Astoria is one of the weirdest, yet amazing neighborhoods in New York. The apartments are fairly cheap, close to the city, it is pretty safe, minus drunken assholes on the weekend. Historically a Greek neighborhood, it’s becoming a melting pot of cultures. Although, what’s weird about Astoria is it’s still not a highly desired area to live in. What do people know that I don’t?
One restaurant that is always without a doubt packed on the weekends is Queens Comfort. I don’t recall seeing such a congregation of people wanting brunch, especially in Astoria. The picture above was taken a while back right before last winter. I finally figured out what the big deal was about this place. The food, comic books, and Goosebumps.
Queens Comfort is located in Astoria on 30th Avenue between Steinway and 41st Street. This place is cash only and from the outside it looks like a Halloween store. There’s comics, horror, and gore. I don’t mean like comic book posters, but a straight up display of comics and more inside for sale. Once inside, this feels like a mix of grandma’s living room, bar, and child’s bedroom. There are family portraits, cheesy landscapes, action figures, and Goosebumps the TV show going on in the background. This place screams “Comfort” and to top it off, it’s BYOB! Amazing! There’s a gas station across the street with cheap crap beer, but on the corner there’s a decent selection of booze.
Queens Comfort specializes in American “Comfort food” specifically chicken and waffles, Po’boys, Eggs Benedict, simple stuff. They’re best known for their brunch offerings and I went here for Lunch. On a weekday this place is pretty empty as there’s not much of a lunch crowd. Thank you Astoria!
I tried the chicken and waffles and the “The King Creole” sandwich which is a fried tilapia sandwich with coleslaw and spicy mayo. After ordering, I picked up a few beers from the corner store. So great. One thing about this place is that the service is great, I’d love to see how the service changes during brunch when it’s packed, but for now, top-notch. After about 5-10 minutes, the food came out piping hot, straight from the fryer. Good sign.
As for the food, it’s delicious and solid. The chicken was fried well, but the flavoring is only in the batter, and the batter broke up when cut. Maybe a sharper knife was needed? The waffle was scrumptious with a good crunch and a sweet flavor. The waffle comes with maple syrup and butter. I’d go back and get the chicken and waffles, but I’m not dreaming of having it again.
“The King Creole” sandwich might be the best tilapia sandwich I’ve ever had. I don’t each tilapia, but the cornmeal crust was so crunchy and encased the moist fish well. Tilapia has a much milder taste then it gets credit for, and it’s fucking good, but truthfully it’s a bottom feeder so it can have a muddy taste at times. The sandwich came with either salad or fries, and I opted for the fries, since the sandwich had coleslaw, so vegetables were covered.
Once I was done with my food, the bill came about 15 minutes later and I wasn’t rushed. Too nice. This place gets top marks for their service, the “comforting” vibe, and the food is solid. I’ve had better chicken and waffles, but the sandwich was great. The combination of ambiance, food, and being in Astoria makes this one of those diners I’d love to go all the time. Just get rid of the lines and I’m there.
Source: Queens Comfort
