Jackson Heights Life

The name of the new Indian restaurant on 37th Ave betw 76th and 77th is Mehfil (see thread below this one). My wife and I were there last night, and it continues to impress. We got our regular Shahajani Pullao, and tried the Bhindi Masala, which was equally delicious. Mehfil’s kheer dessert is our favorite of all our JH standbys.

It seems another will be opening soon. 71-06 37^th Avenue, the former location of Chinese Mirch Masala, and with a minor change to the awning later became Chinese Mixed Masala, has been vacant since I moved in a year ago, but now has a new awning. The new place will not be called Nanking and will not be called Kabab King, but instead will have the name Naan Kabob Food Restaurant. The awning promises “Indo Pak Bangladesh Nepal Tibetan Chinese Thai” cuisine, quite the cavalcade of options. This is all on the left (east) side of the awning; the right (west) side has Bangla text that reads something like Paykari mach bazar [Wholesale fish market] / Halal meat and grocery, with English text underneath saying “Indo Pak Bangladesh halal meat & fish grocery.” I presume there will be a market and a restaurant sharing a storefront, not unlike Dhaka Kabab and Haat Bazaar on 73^rd Street. It’ll never top Nanking Express, but I can hardly wait to try it.

The Village Voice has a write-up on Sunnyside's new Bangladeshi restaurant, Sonali Cuisine. 

Woo-Hoo for Ruhu at Sunnyside's Sonali Cuisine

From the article:

"With a name meaning "golden" in Bengali, Sonali Cuisine is the latest small dining establishment to arrive on the Sunnyside stretch of Queens Boulevard, which has gradually developed into one of the city's best food neighborhoods. It's also the most recent Bangladeshi café to hit west-central Queens, following in the footsteps of Spicy Mina and Deshi."

The Voice also follows-up with some nice photographs of some dishes at Sonali Cuisine:

Pix From Sonali Cuisine in Sunnyside, Queens

The northern Roti Boti, the one with the Shaheen dessert counter, has already transformed into Dera.

Pictures and a review of sorts of Dera: http://www.fabulouslyunforeign.com/post/428671621. “The owner told me his father opened the restaurant in that [sic] in 1973, when the area was filled with Irish people and businesses.” I guess Dera has the same owner as (the northern) Roti Boti; has it really been there since 1973?