New York’s most fascinating neighbourhood is across a familiar bridge

I’m tucking into one of the best mezze platters I’ve ever eaten, at Kabab Cafe (kababcafenyc.com) in the heart of Astoria, Queens. The place is tiny, so if you visit you will probably get to know your fellow diners. And you will definitely get to know Ali El Sayed, the loquacious Egyptian chef who opened the restaurant in 1989.

Egyptian chef Ali El Sayed.Credit:

“Astoria was always a place for immigrants,” he says, after joining me at the table, sipping black coffee and warming to one of his favourite subjects, his adopted neighbourhood. “The people from these different countries might not traditionally like each other at all, but here in Astoria they all walk the same streets and sit in the same cafes together. Do you understand?”

I’m beginning to. I’m spending a couple of days in Astoria because it keeps ending up on lists of the most desirable places to visit ­in New York.

It’s also one of the most culturally diverse. Astoria is only about 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan by N train, but it feels like a different city. Almost half of Queens residents were born outside the US, with 120 different nationalities represented and 140 or so languages spoken.

Taverna Kyclades.Credit:

By the 1970s, about half of Astoria’s population was Greek, and to this day it’s considered the go-to destination in New York for Greek food. The most popular spot is Taverna Kyclades (tavernakyclades.com), where I lunch on day two, making my way through tender octopus, grilled branzino (sea bass) and golden potatoes cooked in mustard, paprika and lemon.

Astoria also has a large Arabic population. The strip of Steinway Street where Kabab Cafe sits is generally referred to as Little Egypt and is lined with halal sandwich shops, Turkish cafes and hookah lounges. More recently, Eastern European and South American immigrants have also flooded into the neighbourhood.

Familiar? The Hell Gate Bridge.Credit:

After leaving Kabab Cafe, I walk off lunch by heading to Astoria Park, a 25-hectare patch of green that rolls down to the East River. And there in front of me is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Well, its almost identical little sister, anyway. The Hell Gate Bridge was built 15 years before Sydney’s famous coat hanger opened in 1932, providing the template for its bigger sibling in Australia.

Later that afternoon, I sip a stein of excellent Czech beer at Bohemian Beer Hall and Garden (bohemianhall.com), which has been here since 1910 and is the oldest biergarten in New York. In the evening, I experience the modern flipside at SingleCut Beersmiths (singlecut.com), a buzzing post-industrial space that became the first brewery to open in Queens after Prohibition when it debuted in 2012.

On tap: SingleCut Beersmiths.Credit:

The next morning I head to MOMI – the Museum of the Moving Image (movingimage.org), built on the site of the former Paramount film studios in 1989. The Behind the Scenes exhibit features interactive displays involving sound effects, music and editing, and there are cabinets of film and TV memorabilia as well as a whole wall of vintage videogames that you can play. Over the years there have been immersive exhibitions based around everything from Mad Men to The Walking Dead, and a permanent Jim Henson exhibition follows his history with puppets, from Sesame Street and the Muppets movies to Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.

A MOMI toy and lunchbox display.Credit:

As I wander the neighbourhood that afternoon, I can see the old and the new coexist on the commercial stretches of Ditmars Boulevard, Broadway, Steinway Street and 30th Avenue. Newcomers such as Lockwood (lockwoodshop.com), a trendy three-store mini-empire that sells stationery, gifts, accessories and clothing, sit alongside old-school favourites such as Alba’s Pizza (albapizza.com) and La Guli Pastry Shop (laguli.com).

At the end of my two days, I have a nightcap at The Let Love Inn (letloveinn.com), a cocktail bar that’s as dark and atmospheric as the Nick Cave song Let Love In, after which it is named.

As I sit at the bar, sipping my drink, I go through my notebook and find something Ali El Sayed had said the previous day at Kabab Cafe.

“In the morning I have my coffee at the Italian cafe. When I shop, I deal with people who are from China and India and Bangladesh and Greece. It’s a place where all these people can keep their culture, but live side-by-side. That’s why I like living here.”

And perhaps that’s why Astoria is becoming the king of Queens.

THE DETAILS

VISIT
If you’re staying in midtown Manhattan, you can easily get to Astoria on an N express train in about 20 minutes. Get off at Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard and you’ll be right in the middle of things.

STAY
Tempo By Hilton New York Times Square (hilton.com, rooms from $US335 [$A519]) is in the heart of midtown Manhattan and only two blocks from the 49th Street N train stop, which takes you directly to Astoria. This 661-room hotel is the first from Hilton’s Tempo brand, which emphasises affordable style and fitness/wellness.

The writer travelled at his own expense.