32 FEBRUARY 9 - FEBRUARY 15, 2018 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
VICTORIA’S
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPS-
YUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
tweet me @vschneps
Dining-around days
Being a publisher of a media company
with outlets online and
in print in Brooklyn, Queens
and Long Island, I have the joyous
opportunity of meeting great people
from those areas and visiting many
restaurants in those communities.
This past week, I went from Italian
food in Brooklyn to Chinese food
in Queens to an American sports
bar-restaurant on Long Island, each
unique in its own way and highly
recommended.
DINING IN BROOKLYN
My friend, Toni Yuillle Williams,
works for Con Edison in Brooklyn,
and we met for lunch at the DeKalb
Market, adjacent to a street I walked
along throughout my childhood since
my dad had a store on Fulton Street
that’s now a Shake Shack. For years,
I worked at his store when I was in
school and loved visiting it often.
After working, my dad would let me
walk down Fulton Street, where major
department stores drew me in and
down as far as Flatbush Avenue where
it intersects with DeKalb Avenue.
Today a massive, 30-story building
called City Point houses a food mall
downstairs; upstairs, there is a Century
21, Target and Alamo Drafthouse
Cinema, a unique seven-screen movie
theater that serves food while you are
enjoying the movie. More stores are
coming, and it is a happening
place.
Downstairs, Toni and I
met at Fortina, famous for
its wood-fired pizza and
foods cooked in its ovens.
This is the chain’s first
venture in New York City,
having multiple locations
in Westchester. The owners
have invested dearly in
creating a warm, inviting
environment using wood
and dim lighting to set it
apart from the bustling
DeKalb Market food hall.
I could probably spend every
day eating at the 40 different
choices including my
all-time favorite pastrami heaven,
Katz’s from Manhattan. I resisted
but I will be back.
Our meal at Fortina was an arugula
salad enhanced by pistachio,
lemon and shaved Parmesan with
wood-roasted chicken that was the
juiciest, tenderest and tastiest chicken
I ever had. It must be from being
cooked in the wood-burning ovens.
It’s a must eat place!
We shared one of Fortina’s famous
mouth-watering pizzas, the Luigi
Bianco, $22 but worth every dollar.
It’s topped with burrata, robiolona,
Parmesan cheese and black truffle oil.
We both found room to eat it after big
salads and take seconds. It was so good!
With the mall open seven days a
week, it’s a great destination for food,
fun and shopping for you and your
family.
ON TO FLUSHING
Then, one evening, I invited
members of the Roslyn Chamber of
Commerce to join me at Flushing’s
famous New Mulan Restaurant (136-17
39th Ave.), famous for its Cantonese
cuisine.
The men I met with have a “club”
called the Chinese Quest, (www.
thechinesequest.com), meeting
monthly at Chinese restaurants to
find and rate them. Being proud of
the great places for Chinese food in
Flushing, they were happy to join me
at the New Mulan.
We had the pleasure of dining in
one of its private dining rooms that
has a large round table with a lazy
Susan rotating glass top set for 12
people. The room is set
off with two TVs
Members of the Chinese Quest searched for and found a great
Cantonese meal at Flushing’s New Mulan Restaurant
on the walls and a stunning sculptured
lighting fixture on the ceiling,
creating an elegant environment.
My guests, all aficionados of Chinese
food, admitted they had never eaten
in such a beautiful environment with
such superb service. They also loved
the food! You will, too.
ON TO LONG ISLAND
I was introduced to a popular,
old-fashioned, local restaurant, Legends
on Broadway (646 South Broadway,
Hicksville), an American
bar and grill in Hicksville
down the block from the
famous IKEA store on
Broadway. The bustling
place, located in a strip
shopping center next
to a beauty parlor and
a bakery, had plenty of
free parking.
F r i d a y ,
Saturday and
Sunday, there
are changing
weekend specials
chosen by the chef,
and every Monday
and Tuesday
is Italian night.
Wednesday is
steak night and
Thursday is lobster night.
We were there on a
Friday night and tried the
specials. We began with a
crunchy baby kale Caesar
salad with sliced red onion,
chopped tomatoes and capers,
all tossed in a rich and tasty
Caesar dressing. Then I chose the salmon
pappardelle, which was my favorite
salmon, tossed with zucchini ribbons
and shiitake mushrooms in a roasted
garlic dill cream. It was delicious and
plentiful enough to take home leftovers.
One of my companions had the chef’s
trio of lobster, succulent flat iron steak
and shrimp presented with perfectly
creamy mashed potatoes with crunchy
string beans.
My other friend ordered from the
regular menu, selecting a
thickly packed steak
and melted cheese
sandwich on a
long, crispy roll
served with
the crunchiest
French fried
potatoes I’ve
ever eaten.
The restaurant
is famous
for its wide
variety of draft
beers from the
famous Guinness
draught to local beers
from Port Jefferson
to Greenport
to Montauk. You
can visit Long
Island through its
beers!
There are as many wines to choose
from and on Italian night, the wine is
only $5 a glass.
From Brooklyn, to Queens, to Long
Island, there is dining to delight every
pocket and every palate. Try it. You,
too, will love it!
Toni Yuille Williams with the manager of
Fortina in Downtown Brooklyn
Chef Craig McKelvey
serves amazing food at
Legends on Broadway
in Hicksville