were 8 pieces, cut into triangles, with a bowl of marinara sauce in the center. The fried mozzarella was done right. The worst thing you could do is not fry it enough so that the cheese seems cold and rubbery. This however was not the case. The mozzarella was soft and juicy, though a little greasy.

I believe that any Italian restaurant (except those specializing solely in northern Italian cuisine) must be judged by its marinara sauce. It’s a central part of (southern) Italian cooking, and so prevalent in United States restaurants. This is clearly one of the ways to separate the wheat from the chaff. At Frankie and Johnnie’s, the sauce had a tangy flavor to it, sometimes seeming chunky and other times seeming a little watered down. I did, however, notice a hint of onion. My friend complained that there wasn’t enough garlic in it, but I did not view that as detrimental. To be fair, the sauce was above average, definitely made fresh and not out of a jar, though not the best I’ve ever eaten.

What did score this restaurant some extra points was that there is no parmesan cheese in the small glass cylindrical containers. They grate all the cheese in front of you. The cheese tasted a little sharp, but it was clear that it was fresh! In addition, the service was outstanding. The waiters were polite, courteous, and most importantly, prompt. Then again, I went during lunch while there was not such a huge crowd, so I cannot guarantee this during dinner time as well.

Then the main courses came out. It was served on two gigantic plates that made it clear that this would be enough for two people. We started with the gnocchi. The actual gnocchi itself left something to be desired. A good gnocchi should melt in your mouth. This gnocchi was doughy; the same type of gnocchi as if you went to an Italian grocery store and bought a bag of it. The dish was saved though by the sheer fact that the meat sauce was amazing. It was very fresh, and you could taste the garlic. Stewed tomatoes and basic added a fantastic complementary taste. There was also a very fresh and rich mozzarella cheese. Though the dish was a little salty, that’s in essence what comes from eating a rich meat sauce. The dish was so rich that Dan couldn’t finish it; a shocking feat since Dan could usually finish the vast majority of what he orders!

I liked the idea of the jambalaya, which was described on the menu as rock shrimp and chicken sautéed with onions, roma tomato and peppers in a Cajun sauce on top of a bed of linguine. Though in my genius, I decided to change linguine to cappellini, a type of angel hair pasta. The resulting dish reminded me a bit of eating ramen noodles, but to be fair, ramen noodles don’t have vegetables and whole pieces of chicken. The sauce felt like a garlic and oil sauce, which was very watery which added to the ramen noodle effect. The other problems I encountered with this dish were that there were not nearly enough shrimps, which was cut into tiny pieces. In addition, it was a little spicy but not nearly spicy enough. Then again, over the years I’ve trained myself to enjoy a lot of spice so I am not the typical American. But the chicken, the peppers and the tomatoes were very fresh which made the dish enjoyable.

The Pines is a local neighborhood place that gets packed on the weekends, and it’s clear to see why. The food, though not the best Italian food out there, is definitely above average, and served in copious amounts. Prices are also reasonable, as these huge entrees all go for under $20. This is the type of place you come with your family or a group of friends to enjoy a good meal together, with good conversation and good laughs. But like I said earlier, make reservations, because this place can get packed! I would not recommend it as a date place, especially not a first date. Also, it’s not worth a pilgrimage from Manhattan, unless of course if you couple it with a trip to the Bronx Zoo. It’s also best to reach this place by a car. But the most important rule to remember about this place: COME HUNGRY!