Just moved to Forest Hills--Looking for recommendations

[KiwiGirl625]

I just moved to Forest Hills and am looking for the must-try restaurants in and near the neighborhood. I've been to several on or near Austin St -- Habana, Peking Duck Forest, Mardis Gras, Portofino. Are there any others I should definitely check out? Looking for any type of cuisine, any price range.

[kayser]

There are definitely some good food choices on metropolitan avenue in FHills.

[Justjenn]

Grew up in Forest Hills. I love the italian at Family which is right around the corner on Queens Blvd from Portofino. Was there during thanksgiving and had the chicken in garlic which was still solid as usual. Mickey's moved and no longer exists in forest hills

[monicatm]

Re desserts at Danny Brown's-- the crepes with creme fraiche-- delicious and the poached pear with sweet gorgonzola-- out of this world!

[Chalkdust]

Haven't seen Yasu Sushi appear in this thread yet! Wonderful place, some of the best sushi and service I've had in New York. It's located on Yellowstone Blvd. between Clyde St. and Dartmouth St.

[oc200]

Stop giving away this secret place !!!!! j/k

Yasu is absolutely wonderful. It's definitely not fancy at all, yet pricier and smaller portioned than other typical Chinese/Korean owned Queens Japanese places, but I like it that way so that only the true fish connoisseurs will seek it out.

In no specific order, these are the good places in FH:
DB Wine Bar
Nick's pizza
Dee's pizza
Latin Cabana Express
Pinang
Thai Pot

[pepper]

I would add Mi Casa on Metropolitan to that list for decent roasted chicken.

[noodles]

Dont miss DB Wine Bar. I think it may be the most on point place in the Hills. The wines change out frequently, or seem to with the menus, which focus on seasonality, simple preparations and focused flavors. Welcome to the 'hood.

[yongjoo]

I second that. Danny Brown is the best restaurant in Forest Hills

[NYEpicuriosity]

As a huge fan of DB Wine bar I have to third it. The place fires on all cylinders all the time, and has a really great affordable wine list not to mention really sweet help. It's by no means on the cheap eats list, but it's a great little restaurant that shouldn't be missed.

[janie]

I'd like to take my husband there for his birthday, but I don't see any prices on the online menu. What are the portion size for the small plates? Do you recall the price of the steak? He is a shrimp, clam, scallops, calamari, steak , lamb person---and I'm doing a very vegan thing at the moment, what are the best choices there for this? Also, their desserts don't sound very exciting, are they better than they sound? Thanks for the info..

[evets]

Small plates are definitely appetizer-sized. A person with a small appetite could probably just eat two of them, but I always have one small plate and one entree. The apps are around $10, and I think the entrees start in the mid-teens and top out in the low $20s (steak is on the high end of the range). I don't know what a vegan could eat - there is a vegetarian risotto - but I'm sure it has cheese in it. Maybe they could do something special for you. And dessert is defintely the weak spot of this otherwise super restaurant. You're better off walking across the street to Eddie's or even Carvel.

[dizzyizzy]

I like Danny Brown's too. Actually, their panna cotta is one of my favorite desserts ever. The flavors change -- the last time I was there, I had a lavender and vanilla panna cotta that was delicious.

[TM2007]

There are a number of places along Metropolitan Avenue. I really like the brick oven pizza at Dee's. Leo's Latticini is in Glendale, a short ride away on the Q54 along Metropolitan. Atlas Park, also in Glendale, has a nice small Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. Unlike the other Chowhound posters, I really like the Amish Market in Atlas Park. Aaron's Sweetshop, a kosher bakery on Metroplitan and 118th has great bread.

[Shayna Madel]

The only Leo's Latticini I know is a one-location deli operation in Corona--the best Italian subs--What's the story with the place in Glendale--restaurant? Deli? Just curious.

[layatp]

Here's my list:
Andre's Hungarian: rugelach, pastries
Knish Knosh: great hot dogs, pressure fried chicken and of course the knishes
Thai Pot/Thai Austin/Bann Thai: If you're craving Thai or want takeout these are okay.. Obviously, go to Srip in JH for auuthentic Thai
Carmel: I go to this place nearly every week for their nuts,dried fruit, and everything behind the counter (eggplant salad, hummus, etc) is delicious
Natural Food Store: I feel is the only decent grocery store in the area with decent organic products
Organic Food Store on the other end of Austin: Great selection and the food sold behind the counter isn't half bad either
Chikibu: okay sushi (not the most authentic but will do the trick if you're craving it and it's cheap)
Sato: Bento boxes are decent as is the sushi

I still have to try On the Grill at some point as I"ve heard great things about this place. I think they're only open for dinner though.

[janie]

On the grill is open for lunch...and their falafel is good. Forgot to mention Andre's, best rugelach in the world. For inexpensive and very fresh veg sushi (can't vouch for the fish because I don't eat it) head over to Metro Sushi in Kew Gardens, cute little place and it's very clean (not the problems that Oh Sushi has--check out NYC violations on that place and you'll never return)...and service is quick as can be...

[janie]

Best Forest Hills bets are the following: Nick's Pizza, very good brick over pizza and excellent house salad---Corfu Greek place in arcade building where Pui Bella is on Austin..very good lunch $5.50 special, good chicken kebab, befteki, and beef kebab, good spinach pie but small portion, good lemon potatoes home style...and very good chicken soup--, Cabana cuban lunch spot with lunch specials that opened recently is dependable and good value, Natural for produce shopping, Stop and Shop in Glendale/Forest Hills if you value a big clean modern supermarket with a huge parking lot, Israeli place next to the LIRR for a good falafel sandwich, but a better one can be had at On the Grill in Rego Park which someone suggested to you. Also, knish Nosh in Forest Hills makes fabulous matzoh ball soup and pierogis besides their famous knishes..this place is great for takeout..Carmel is the best in Rego Park, have been shopping there for 20 years, and they have hard to find Israeli yogurt cheese, and excellent nuts and dried fruits including great prunes, etc...they also sell feta cheese--Soon Trader Joe's will open next to Home Depot in Forest Hills/Woodhaven blvd area so you'll have more options...Always thought the Fish Market on Austin was overpriced and not fresh at all for many things...(although they have some decent salads up front) and much prefer the Kew Gardens Fish market on Lefferts Blvd...DB wine bar that was mentioned to you already is the upscale place at the moment in the area, ----the Thai place that's close to kew Gardens Courthouse on QB that's been a couple different Thai places is fairly decent at the moment, although I go to Srip in Woodside when I want Thai...Explore around, you'll find some others, and of course there are the Uzbek places in Rego Park as well if you're into that thing, there are a couple that are favorites on the board here, do a search and you can read about it..welcome to the neighborhood

[NYJewboy]

Don't go to P.J.'s steak house!

[moymoy]

My FH faves are:

Thai Austin
Nick's Pizza
DB Wine Bar

[Shayna Madel]

No "superstar" restaurants in FH, at least the Austin Street-Queens Boulevard part, but that said, I agree with the suggestions of trying Leo's at 46-02 104th Street, Corona, and Ben's Best on Queens Boulevard, in Rego Park. Get some of the fresh pasta products at the pasta shop next door, run by the same family. Manicotti is just great and all you need is some sauce and a salad and it's instant easy dinner. Then there's always the knishes at Knish Nosh, also on Queens Boulevard, in Rego Park. If you need a diner with everything but the kitchen sink, try the Georgia Diner, on Queens Boulevard, I think in Elmhurst. The produce at Natural is the best in the area. I had hoped that Martha's Country Bakery would be a really good, old-fashioned bakery, but after sampling some cookies and a few other things, not so great, definitely better than Broadway Bakery, though that's not saying much. While Bonelle is the best bakery in the area, it's not an old-style bakery that sells good danish, coffee cakes, cookies, breads and rolls. Oh, I forgot. Haven't been there in quite awhile, but The Family used to be great red-sauce Italian. Anyone know how it's been since the change in owners a year or two ago?

[pellegrino31]

I posted to one of the threads Linda mentioned above - and my recs still hold. At that time I had only lived in FH for a few months but now nearly a year after moving to the area, I still feel pretty disappointed by the local food choices (and by that I mean ones you can easily walk to around Austin St or QB). It's a good neighborhood for some things, but food isn't exactly one of them.

A few things I'd add to my original recs which I don't think I listed - Mood in Kew Gardens, our neighbor to the east - has a very good modern American restaurant called Mood. Most times the place is empty - especially for lunch and I've never seen it more than half full at dinner. But the food is well prepared so I keep coming back. Service can be slow but not terrible. They have an incredible cheeseburger - one that I put in the same league as my other favorites like Shake Shack and Waterfront Ale House.

Kew Gardens also has an excellent independent movie theater but the best part is the popcorn - it's excellent!

I also like DB Wine Bar on Metropolitan. It's probably the only modern restaurant in Forest Hills and has very good food and a nice wine list.

Where I think that Forest Hills lacks in restaurants, I think their food shopping choices are great. I moved from Park Slope where I had a lot of great shops and hoped I would find the same here and I have. All on Austin St - Forest Hills Fishery is a great high quality fish shop, Cheese of the World has a great selection and knowledgeable staff, the Natural is good for everyday shopping and on the other end closer to Yellowstone is Organic Forever with a good selection of natural/organic products.

Around the corner from the Natural on Ascan is Bonelle Bakery which is my favorite bakery in the area. Yes one of the sisters who owns the place is cranky. But they make amazing fruit tarts and cakes.

[abu applesauce]

I second the popcorn

[ajs42548]

Forest Hills is close to Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Woodside. There are some great restuarants in those neighborhoods. Ask around.

[abu applesauce]

I just moved out after living there 3 years. There really isn't a must-try restaurant in Forest Hills proper, although as poster above pointed out, there's plenty a few neighborhoods away. Here are the places in the immediate area that I frequented:

On the Grill--Shwarma/Israeli on south side of QB off 67th Ave heading west--excellent shwarma and other assorted goodies.

Mickey's Sushi--south side of QB off 67th Ave heading east--great sushi

Salute: Uzbeki/Buchari on 108 street and low 60's. There are a few other paces on 108 street with similar cuisine that I never tried, but are apparently just as good as salute.

Nick's Pizza--Austin Street

Thai Austin--little place on Austin across from movie theater--hidden gem--loved the place, hope it's still in business

Leo's Latticine aka Mama's: On 104th and 50 something avenue--do a search on chowhound, you'll find exact address, accessible via 108 street bus (i had car) for an unbelievable Italian deli, with top notch fresh mozzarelle--I guess this place is the must-try, although not in FH...

Carmel: on 108 and low 60's--the best nuts, seeds, dried fruit...I miss that place.

Ben's Best--63rd and QB--Kosher deli--I've had many chef salads with chopped liver on top..and don't forget to get a dog in hand while waiting for your order.

i guess there's more than I give the neighborhood credit for--enjoy

[Linda]

you should def try a search first. here are some helpful threads, all from popping in forest hills in the search function:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/308647
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/347935
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/378150

[el jefe]

I can't think of any "must have's" in Forest Hills and I've been living here for 20 years. Most of the places on the list above are fine, although it includes Rego Park and Corona. You can skip "Mickey's Place" though. While they do serve excellent sushi, they've lost their lease and are moving to Bayside.