Local Restaurant Update

Been getting a bunch of emails about these, in case you've missed the news while going about enjoying your summers:

- McDonald's is closed for a few weeks while it undergoes renovations. The entire chain has been revamping its menu offerings, and its look, to try to better compete with all the more upscale burger chains.

- The area's best Italian restaurant, Tuscan Hills, has moved to the Ovosodo space, closer to Ascan Ave. Ovosodo was an interesting "italian dinerish" concept by the same owners as Tuscan Hills, but never quite caught on with local residents. Moving closer to central Forest Hills is probably a good move for the superb Tuscan Hills, which was a little lost a few blocks further east. But, with Queens Blvd. suddenly a hotbed of foodie excellence (Queens Bully, Keuka Kafe, I can go on and on), it won't make much of a difference. Tuscan Hills deservedly has a ton of fans. And with the new bike lanes and improvements to Queens Blvd. coming, expect the Blvd. to experience a nice little renaissance in usability for purposes other than smelly, carbon-polluting cars!

- And Moca's new sign is up as it expands into two storefronts on Restaurant Row. This place was ok. With all the great places now in the neighborhood, it's kinda funny that Moca is the one expanding. Lord knows 5 Burro could have really used that bigger space! I'm tired of the two hour waits for a table whenever I go, whether it's a Tuesday, Wednesday, etc., etc...!

Restaurant Review: OvoSodo

Oh, to keep up with all the restaurants now in Forest Hills! It's a full-time job these days. Yes, there are still a few old-time places that have bucked the trend—Portofino, T-Bone Diner, for example—and managed to stay in business despite all the new competition. But the fact is they are facing an uphill battle that gets more difficult every other month it seems as the next new place opens up. In just the past several years, so many new restaurants have opened in Forest Hills, the dining scene here has gone from one stuck in the mid-1970s, with maybe four or five decent, and I use the word decent generously, restaurants, to one that's overflowing with excellent choices.

Recently, I decided to pay another visit to one spot that hasn't gotten as much attention since the awesome places like Station House, Banter and Jack & Nellie's have opened. And that is the Italian diner/restaurant OvoSodo, located on Queens Blvd. just around the corner from Ascan.

OvoSodo is a very interesting place. It's half gourmet italian restaurant, and half diner. That's really the best way to put it. At different times of day you can get pretty much any kind of food you'd get in a good diner. For breakfast, there's your standard bacon and eggs fare, for example. At night, for dinner, it takes on more of an Italian restaurant feel.

And that is mostly because it's excellent sister Italian restaurant, Tuscan Hills, is located just a few blocks further down Queens Blvd., towards Kew Gardens.

And that's another element that makes OvoSodo so interesting. Tuscan Hills serves some of the same dishes OvoSodo does. But there are some differences. For example, while Tuscan Hills' pizza is to die for—some of the best in the City—OvoSodo takes the pizza experience further, offering a different style of pizza altogether (square slices, for instance) and a much broader variety.

At my recent visit, I had the Salsiccia pizza: Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and sausage. It was awesome. Light, not heavy like traditional NY style pizza, but overflowing with mouth-watering flavor.

OvoSodo's Salsiccia pizza, with mouth-watering sausage.

We also had the meat lasagna, also excellent.

So the food is terrific. But what I also love about OvoSodo is the atmosphere. Each restaurant feeds off its location. An establishment can't help but be influenced by where it is situated in this great big city of ours. And here, even within the confined borders of Forest Hills proper, where a restaurant is located influences its look, its feel, and its atmosphere.

By situating OvoSodo along Queens Blvd., that decision can't help but affect the overall feel, and purpose, of this particular restaurant. When we visited, during a weekend evening around 8p.m., we noticed it was only half-full. Since this place is a bit off-the-beaten path, it wasn't hard to imagine that the influx of weekend diners to Forest Hills had gotten so far as Austin Street and its side-streets, and then stopped there. OvoSodo is in a spot frequented by locals—and that's about it. There'd be no reason for visitors to find it, really. The fact is, the block it's on, along with most of that strip of Queens Blvd.—on both sides—has seen much better days.

And that's probably the reason we are starting to see such an interesting dining scene arise along Queens Blvd. now. The atmosphere—speeding cars, old apartment buildings, could not be more dreadful for a restaurant—but the new restaurants that are opening along the Boulevard are doing wondrous things with both cuisine and with the atmosphere inside their walls. You would not know you are eating at a place with multiple lanes of inappropriate-for-a-residential neighborhood traffic racing by outside.

And that's why there's been a spate of attractive new restaurants opening along these blocks of Queens Boulevard, and not Austin Street. The rents just gotta be a ton lower than along Austin, which a Shake Shack can probably easily afford (praise the lord!) but which an entrepreneurial restauranteur just cannot—at least in its early-going.

OvoSodo makes use of the urbanized atmosphere of Queens Blvd. by incorporating a dinerish feel; it's a place you can spend hours refilling that cup of coffee. It's not overcrowded like so many of the other hip new places that have opened in and around Austin Street. (Even, unfortunately, Red Pipe, which I love, but is a tiny spot and could benefit from a much bigger space.)

And that is what I love about OvoSodo—it's open, it's airy, it gives you room to breathe—and to delight in some awesome food to boot. Try it out if you haven't already.

Free Event at OvoSodo Tonight

Forest Hills' Ovo Sodo Bistro will be hosting an event for The Windsor School on Thursday, March 26 from 6-9:00pm.  The school, located in Flushing, will have an art gallery set up displaying pieces of art work from its Advanced Placement (AP) Studio and Portfolio Art students.  In addition to having art on display, the School will be answering parents’ questions regarding its Summer School and will be accepting registrations.  A $50 per class discount will be given for those registering at the event.  Ovo Sodo Bistro will be providing hors d’oeuvres and beverages throughout the event.  
  

The Windsor School is a private middle and high school which opened in 1969.  The school enrolls both local and international students, in grades 7-12, during the regular school year.  What makes the school unique is it offers small class size, many Advanced Placement (AP) classes and a one-hundred percent graduation rate with students being accepted to top American colleges and universities. 

The Windsor School competes annually in the NYS Mathematics League Competition and has finished either first or second overall amongst over one hundred seventy-five participating high schools. 

What makes The Windsor School truly special is its acclaimed art department.  It offers a unique approach to the arts. Its students all receive individual attention from its talented director, Ms. Melissa Vassallo and work in a modern, professional and superbly equipped studio.  Students work in a variety of mediums and are encouraged to explore new techniques.  The Windsor School has a significant number of talented artists who participate in Required Art, Portfolio Art, AP Studio Art, Art Club and Yearbook.

Each summer, The Windsor School runs a highly successful Summer School for students in grades 7-12.  Most of its Summer School students reside in Suffolk County, Nassau County, and Queens.  Students attend the program to advance for credit, enrich in various subject areas or to improve a failing grade.  Students can take up to four classes for credit and can advance in two subject areas during our six-week program.  Credit earned from the Summer School is accepted by all public and private schools.  In addition, they offer PSAT/SAT Test Preparation classes in Critical Reading, Writing, and Math to prepare students for the SAT Test in the fall.

Reminder: Free Event at OvoSodo This Thursday

Forest Hills' Ovo Sodo Bistro will be hosting an event for The Windsor School on Thursday, March 26 from 6-9:00pm.  The school, located in Flushing, will have an art gallery set up displaying pieces of art work from its Advanced Placement (AP) Studio and Portfolio Art students.  In addition to having art on display, the School will be answering parents’ questions regarding its Summer School and will be accepting registrations.  A $50 per class discount will be given for those registering at the event.  Ovo Sodo Bistro will be providing hors d’oeuvres and beverages throughout the event.  
  

The Windsor School is a private middle and high school which opened in 1969.  The school enrolls both local and international students, in grades 7-12, during the regular school year.  What makes the school unique is it offers small class size, many Advanced Placement (AP) classes and a one-hundred percent graduation rate with students being accepted to top American colleges and universities. 

The Windsor School competes annually in the NYS Mathematics League Competition and has finished either first or second overall amongst over one hundred seventy-five participating high schools. 

What makes The Windsor School truly special is its acclaimed art department.  It offers a unique approach to the arts. Its students all receive individual attention from its talented director, Ms. Melissa Vassallo and work in a modern, professional and superbly equipped studio.  Students work in a variety of mediums and are encouraged to explore new techniques.  The Windsor School has a significant number of talented artists who participate in Required Art, Portfolio Art, AP Studio Art, Art Club and Yearbook.

Each summer, The Windsor School runs a highly successful Summer School for students in grades 7-12.  Most of its Summer School students reside in Suffolk County, Nassau County, and Queens.  Students attend the program to advance for credit, enrich in various subject areas or to improve a failing grade.  Students can take up to four classes for credit and can advance in two subject areas during our six-week program.  Credit earned from the Summer School is accepted by all public and private schools.  In addition, they offer PSAT/SAT Test Preparation classes in Critical Reading, Writing, and Math to prepare students for the SAT Test in the fall.

OvoSodo Bistro Hosts A Night With Windsor

Forest Hills' Ovo Sodo Bistro will be hosting an event for The Windsor School on Thursday, March 26 from 6-9:00pm.  The school, located in Flushing, will have an art gallery set up displaying pieces of art work from its Advanced Placement (AP) Studio and Portfolio Art students.  In addition to having art on display, the School will be answering parents’ questions regarding its Summer School and will be accepting registrations.  A $50 per class discount will be given for those registering at the event.  Ovo Sodo Bistro will be providing hors d’oeuvres and beverages throughout the event.  
  

The Windsor School is a private middle and high school which opened in 1969.  The school enrolls both local and international students, in grades 7-12, during the regular school year.  What makes the school unique is it offers small class size, many Advanced Placement (AP) classes and a one-hundred percent graduation rate with students being accepted to top American colleges and universities. 

The Windsor School competes annually in the NYS Mathematics League Competition and has finished either first or second overall amongst over one hundred seventy-five participating high schools. 

What makes The Windsor School truly special is its acclaimed art department.  It offers a unique approach to the arts. Its students all receive individual attention from its talented director, Ms. Melissa Vassallo and work in a modern, professional and superbly equipped studio.  Students work in a variety of mediums and are encouraged to explore new techniques.  The Windsor School has a significant number of talented artists who participate in Required Art, Portfolio Art, AP Studio Art, Art Club and Yearbook.

Each summer, The Windsor School runs a highly successful Summer School for students in grades 7-12.  Most of its Summer School students reside in Suffolk County, Nassau County, and Queens.  Students attend the program to advance for credit, enrich in various subject areas or to improve a failing grade.  Students can take up to four classes for credit and can advance in two subject areas during our six-week program.  Credit earned from the Summer School is accepted by all public and private schools.  In addition, they offer PSAT/SAT Test Preparation classes in Critical Reading, Writing, and Math to prepare students for the SAT Test in the fall.

Art Opening and Holiday Party at OvoSodo Restaurant

OvoSodo Restaurant in Forest Hills (owners, Roberto Lamorte and Marco del Peschio), is sponsoring local artists by offering art shows and receptions with refreshments free of charge to the public. The Grand Opening Art Show and Holiday Party will take place on Thursday, December 18 from 3-5pm. It will feature the beautiful and fascinating works of magic-realist photographer Katherine Liepe-Levinson.

Admission and refreshments free of charge.
Join them for great food, great art, and Holiday Cheer.

Time: 3-5pm.
Place: OvoSodo Restaurant
110-60 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills NY 11375

KATHERINE LIEPE-LEVINSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Katherine Liepe-Levinson is an award-winning Photographer. Her works have been featured on the cover and in articles of books, magazines, and newspapers. Her client list has included museums, corporations, small businesses, and performing artists. Katherine’s Fine Art Photography continues to be exhibited in Long Island galleries, both invitational and juried shows, where she has won several awards for her work.

In addition to photography, Katherine has performed as a professional dancer, actor, and writer on and off Broadway. She has been a resident of Forest Hills for more than thirty years.

The exhibit at Ovo Gallery, OvoSodo Restaurant includes eleven large size works of Kathy's. Here, she describes what will be on display:

SHOW SUMMARY

The works for this show come from a new series I have been working on for the past two years called, The Pond Series. All works were shot at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge on Long Island,  New York.  The subtle fresh water pond, with its changing water tables and interdependent flora and fauna, is a testament to the preciousness of our natural resources, which we too often take for granted or neglect. The unusual vibrant colors and patterns in my Pond Series photographs are natural results produced through: watching and working with the available light; the camera angles, the shifting wind patterns both on the water and in the trees; the reflections on the water surface coupled with life in the water; the use of cropping or zooming in for close ups; and very fast shutter speeds.
The images are captured with high-end digital cameras.  All images are single exposures with NO Photoshop additions, filters, or manipulations. I use the basic adjustments that darkroom photographers use, but through Lightroom, which is a digital processor. I processed and printed each image myself using Epson wide format printers, archival pigment ink, and Epson Velvet Fine Art paper.  Unlike working with the more traditional glossy or semi-glossy photographic papers, matte fine art papers also allow the ink to spread minutely, which adds to the painterly look of The Pond Series.

New Look for OvoSodo

A reader noticed last week that OvoSodo has changed its awning. This got me all excited, thinking a menu change would follow, perhaps something that would live up to their awesome beginning here in Forest Hills over at Tuscan Hills. (See my previous post about them.) But, I asked, and they're sticking with the same 'diner-ish' menu—which is fine, but, personally, I think with the talent they've displayed at Tuscan Hills, which I consider to be one of the finest Italian restaurants I have ever been to, they can up their game at OvoSodo. (Notice how the new sign does play up their connection to Tuscan Hills, by the way.)

Before...

....After

OvoSodo's Delivery Menu

The few blocks along Queens Blvd. from Ascan east now have some of my favorite food spots in Forest Hills, including the newest OvoSodo, Keuka Kafe, which I recently finally had the chance to visit for the first time and really enjoyed (and plan to post about soon), and Pollo Inca. And heading further down there's, of course, my big fave, Tuscan Hills.

OvoSodo Omelette

Nice to have a good diner-type place in the 'hood for a quick, inexpensive breakfast !

More on OvoSodo

I realized when eating recently at OvoSodo that it is basically a diner with an authentic Italian food twist, very unique, very interesting, and very delicious. And just what that part of Queens Blvd. needed to make it a lot more interesting!

OvoSodo Pizza

Was quite delish

OvoSodo Menu

They didn't have take-out menus yet, so had to shoot the one on the front of the restaurant. But I think you can mostly make out what they have. Click on the image for much bigger version!

And, yes, that is a make-your-own salad option. So Forest Hills finally has a place where you can get a nice, healthy custom-made salad (like pretty much every other nabe in NYC has had for years already). 

Also, they told me they will be rolling out delivery service in the coming weeks...

More OvoSodo

Yes, it lights up. More tomorrow... Oh, here's a hint... M-Y-O Salads :)

OvoSodo Unveiled

Looks like it's ready to open tomorrow, just like one of the blog's readers said...

OvoSodo's Sign

Openings and Closings

Just some news from the past week while I was away:

- A reader spoke with the owner of the El Coyote Mexican restaurant, who says his new place in the Austin St. mall will be opening in about a month.

- @foresthills72 tweeted that Tuscan Hills' new place on Queens Blvd. will be called Ovosodo. I can't think of anything else in Forest Hills I am looking forward to more than the opening of this place (except to find out what the other concerts are at the Stadium this summer). Ovosodo will be going into the former Just Like Mother's space and is the place that will have Tuscan Hills' spectacular pizza and a variety of other foods.

Here's some details from the craigslist posting:
New restaurant in Forest hills looking for part time and full time employee.
Here are the position that we are looking for:
Line cook, Pizza man, dishwashers
Waiter, Waitress, busboy, Barista
Interview will be held Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at 
110-60 queens boulevard(between Ascan Ave and 73rd road)
Subway take the F train and use the 75th avenue stop
Bring your resume, No Phone Calls 
Ask for Marco or Roberto
The name of the Restaurant is Ovosodo, but we still have no Awning

- We lost what could have been an amazing cultural gem as a movie theater showing indie films like Kew Gardens Cinema does when Brandon Cinemas on Austin finally closed its doors, to be replaced by, joy, some type of medical clinic.

- And work began on turning the former Bike Shop on Queens Blvd. into what one reader says is going to be a sneaker and sportswear store.