Station House Launches Direct Delivery

 Coming on the horrible news about Banter's closing, this great news about Station House opening up their spectacularly delicious, innovative takes on pub cuisine to direct delivery cannot come soon enough. 

 

Forest Hills Nightlife Growing

Saw this on Facebook....

Best Halloween Decorations

I'm liking the holiday spirit of Station House this year. It'd be nice if more places in Forest Hills put as much effort into their appearance and celebrating these holidays...

Forest Hills Celebrates the World Cup

Neighborhood restaurants and bars have been overflowing with crowds watching the World Cup.

Austin Public on Sunday—all decked out for the Cup...

And Station House tweeted this shot yesterday:

The Wall Street Journal Write-Up on Station House

Happy Hour: Forest Hills Station House
Queens Bar Offers Wide Selection of Craft Beers, Whiskeys and Decadent Food

Village Voice Station House Article Says it All...

Doesn't it really capture the essence of our 'hood? Great article!

Forest Hills Station House Now Serving Beer and Whiskey in Queens

"After all, if someone tells you their grandmother lives in Queens, odds are Forest Hills is where she's raising hell--and she's doing it all before 10 p.m."

Ok, so maybe it's a little dated now that we have music concerts here! 

Gothamist Covers Station House

From Gothamist:

Deep Fried Snickers And Craft Beer At Forest Hills Station House

"The elevated pub grub menu has some inventive takes on classic bar food."

And Yet More Station House Press

This time, from Star magazine's so-called Hot Sheet. Take it or leave it, but I'm just passing it along...

Good Day NY Visits Forest Hills

Our three new gastropubs continue to get a huge amount of attention:

New York News | NYC Breaking News

More National Press for Station House

This time, from Men's Fitness magazine:

Where To Drink: Forest Hills Station House

"With an impressive gastropub menu and an array of craft beers on tap, this new Queens, New York hotspot offers everything you could want in a hip local hangout."

Station House: "New York's Latest Must-Visit Establishment"

Whoa! Thanks to Kristen over at Queens Mamas for alerting me to this! And a big congrats to Station House!

From Radar Online:

Start Spreadin’ The News: The Station House Is New York’s Latest Must-Visit Establishment
New York’s the gold standard of bars and restaurants in the country, and The Station House in Forest Hills is the latest must-visit when in the area, with a unique atmosphere and variety of special whiskeys and beers that’s second-to-none.

Station House Pizza

Had a chance to visit one of my favorite new places in Forest Hills, Station House, again over the weekend. I tried their cheese pizza — fluffy dough, tangy sauce, really, really good. Another winner. So far I've had their chicken wings and pizza and a couple of beers and plan to keep working my way through the rest of their excellent menu. Oh, and the beer this time: a Milk Stout from Left Hand Brewing:

First Impressions: Banter, Station House and The Flying Pig

I've done the trifecta and now visited all of the new gastropubs that have opened in Forest Hills over the past couple of months. I wouldn't call the following a "review" so to speak, since on the budget of an independent blogger I can't afford to try a whole lot from any one place during one visit, let alone three different places. So, with that said, here are my first impressions:

Station House

My favorite of the three: Station House. I was really impressed with the whole look, layout and vibe of Station House—warm, modern, roomy, just awesomely comfortable—and extremely impressed with the staff. I went with my friend who is from out of town and we both left saying to each other, "are we in Queens or somewhere in the midwest?" I mean, this is one of the friendliest staffs I have ever encountered at a restaurant/bar anywhere, let alone in NYC. My friend and I shared a $9 helping of their pickled pepper wings, described on the menu as "whole jumbo wings, in-house pickled pepper sauce." These wings lived up to that description. They were delicious and each one was enormous. Unlike wings you may be used to, you have to tear these babies apart, each one is like two or three wings in one. And they are just great. The beers were listed on an updated TV screen on the wall, and they have a pretty large selection.

Station House's wings

Station House

Tied for second place were The Flying Pig and Banter. As for The Pig, a lot of people have had mixed reviews of this new gastropub. My friend and I both really liked it. But keep in mind, what we had was limited to just appetizers. We shared an order of baked clams and also a Charcuterie plate with three selections, Slabbed Bacon ($4), Prosciutto ($7) and Lamb Sausage ($9). Both the clams and the Charcuterie were excellent. Having grown up on Long Island, I've eaten like a zillion different baked clams in my life and these were as good as any I've had. And each of the three selections on the plate we ordered was great, and were accompanied by a truly excellent mustard that had us both commenting on how good it was, along with pickles and some slices of bread. It all came together to make a really fun appetizer that we both thoroughly enjoyed.

The Flying Pig's mascot. You can find him inside.

I also really, really liked the look and vibe of The Flying Pig—it was lively and packed when we were there Saturday evening—as well as the friendly service. It didn't quite match the incredibly friendly service of Station House, but it was not lacking in the slightest. I also had a lovely peach brew from RJ Rockers Brewery while my friend had a nice glass of wine. All in all, we left The Flying Pig feeling just as satisfied as we arrived after coming off the great experience at Station House and that's saying something. As I said, I can't vouch for those who splurged on more expensive full entries and not apps, but for what I had, it was a great experience, especially given the other places we've had to settle for until now in the Austin St. area.

Inside The Pig

The Flying Pig's delish Charcuterie plate

The Flying Pig's baked clams

Now, to be fair, I visited Banter like a month ago so my memory of that experience has faded a bit since. But it was overall positive. My party of three went for dinner and of our meals, two out of three of us were quite satisfied with a pan seared chicken entry ($17) and an Irish Stew ($18). The third had salmon over a salad ($15) and thought the salmon was just ok. The service at Banter was very harried though, nothing like the wonderful service at Station House. It had just recently opened though and they admitted the kitchen was a bit backed up. Not sure if that has improved in the weeks since.

Banter

Another shot of Banter

Banter's roast chicken dish

Banter's salmon over salad

Banter's Irish Stew

So there you have it, my first impressions of these three new restaurants. All in all, I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed The Flying Pig experience and how much I absolutely fell in love with Station House which is really an awesome new place in FoHi. We are really lucky to have such a warm, inviting place. One reader emailed me to say how he loved Station House also and was looking forward to working his way through their menu:   

"I have lunched twice," he wrote me. "I'd like to say that the quality of the food and the creativity of the cooking is very fine--one has to be almost impossibly lucky to find such finesse in Manhattan at these prices.I intend to eat my way through the menu. Have not had any alcohol there since I've stopped in only before going to work, but the bar and beer offerings are intriguing. Service is very friendly, and so is chef James--and he is also greatly talented, as well.  FH and KG have been such a desert for decent vittles that I think this place needs to be championed, since it offers so much of what we have lacked." 

I could not agree more.

Station House Opens

Station House on 71st Continental recently opened. Here's a look inside, and also a quick snap I took of their menu. The place specializes in whiskey and craft beer and offers an interesting food menu as well. Remember when this space used to be that Mexican place selling crusted over guacamole and sad, brown lettuce? Oh, and humus for some reason? Quite a change.

Signs of New Pubs

The signs have gone up for two of the new pubs here in FoHi: Station House, near the LIRR station, and The Flying Pig, on Austin St. next to Martha's Bakery.

Latest on Station House

UPDATED: I have been able to confirm (thanks to the reader's comment below) that the same owners of the popular George Keeley's on Amsterdam Ave. on Manhattan's Upper West Side are also behind the new Station House gastropub under construction next to the McDonald's on 71st/Continental. This is great news for our neighborhood. George Keeley is a favorite of craft beer lovers, with a wide selection, and also a pretty good food menu to boot. Check out Station House's Facebook page for a sneak peek at the look of the new place.

Also, here's a great article with updates on all the local pubs getting ready to open here in FoHi. If these three new places are anything like depicted in the article—and I have no reason to expect they won't be—then we will have some great new drinking and eating options opening up in the neighborhood this Spring. 

More on Beer Hall

Another shot of Marianella's

The inside of Marianella's

By the way, I walked by the old Marianella's last eve to eyeball for myself the QR code on the window—just wanted to get a sense for myself what exactly is up with that location. My conclusion is the beer hall is indeed coming to the site. There's a sign saying they have applied for an alcohol license, and the QR code is very visible and was obviously posted there to intrigue anyone walking by—a creative way to garner some publicity among the younger clientele who a beer hall would indeed be targeting.

Hofbrauhaus in Munich

Above are some pics of the inside of the former Marianella's. As one of the commenters on this blog asked: Is the space big enough for a beer hall? It won't be the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, no. But it could very definitely become a really nice Hall...

Beer Hall Coming to Forest Hills?

A reader sent this in to me tonight, scanned from a QR Code on the window of what formerly was Marianella's, the short-lived Mexican restaurant near the LIRR station (next to McDonald's). The reader says there are also work permits up on the window. Needless to say, this would be awesome for the neighborhood.