A recent and welcome attraction in Long Island City

LICqueenstv writer Eso Romero

A recent and welcome attraction, Local Finds Queens Food Tour  is a culinary and cultural walking adventure in LIC. Sergey, the tour guide, was knowledgeable and a true professional, providing a good mix of food tastings and LIC history tidbits. The food tour portion was a carefully planned sequence of variety, beginning with a five-cheese mac and cheese at Sage General Store and ending with Rocket Fuel iced coffee from Sweet Leaf.

Our first stop, Sage General Store, has been around since 1997, originally a catering company whose primary client was Silver Cups Studios, where The Sopranos and Sex in the City were filmed. Sage has continued in its commitment to local purveyors with a farm-to-table menu. We sampled their famous mac and cheese, which earned a spot on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The five-cheese mac (fontina, swiss, goat cheese, aged Vermont cheddar and bleu cheese) was saucy and rich with a faint crisp. It was topped with finely grated bacon so the bacon taste was subtle. The serving in a small bowl was sufficient; a larger serving would have felt quite heavy. Every bite was somewhat different from another, with the bleu cheese edge popping up every other bite. We had the side size, but an entree size is available.
What I’d like to try next time: spit-roasted half chicken.

At the Woodbines Craft Kitchen, an Irish gastropub, I had my first encounter with Scotch eggs, a common picnic food in the UK. A Scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage then coated in bread crumbs, baked or deep fried. Our serving was halved and exquisitely placed on top of a drizzle of spicy mustard and fresh greens. The dish was well-seasoned and flavorful with a nice crunch to the coating. Scotch eggs are a perfect bar bite that would be a nice accompaniment to a cold beer.
What I’d like to try next time: fish and chips and truffle fries.

Our third stop was at the Vernon Blvd location of Blend, a Latin-fusion restaurant. The airy, open space is dotted with colorful prints of Latin American hot spots upon the walls. The tasting included two kinds of Colombian-style empanadas: carne (shredded beef) and espinaca y queso (spinach and cheese). These small stuffed pockets had a crispy and thick crust, not the flaky, buttery kind, but a crust similar to the cornmeal content of an arepa. I preferred the spinach and cheese, which had more complexity of flavors from the mild cheese and spinach bits.
What I’d like to try next time: mofongo con sofrito.

Next up was Alobar, a restaurant offering New American cuisine and an extensive whiskey menu. Upon entering one may notice the detail of the ceiling above the bar area, which is made of reclaimed wood from an old schoolhouse near Philadelphia. Such detail in the design contributed to the comfort-food experience. We tried a customer favorite, the maple bacon popcorn. This sweet and salty treat was coated with maple syrup and dotted with thick-cut bacon bits. It was a bit heavy with the syrup which tipped the flavor balance and made it difficult to eat with fingers, as one would normally eat popcorn. It may have been an off day in the kitchen, but I’d be willing to try it again.
What I’d like to try next time: homemade fettucini carbonara.

We moved on to a beverage tasting at Rockaway Brewery, one of three different breweries in LIC. Rockaway started in a backyard in Far Rockaway and now the business is growing, going from 16 kegs a week to over 60 most recently. All their beers are unfiltered and unpasteurized. We sampled their ESB (Extra Special Bitter), a twist on an English ale. It was smooth and not overly hoppy. I’m not a regular beer drinker, but I did enjoy the flavor profile of the ESB and would be interested in trying their other beers.
What I’d like to try next time: $6 4-beer flight.

Our final destination was Sweetleaf, a Critics’ Pick of New York magazine. Its original location is on Jackson Avenue, but we stopped at the Center Blvd location. The ambiance is a striking contrast to the high rise building it lives in, with its dark reclaimed wood decor and antique stylings. The Rocket Fuel iced coffee was a perfect end to the tour, an 18-hour cold-brewed coffee with chicory, maple syrup and milk. The first taste was smooth with no bitter edge. Despite the maple syrup addition, it was not too sweet; it was rich but mellow, with a complexity to each sip. I’d definitely return for the refreshing boost of Rocket Fuel.
What I’d like to try next time: strawberry puree tea.

Overall,Local Finds Queens Food Tour  provided an informative and varied peek into LIC history and food offerings. Priced at $56 per person, the tour is priced a bit high for the experience, given the size of the samplings. Sergey’s vast knowledge of the area was impressive and tweaking the food tastings to match would make the tour more appealing