Healthy & Fresh Eats in Forest Hills

With this post, we introduce one of our new writers, Rebecca Banchik. Rebecca has lived in Forest Hills for two and a half years with her husband after 10 years of living in Manhattan. She traded in her Upper East Side life for the quaint and ever evolving Forest Hills neighborhood and never looks back. She’s a true foodie always searching for delicious and interesting meals in Queens and beyond. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook @Foodieinthefrills. Edge of the City is still looking for more local writers, photographers and contributors. Email edgeofthecity@gmail.com for more information!

Around this time of year, you’re either staying strong and committed to those New Year’s resolutions and plans to eat better, drop a few pounds, workout more, yadda yadda yadda or you’re feeling sorry for yourself because it’s cold and nasty outside and you definitely deserve a giant bowl of macaroni and cheese. I fall somewhere in the middle – I know I want to eat well and feel good about what I put into my body…but I still want my meals to be tasty and flavorful. Forest Hills has some good options for healthy eats – here are some of my personal favorites. I hope you give them a try and never forget, it’s always ok to ask for alterations to your selection to make them fit into your healthy lifestyle. So, hold the bun and take a look:

Agora Taverna 70-09 Austin Street

Agora Taverna's Prasini Salad

The Prasini salad is my favorite. It’s simple, but that’s what makes it so fresh and satisfying. The feta Agora uses is a really delicious Greek feta that is creamy and not dry and crumbly. There are herbs that really bring out a nice flavor to the salad and the greens are crisp and refreshing. The salad is tossed with a house-made vinaigrette too – no creamy fatty dressing here.

Looking for protein? The lamb or pork kebab sticks are hearty, simply grilled, and can be ordered with a side of horta – a sautéed escarole green with garlic and oil. Squeeze some lemon on the dish and you have a protein rich, no carb dinner that will warm you on a cold night.

Bareburger 71-49 Austin Street

Burgers and fries probably sound the opposite of healthy. But that’s why Bareburger is a great choice if you know how to order. You can customize anything from their menu. They also have a great selection of salads and greens. They even have some interesting appetizers making quinoa and wholesome grains taste quite delicious. You can feel good about the food you eat here too, almost everything is organic and even the ketchup is homemade.

What to order? Try a burger (pick your protein – for a leaner choice, try the Bison) wrapped in a collard green leaf or for a gluten free option try the tapioca bun. Load up on the veggies and avocado for toppings. Order a side salad or for a more creative salad, order a small-sized main entrée salad. If you need a beverage, try their natural sodas. The ginger brew is my favorite; this isn’t Schweppes. This is natural soda made with real ginger. It’s strong, spicy, and delicious.

Ripe Juice Bar and Grill 70-13 Austin Street

Ripe has been around and they know how to do smart eating. They make a mean smoothie too. For a more treat-like smoothie, try the Pina Colada made with coconut milk, yogurt and honey for sweetness. It has the taste of the islands {ignore the snow mount by the stairs}. The Sunset Beach and the Coco Cabana are also excellent choices.

If you’re making Ripe a stop for a meal {great for a post workout dinner or lighter meal mid-week}, try the Grilled Tilapia platter. The dish is filled with brown rice, simply steamed vegetables, and a nice piece of fish. Ripe is focused on healthy low-calorie ingredients. Don’t expect jam packed flavor. But you can feel good about fueling up with whole foods that aren’t overly salted. For more jazz, the Mexican-Tex Quesadilla is a healthier take on a comfort food staple. Order it with the grilled steak and you have a nice protein rich but yummy dinner.

Roast n Co 100-12 Queens Boulevard

Roast n Co's Rotisserie Chicken

This newcomer to the area has some really delicious rotisserie chicken. You can’t go wrong with a platter of nicely seasoned and slow roasted chicken alongside greens. If you aren’t nearby to walk over, they deliver well and quickly. The chicken is antibiotic free, free range, and non-gmo which makes you feel good about consuming a responsibly raised meat. I enjoyed the sautéed kale and broccoli, but you can opt for a beet salad or ratatouille for something a little more unique. They operate a full service coffee shop as well that I haven’t yet tried – but it looks cozy and worth a stop soon!

Red Pipe Café 71-60 Austin Street

Red Pipe's Breakfast Sandwich on Ciabatta

I can’t tell you how much I love this place. It’s a coffee shop serving organic Counter Culture coffee. Forest Hills needed a high caliber coffee shop and Red Pipe came to answer that need. In fact, the entire place is organic serving fresh, wholesome breakfast and lunch salads and sandwiches. Stay for a meal and you won’t be disappointed. The breakfast sandwich on a multi-grain ciabatta roll with hard- boiled egg thinly sliced, layered with melted Vermont cheddar cheese, a garlic aioli, and avocado is to die for and super filling. It’s no carb or dairy free, but it’s organic and it’s delicious. If you want to go lighter, they have salads and creative vegetarian sandwiches to enjoy. You can’t go to Red Pipe and not feel relaxed. Sip an almond milk latte, linger long enough to order a snack, and be grateful Forest Hills has place for the cool kids to hang.

Honorable mention:

You can find wholesome dishes at other restaurants in Forest Hills. It’s all about being creative, ordering smartly, and exploring your options. To name a few, Nick’s Bistro serves a really great homemade quinoa veggie burger. Have it over lettuce {sans bread} and substitute the fries for some lemon roasted potatoes. Aaheli Indian Cuisine does a nice warming mulligatawny soup and tandoori chicken that’s free of cream and the heaviness that often comes with Indian cooking in America. A Sushi NY has fresh sushi and {insanely} fast delivery if you’re craving sushi but want to keep it affordable, simple, and yummy. Inside Natural you can have them make you a healthy salad with all the mix-ins you can imagine.

Local Food Update

A couple of recent food experiences to share...

Agora Taverna

Is it just me, or has Agora Taverna on Austin St. gotten a lot better with time? The last couple of times I've been there (experiences stretched over several months) I've enjoyed what I've had both times. The latest: their grilled whole trout with lemon potatoes. I also had the hummus as an appetizer. Both were really good. And sitting outside the other evening for dinner in their extremely comfortable chairs made it that much more enjoyable. I have not been disappointed by this place recently, while my early experiences when it opened a couple of years ago were very hit or miss. I'm interested in hearing what other people think.

Agora's whole grilled trout (edited for those sensitive to the site of entire fishies).

Munch

What to make of Munch, the little eatery in the Austin St. "mall" ? I stopped in there the other day for a late snack/meal and left with one of their tuna fish hero sandwiches. It wasn't bad. But also kind of reminded me of the tuna fish I'd make myself at home, which isn't saying too much, though I am not the worst cook in the universe. It's an interesting place and I can't speak for all the food there—yet, since I've only had this one sandwich. But it was fine and a nice option to have for simpler, fast-food fare that isn't Chinese or Mexican in the 'hood. They have a variety of salads, burgers and other sandwiches. I posted their entire menu a while back.

Munch's tuna fish hero sandwich

Agora Taverna, Just to Clarify

I feel I want to just clarify my previous post about the Greek restaurant on Austin St., Agora Taverna. Overall, I'd give the food here a B+, and the ambience/atmosphere, an A+. As I mentioned in the previous post, it is certainly an exceptionally beautiful restaurant they built here in Forest Hills. I think it would be hard to find anyone to argue with that.

As for the food, I love to have great seafood and fish dishes, but I also really, really like an excellent chicken dish, especially in a Greek or any other Mediterranean restaurant. I've tried several different dishes at Agora and my conclusion is that it does a real nice job with seafood and fish dishes (shrimp, Branzini are among my favorite dishes there), but could do better when it comes to straightforward chicken dishes, like chicken kabob. I didn't find the chicken bad, I just found it bland, without much taste. It wasn't very memorable. Quite frankly, I was kinda disappointed with that dish since I was hoping a new Greek restaurant would do an exceptional job with it. I'm thinking of places I've been to in Astoria, for instance, that serve great roasted and grilled chicken dishes.

Now that being said, I have not been back to Agora in several months. Other local restaurants opened and I have really liked them so they have kind of taken me away from going back to Agora. (Again, as others have commented on this blog, the competition is heating up for restaurateurs here in Forest Hills for sure.) So, I am hoping Agora's has improved its chicken kabob. I'll visit soon to find out and let you all know what I think.

Otherwise, I hope I am being clear that I am not criticizing Agora as a whole. I think it's a beautiful restaurant—one of the nicest we have in central Forest Hills—and a really nice place to dine with friends and family, and, it serves very good fish and seafood dishes. I am just hoping they can do something more exciting with their chicken!

Still Open, and Closed

I found myself recently visiting the Austin Street "Mall" after quite a while away and it was interesting to note a couple of things:

Common Space is long gone, having been closed back in March for some reason by the Health Department. I never got a chance to eat or drink there, despite a quick visit one evening. I especially liked their nice outdoor space in the back. This would make a good space for another restaurant, or maybe that indie coffe place so many of us have been dreaming about. It even has the space outback which would be perfect! And, given its slot upstairs in the "Mall," I'm thinking it just might be a bit more affordable for some entrepreneur to make happen than a space right on ground level on Austin St.

And, despite some predictions to the contrary, it looks like Corfu Grill, the smaller Greek restaurant, is holding its own even though Agora Taverna opened just a few feet away. When Agora first opened, I had my doubts Corfu would survive very long. But I think part of the reason it may have is that Agora is so much pricier. And, I also wonder if a big part of the reason is that, sadly, Agora just isn't the amazing Greek restaurant so many of us had hoped for. Sure, some of its dishes are really good, especially when it comes to fish and seafood. But I have been super-disappointed by other entrees, such as chicken dishes. A bland, easily forgettable chicken kabob in a Greek restaurant? What?? How does that happen? When you're paying the prices Agora is charging, the food really should be worth it. Yes, it sure is a beautiful restaurant they built, no doubt about that. But if the food just isn't worth the price, I don't care how pretty the place is.

Another Review of Agora

While I recuperate from one of the nastier colds I've had in a long time, I direct you to a review of one of our new restaurants, Agora Taverna, from fellow blogger eateryROW

Restaurant Revisits

I've returned to two of our neighborhood's new restaurants in the past several days to see how they are faring a few weeks after they opened:

- Agora Taverna: I ate here over the weekend, actually for the third time. This time I ordered the Greek Salad, the Branzini (grilled, whole fish) with a side order of lemon potatoes and a Greek coffee for dessert. This is the second time I have had the Greek Salad and the Branzini and really liked them once again. So I can report Agora is consistent when it comes to quality - both times these were excellent. The small Greek salad I ordered was actually large enough to have for a main course if I had ordered a little something else to go with it. All the ingredients are very fresh and there is a great blend of different flavors. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I absolutely loved the lemon potatoes as a side dish. The other sides I have had at Agora - the rice and the Greek fries - were ok, but nothing to write home about. I really didn't think I had the appetite to eat the lemon potatoes but they were so good I ended up cleaning the plate. The Greek coffee, like the last time, was very good as well. The only issue I saw at Agora is that they have a tendency to rush the food a little bit. I ordered the Filet Mignon kabob last time and I had to return it to the kitchen to get it a little more well done. When it came back it was really good. My friend last night ordered the grilled salmon and when it first came out, the middle was pretty rare! When it came back again, he really enjoyed it. But come on guys, even I can cook a salmon! Agora, if you are reading this: I know you just opened and judging by the crowds, you have a lot of people waiting to try you out, but take things a little more slowly and make sure the dishes are cooked to order.
Revisit Grade: A

-Marianella's Taqueria: As I reported last week, this place was actually worse the second time I tried it. Not only did I notice at the counter crusty, old guacamole that apparently hadn't been touched or refreshed in hours, but the lettuce was also still looking old and brown, just like last time. They've had a few weeks to get the freshness issues right, but no progress on that front unfortunately. (By the way, why do they cover your plate with lettuce when you order tacos there? Sometimes restaurants do strange things. This is one of them. Did the manager instruct the workers: 'Oh, and when you give them their tacos, make sure you cover the plate in lettuce!' Uhhh, why?? Give me a salad, sure I might eat it. But a plate filled of dry, bland lettuce? Am I a cow? Am I supposed to graze on this?) The grilled chicken burrito I had this time actually had little if any flavor, and I even found a small bone in it to boot. Unfortunately, It seems I have set my last foot in Marianella's Taqueria. This is one of the bigger disappointments here in Forest Hills in a looong time. Because ever since Green Cactus closed up shop a few years ago on Restaurant Row (70th Road), I have really missed good Mexican takeout food here in Forest Hills!
Revisit Grade: D

Agora Taverna - Mini Review

I'm out of town for a couple of days, so this will have to be a quick review. Before I left, I went to the new Greek restaurant, Agora Taverna, on Austin, for the first time. I think the food is excellent. I will give the place a strong A. Everything was fresh and delicious. I ordered the Branzini (whole fish) for the main course and found it absolutely delicious. Someone else had the chicken kabob and absolutely loved it. For an appetizer, I had the tzatziki. This I found could have been a bit more flavorful. For dessert, I had a Greek coffee, which was really good. I will definitely be going back soon. I haven't had such a great piece of fish in a while, and certainly not in Forest Hills. This is a great addition to our neighborhood.

My Branzini was absolutely delicious. 

The chicken kabob was also excellent.

They also said they will have outdoor seating when it gets a little warmer. That will really liven up this entire corner. I can't wait to see how that adds a touch of cosmopolitan flair worthy of a NYC neighborhood to our shopping district. Finally, good things are starting to happen on the core strip of Forest Hills!

Agora hired a world-class architect and it really shows. There are many little touches - flower pots overhead, white stones in the floor when you walk in - and some big touches as well - the ceiling and the overall color scheme are just fantastic - that make this an exceptional dining experience.

Little decorative touches make this a delightful dining experience.

The service was fine, but quite harried. While the waiter was pleasant and attentive, and the food came out in no time, I felt we never had the waiter's undivided attention. He was constantly off and running in a second. It is nice for a waiter to actually smile and focus on the people you are serving for more than just a few seconds, instead of darting off to the other tables you are also working. Maybe he just suffers from some ADD? :)

Service: B+
Atmosphere: A+
Food: A (Not an A+ because the appetizer was a little dull in flavor, and so was the rice pilaf that accompanied my fish.)
Overal grade for Agora: A

Agora's Menu

Here is Agora Taverna's take-out menu. By the way, they told me they do not take reservations... yet.

Agora Taverna Photos

It opens this Tuesday. The menu offers all your Greek favorites, from grilled whole fish to kabobs.

Agora Taverna Opening This Week?

That's the word from a post on the Queens Central forum...

Here's a link to the architects who have designed the restaurant: BROMLEY CALDARI ARCHITECTS

Agora Taverna's proposed design.

Agora Taverna Side View

My roving reporter was busy today around town. He shot this photo of the side of the Agora Taverna, the new Greek restaurant moving into the old location of Piu Bello on Austin. It is looking nice. They will be able to open these windows on nice days, a touch I always like when dining...

New Austin Restaurant Pics

My top-notch roving reporter snapped these this morning:

The new sign for the Agora Taverna is up (this is the Greek restaurant moving into the old Piu Bello location).

A quick peak into the new Exo Cafe showed it is nearing completion. 

Austin Restaurant Developments

As I wrote in my previous post, a sign is up for the new restaurant coming into the old Piu Bello location at the corner of Austin and 70th Ave. The restaurant will be called Agora Taverna and will serve Greek food.

Meanwhile, across the street, the new Exo Cafe looks like it is almost ready to open. Here are a couple of photos: