The Restaurants of 30th Avenue

Astoria is known for some amazing food and these restaurants are no exception. From early morning until late evening, each seat is occupied until the staff have had enough and make everyone leave. No matter what day of the week, each location along 30th is packed.

Quick Tips:

For Sunday brunchs, which everyone does, please get there early because once the seats are filled, no one makes plans to leave the seats that they have acquired. There is something that people cherish about sitting outside in the morning sun, the afternoon sun, or the midnight moonlight.

Best Way To Get Around:

Take the N/W trains to the 30th Avenue stop in Astoria and walk east up 30th Avenue (walk towards the way where the road goes up hill) and the restaurants are within a couple of minutes walking distance of each other.

I had the biggest craving for sushi last night and lucky for me, one of the best places is right there on 30th Avenue. I headed over to Go Wasabi (http://gowasabi.com) on 30th Avenue and 34th Street. Now this place, even though this place is a tad pricey for sushi, its so worth it.

My girlfriend and I decided to get take out this time, however, we have parked ourselves in that small restaurant for a lovely dinner many times. The service is always enjoyable and fast and the food is to die for. There is nothing in the world like a good sushi roll, so when you find one, you stick to it and never let it go.

Now, last night, I wasn’t really in the mood for sushi, but more in the mood to explore beyond the wrapped rice craze and see what else it is that I might like here. My girlfriend, however, went with the sushi, so I still got a taste. We ordered the Shrimp Shumai, which consisted of five delectable dumplings which were portioned out for mice; they were very small, but still good. We then got the Spicy Tuna Roll, the California Roll and I tried the Yaki Udon which was amazing. It was white flour noodles with some kind of teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds with chicken, diced veggies, and shrimp. Oh my God! Now one thing that we usually order, but didn’t last night because it would have been too much, were Tamago’s. Tamago’s are egg custard pieces over rice which are absolutely to die for. I realize most people have never had these before and that is way I mention them because here they are awesome.

Although the meal ran us a bit in the higher than normal zone, it was all so worth it. So if you are in Astoria and are in need of an amazing sushi place, Go Wasabi is definitely the place for you.

As a recent addition to the 30th Avenue restaurant scene, Ovelia has become something of a staple. Situated not four blocks from the subway, this place has become a hotspot among the local Astorians.

When this place first opened last winter, my girlfriend and her old roommate used to frequent it because they wanted it to grow and prosper because they loved the food, so they took me last night for a quick bit. Now, I have been here before, but only on Sunday, I'm hung-over, brunch, so some food off of the real menu sounded rather appetizing. When we arrived, much to our pleasure, the restaurant was empty (the twilight crowds hadn’t arrived yet) so we situated ourselves outside in the outside dining area. This is a regular scene in Astoria dining areas on the sidewalk, because people here love to people-watch and they enjoy that cool summer nighttime air.

Now, the one drawback to the open air Astoria dining is the European service. It is very lackadaisical and on their time, not yours. It can be rather frustrating at first, but after a little while, you get used to it. But, we sat ourselves out on the sidewalk and waited for our waitress to come by. She was a very lovely woman and was rather on the ball, so this was a rather nice change from what I am used to in Astoria. We went for the happy-hour drink prices and indulged ourselves in that luxury; $3 beers and $4 glasses of wine.

When our minds were finally made up with regards to dinner, the waitress happened to magically appear to take our orders- again another first for Astoria, probably because we were the only table. We each went with one of the Ovelia salads, steering clear from the wonderful kebob sandwiches that we get on Sundays. I went with the salad with roasted vegetables on top and it was amazing. It could have used some chicken on top, which I found out I could have ordered as an additional charge, but it was great all the same.

This place is a wonderful little Mediterranean restaurant that is family owned and operated. The place is owned by two brothers with their parents acting as the chefs in the back. This food is absolutely to die for and the atmosphere is great, just get here early because finding a seat on a clear night can be a torture and you can be waiting for hours. Enjoy!