New Restaurant for EuroPan Spot

A reader says the owner of EuroPan will be reopening at the same location, but as more of a restaurant with outdoor seating.

EuroPan Closes

This would probably be a perfect location for one of those new yogurt places. Of course, I'd rather see that indie coffee shop I've been dreaming about...

FoHi's Salad Days

Salads are busting out all over town as we get into the swing of Spring here in The Hills! I noticed EuroPan has now introduced its own make-your-own salads counter and also seems to be more prominently displaying its variety of sandwiches. Not to say EuroPan is gourmet fair, but, hey, sandwiches and salads are delightfully healthy additions to our choice of foodstuffs.

Not sure, but I would suspect EuroPan may be reacting to the recent opening of Energy Green in the Austin St. mall, and of Exo Cafe right across the street, two places that are heavy on the light fare such as salads and sandwiches.

The well-equipped salad bar at the new Energy Green.

New Restaurant Recommendations

Aged - I recently had an excellent NY Strip Steak at this restaurant, located along "Restaurant Row," (70th Road) in Forest Hills. I also ordered the wedge salad as an appetizer. It was very good, but if I was them I'd offer it in an "individual" size as well. At $9, I could barely finish it. And I hate when restaurants do that -- just lower the price and cut the size in half. Also, I ordered just a Coke with my meal, not one of the $10 martinis which are sooooo common now all over the city. Please - give me more than a test tube filled with soda. Anyway, the steak was so awesome that I am willing to overlook what I consider pricing problems with their salads and size problems with their non-alc drinks. Needless to say, they are not at all alone in pricing salads high and under-serving sodas. It's just a pet-peeve of mine that I wish restaurants would focus on. I did notice they had clam chowder for like $4, which is much more reasonable for an appetizer.

EuroPan - (At the corner of 70th Road and Austin St.) Those who have been reading this blog for a while, know I have for a long time been on a quest here in Forest Hills for something many other neighborhoods in NYC take for granted - a simple, delicious, take-out sandwich! (Sorry, folks, the local diners simply do not cut it. And Ripe, while healthy, for some reason feels it has to over-spice and over-flavor their sandwiches. They taste either over-grilled, over-garlicky... well, you get the picture.) Thankfully, I have discovered that EuroPan seems to have finally satisfied this extremely important local need. I've had their grilled chicken sandwich and their turkey sandwich. Both times in a pita, kind of like a panini. They have been very tasty, fresh, satisfying. But most of all - they are SIMPLE! No added, strange out-of-place seasonings. Now, are they on the level of what a New York City restaurant sandwich should be? No way, of course not. I'd rate them maybe a 4 out of 10 on my Shake Shack scale. (What is my Shake Shack scale you ask? Simple - Since I just a couple of days ago had a double cheese burger there for lunch and am still fantasizing about the experience, my Shake Shack Scale is the following: On the bottom of the scale, a 1, would be the now-defunct Twin Donut Teriyaki Chicken Salad. On the top of the scale, a 10, would be a Shake Shack double cheese burger.)