explore: astoria & lic

[Despite wandering into LIC, this post is participating in the Astoria Blog Carnival, at We Heart Astoria. If that's how you found me - hi! I have more Astoria posts here, here, here and here.

It has been a gluttonous 36 hours in this neck of the woods. Last night, dinner at:

We counted TX, MS, AZ, AK and ... Ontario? plates

our new local New Orleans-themed restaurant, which served a refreshing Pimm’s, a salty fried catfish, and a decadent side of mac & cheese. The half po’boys were ample and great, and there’s a Sazerac to sample and a whole slew of fried and broiled oysters to explore. The interior has a corrugated-tin-roof, vintage diner tables and lots of floral fabric and service couldn’t be smilier. Didn’t have room for dessert, which is a bit of a shame, given the name.

Then today, brunch at El Ay Si on Vernon Boulevard, which was thoroughly charming, cheap, delicious and comfortable enough that we hung out for nearly three hours. We walked over in the blazing sun to Gantry Plaza State Park, which is expanding rapidly and is a beautifully landscaped, peaceful little enclave with a killer view of Manhattan. There are wooden sunloungers and a row of bright orange hammocks woven out of what looked like repurposed seatbelts. To the girl in her bikini lying there reading House of Leaves, I salute you.

Lawn Guyland gantries. Ignore the damn trash can in the foreground.

The green outpost of the mostly wood-decked waterfront park

I'm always a sucker for a well-placed Adirondack chair

We wandered back inland and happened upon LIC bar, (watch out, music at the link) which had live music in the back yard and was a very nice place to while away a Sunday afternoon. Oh, and there was this:

White tiger & cub, red Buick and co-ordinating laundry bag.

And under the train tracks near Queensboro Plaza, this boarded-up, bricked-up, and beautiful building:

This was clearly a showcase for what they could do. 1892 and crumbling.