Queens Restaurants Offer Varied Cuisines, Excellent Quality
BY RICHARD GENTILVISO

Across the five boroughs, Queens is the place to eat. Sripraphai in Woodside is the number one restaurant for Thai food and Trattoria L'Incontro in Astoria is the number three restaurant for Italian food, according to the 2007 New York City Zagat Survey. And for the first time, a Queens street food vendor has edged out the Manhattan competition.

The Zagat Survey has been a standard for excellence in dining since Tim and Nina Zagat established it in 1979. They believed compiling the personal experiences of thousands of restaurant customers was more accurate in rating a restaurant than a review by any one person. Today, more than 250,000 people contribute ratings in over 70 cities worldwide.

The two Queens restaurants, Sripraphai and Trattoria L'Incontro, were also among the top 40 restaurants in New York City, an impressive standing, given the number and quality of food establishments in the city and the discerning palates of its denizens. Sripraphai is located at 64-13 39th Ave. and Trattoria L'Incontro is at 21-76 31st St.

Meanwhile, New York City's best street food vendor, Samiul Haque Noor, serves grilled chicken and lamb from his cart, Sammy's Halal, at 73rd Street and Broadway in Jackson Heights. Noor was one of two finalists from Queens and the ultimate winner among 200 nominees at the second annual Vendy awards, making Queens "arguably the city's capital of street food," according to an October 25 New York Times report.

The first Zagat guide was a survey made exclusively for New York City. In addition to restaurants, Zagat guides also rate travel, shopping and recreation. Questionnaires are posted on Zagat's Web site, where consumers can continuously give their ratings and reviews. The published guides are based on the results of the questionnaires pegged to a 30-point scale.

Also receiving high Zagat scores were Piccola Venezia, Agnanti and Taverna Kyclades, all in Astoria. according to an October 19 report in the New York Daily News.

"Astoria has become a veritable 'Restaurant Row'-home to hundreds of exquisite restaurants, intimate cafes, quaint coffee shops, and other eating emporiums. Astoria is a whole world of dining in one neighborhood," a brochure entitled "Dine Astoria" by the Central Astoria Local Development Coalition, states.

Indeed, Agnanti (19-06 Ditmars Blvd.), Taverna Kyclades (33-07 Ditmars Blvd.) and Piccola Venezia (42-01 28th Ave.) are surrounded by numerous other food places included in the 2007 Zagat Survey.

They are: Amici Amore (29-35 Newtown Ave.), Ammos (20-30 Steinway St.), Brick Café (30-95 33rd St.), Café Bar (32-90 36th St.), Cavo (42-18 31st Ave.), Christos Steak House (41-08 23rd Ave.), Demetris (32-11 Broadway), Elias Corner (24-02 31st St.), Emack & Bolio's (21-50 31st St.), Le Sans Souci (44-09 Broadway) , Malagueta (25-35 36th Ave.), Omonia Café (32-20 Broadway), Ploes (33-04 Broadway), Ponticello (46-11 Broadway), Sac's Place (25-41 Broadway), S'Agapo (34-21 34th Ave.), 718 (35-01 Ditmars Blvd.), Stamatis (31-14 Broadway), Telly's Taverna (28-13 23rd Ave.), Thai Pavilion (37-10 30th Ave.) and Ubol's Kitchen (24-42 Steinway St.).

In addition, these Astoria food places were cited in a November 3, 2004 New York Times article: Butcher Bros. Steakhouse (29-33 Newtown Ave.), Cup Diner and Bar (35-01 36th St.), Fatty's Café (25-01 Ditmars Blvd.), Go Wasabi No. 1 (34-02 30th Ave.), Go Wasabi No. 2 (29-11 Ditmars Blvd.), J.J.'s Fusion Kitchen and Sushi Bar (37-05 31st Ave.) and Uncle George's Tavern (33-19 Broadway).

Over the 27-year history of the Zagat Survey, poor service is the most frequently made complaint (63 percent) while complaints about food and prices amount to only about 20 percent. Zagat Survey columns appeared in the Gazette for more than two years.