PJ's Steakhouse / Grill

I finally finished watching the entire episode of Kitchen Nightmares that was shot here in Forest Hills, at the old PJ's Steakhouse on Yellowstone, and that aired on Channel 5 a couple of weeks ago. I actually found it really touching! I liked Kitchen Nightmares beforehand having seen it a couple of times (actually, the British version), but I have to say that this episode, if you haven't seen it, is a real treat for us Forest Hillers. You have to watch it to see what I mean - it includes interviews with local people on Austin/71st Continental, lots of shots of the neighborhood, and also you just might spot one of your neighbors eating at the restaurant.

It's a real struggle as the two proprietors try to turn this restaurant around. In the end, they end up selling it - their hearts, it seems, were just not in the restaurant business. It was touching because I think anyone can identify with them. Life threw them a curve ball - the death of a close family member - and the restaurant was used as a way for them both to emerge from their grief. Unfortunately, a restaurant is something you have to put your entire heart and soul into - it's not just a therapeutic tool. But I feel for them, I really do.

On the site of the old PJ's today is a German restaurant, Manor Oktoberfest, which has been getting pretty good reviews, according to a commenter on this blog and also Yelp.

Anyway, if you haven't seen the show, here it is below...

Kitchen Nightmares in Forest Hills - Part Two

I finally got around to watching some of the episode of Kitchen Nightmares shot at what used to be PJ's Steakhouse on Yellowstone Blvd. If you missed it, the episode is available here:

Kitchen Nightmares, “PJ’s Steakhouse”: pathetic joke, that’s what it stands for

As I said in a previous post, this brought up so many feelings for me. One of the reasons I started doing this blog was to encourage better quality restaurants to open in Forest Hills. When I moved to the neighborhood more than a decade ago, my God there were some atrocious places. There still are. And you probably know the ones I am talking about. (Feel free to post about your own experiences with them either below or on the Discussion Board of our Facebook Page. )

I watched about 20 minutes of the Kitchen Nightmares episode so far. Here are my thoughts:

1) It's a real eye-opener how a restaurant can look just great and have terrible food. It makes me think of that cool-looking diner that until just a few years ago used to be on Restaurant Row (70th Road) here in Forest Hills. I don't remember the name of it, but it had kind of a retro-diner feel. But the food was horrible.

2) I love the part of the show where he finds plastic in his crab cakes. This always amazes me. A restaurant has one task to do: serve you good food. And this place served the poor guy plastic in his otherwise rancid crabcakes! It would be hysterically funny really, if it wasn't so sad. And this brings up another memory of mine. After I had first moved here I once stopped in at the old bagel place that used to be next to the Key Food (I think it is where What a Deal!!! is now). I ordered a bagel and cream cheese, took a bite and almost broke my teeth. Half of a plastic straw had somehow been placed inside my bagel on top of the cream cheese!

Since I moved here, these horrible restaurants have thankfully closed and some pretty good ones have started to open in and around the neighborhood. I am very hopeful that the restaurant scene here will only continue to improve. I am especially looking forward to the new places on Austin: Exo and the yet-to-be-named seafood restaurant across from it where Piu Bello used to be.

After all, before I lived here in Forest Hills, I lived for several years in Park Slope - and I can assure you the restaurants there back in the 90's were just as bad as the ones described above and now that neighborhood is world-class when it comes to places to eat.

RIP Kenneth Mars

New Facebook Page

By the way, if you haven't already, check out our new Facebook Page where you can post about whatever you'd like. You'll also find a growing archive of photos, including a gallery of The Blizzard of 2010 and The Forest Hills Tornado. There is also a Discussion Board on the Page with a few topics already started - Restaurants, Shopping and In the News. I will also occasionally post to the Page some items that won't appear here on the Blog.

You can reach the new Page either from the link at the right, or by clicking here: Edge of the City Facebook Page

Road Rage

I've received one email about, and have also noticed online, a lot of anger welling up about the state of Forest Hills' streets. The recent thaw has uncovered some dangerous and destructive potholes.

One of the most mysterious is this one shown in the photos below at the corner of 72nd Ave. and 112th Street. On the morning of Thanksgiving Day a road crew closed off the street to traffic and did some major work on the road, digging it up, according to one local resident. And ever since then, this person told me, sections of the road have been sinking. And now this pothole has appeared, which caused cars to have to drive around it.

Now, potholes have always been a problem in the City. I remember years ago, when I used to drive a lot, one of the worst roads was the Cross Bronx Expressway. It was like being on a ship in the middle of a storm - the car just went up... and down.... up... and down.

I don't know if the potholes are any worse than they used to be. But given the economy, I wouldn't be surprised if there is less money being allocated to fixing them.