Over 600 guests who paid $25 apiece crowded into the Sunnyside Community
Services Ballroom Tuesday night to sample a wide assortment of food and
drink from 24 tables at ³Taste of Sunnyside 2² the second annual restaurant
festival. Some innovations instituted this year were popular, such as
unlimited bottled water and soda, beer and wine for sale at $3 in addition
to the free beer and wine samples, explicit signage and structure, two
individual tastings lasting one and a half hours each, and free
participation by restaurants who held tables with a $100 returnable deposit.

³Another thing new thing we tried this year,² said Chamber of Commerce
President and Taste committee member Rebecca Barker, ³was a check off pass
so a guest could visit a table only once. We were a little worried that
people might not like that, but it turned out amazingly well. Few were even
able to visit half the tables, portions were more than Œtastes¹ and we many
people told us they tried some Œwild cards¹ and loving the food.²

³I am not much of a drinker, and didn¹t try all the beers, but the hard
cider at Manhattan Beer Distributors table was awesome,² said one guest.
Another favorite was the chicken potpie from Copper Kettle, Parmesan crusted
wings from Sunrise Restaurant, Turkish coffee from sponsor Turkish Cultural
Center, and dueling vodka pennes from Dazies and Donato¹s. ³My hands down
number one fav was the walnut sour cream apple pie from opening-soon bakery
Pink Icing,² said one woman. Her friend said, ³I loved Nodus and Dee Thai,
and I loved both the food from Ariyoshi and the Japanese costumes they
wore.²

The strawberry and mango margaritas and sangria enticed a line to Arriba
Arriba¹s table, and their guacamole was judged ³excellent² by a sampler. De
Mole restaurant served a popular shrimp cerviche, an obvious hit. Ramiro
Mendez chef/owner of de Mole, a Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce board and
Taste Committee member who some remember as suggesting a local taste event
for charity ten years ago, said, ³I feel my dream has come true.²

Tim Chen of Quaint served a new dish that included roast sausage and pear
chutney that disappeared quickly. Chen serves on the Board of the Chamber
and was a Taste Committee member. He and Mendez worked behind the scenes
with other committee members who were Artie Weiner and Patrice Lee from
Sunnyside Shines, and Patricia Dorfman from the Chamber.

The new restaurant Salt & Fat¹s owner and chef, Daniel Yi, manned and
introduced an pretty-to-look-at as well as tasty new dish to be added to
menu, which featured shrimp, browned corn and a puree, and his station was
hugely popular. Word was also that he Twittered his followers about the
event, ³I wish I had thought of that,² said another restaurant owner.

The baklava and meat pies at Souk Al Shater, which recently moved to Queens
Boulevard from 43rd Avenue, was a crowd pleaser. ³Give me that lamb
shepherd¹s pie [from 43, the recently renamed Bar 43] any night of the
week,² complimented a young man. I liked the red wine from Claret and the
temperature they served it at.² One guest raved about the empanadas from
Mama¹s Empanadas, saying they were ³delicious,² but his wife said, ³They
were too hard.² Fast food mainstay of Queens Boulevard White Castle did a
brisk turnover with hipsters, with some saying they loved not only the
burgers but Mozzarella sticks. Freshly made corn husk tamales from Real
Santa Fe Steak House were went faster than their steak offering.

There were a few complaints. ³I didn¹t like that a few restaurants ran out
of food before the second ³Taste² was over.² Many guests said that more
tables and chairs should have been provided. ³I liked the delicious steak
from Bliss 46 Bistro, but they ran out before the end and my friend didn¹t
get any,² said one man.

James Bray, Executive Director of Sunnyside Shines and Taste Committee
member, mentioned that he was approached this year by sponsors, such as
Yelp, whose table was filled with giveaways one won by fancifully spinning a
wheel. ³Last year, we reached out more, but this year, they called us.²

Anise Fusion¹s table featured a detailed sculpted watermelon which excited
guests, and more than a few guests lingered looking at the lavish flower
arrangements made by Greg at Sunnyside Florist. ³I didn¹t know we had that
kind of edgy florist in Sunnyside, ³ one guest remarked.

Addressing the crowds on and off were elected officials Nydia Velazquez,
John Liu, Cathy Nolan, Mike Gianaris, and Jimmy Van Bramer and were
welcomed by Sunnyside Shines chairman John Vogt. Officials and their staffs
had to pay to get in along with everyone else. The event was sponsored and
run by both Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce and Sunnyside Shines (BID) in
50/50 partnership, as opposed to most municipal tasting events which are
done for profit by an outside consultant (as was last year¹s). ³Our two
merchant associations did a great job by themselves,² said Community Board 2
Chair Joe Conley.