Borough Vegetarian

Tazzina - Solid Italian / Italian American Fare in Forest Hills

While the Metropolitan Avenue, Forest Hills dining scene has suffered a major blow with Michelin-starred Danny Brown's closing last year, this strip continues to boast among the better restaurants in Queens.  Our latest favorite on this street, which includes fantastic Katsuno and delicious Wafa's, is Tazzina, a casual, friendly Italian / Italian-American restaurant.  

We've visited Tazzina twice over the past few months, including a family birthday celebration.  The draws of Tazzina include its simple, yet accommodating menu and its warm and casual dining room.  It's a great standby for a meal with friends or family, or for an impromptu date night.

On our first visit to Tazzina, we sampled some of their house cocktails, including the bitter but refreshing Sicilian Sunrise.  While Tazzina may have better wine than cocktails, their drinks are not a bad way to start your meal.

Diners are also given toasted pita-style bread and olive tapenade to start.

Post-bread and cocktails is where the restaurant starts to distinguish itself.  My favorite starter so far is the Beet Salad which includes grapefruit, a balsamic dressing, and goat cheese fritters which all add nice complements to the sweetness of the beets and the spiciness of the arugula.  A great salad, which can also be a main course if you aren't too hungry.

My favorite entree so far between the risotto and the pasta I have tried is the Ravioli Ricotta Cacio e Pepe.  While not necessarily a traditional cacio e pepe sauce (far too rich and thick to be so), it is a nice pepper-infused dish with deep, homey flavors from ricotta and the thick sauce.

Another draw of Tazzina is that they will adapt more of their menu offerings to be vegetarian without an issue.  If you find yourself in Forest Hills in need of a filling, simple meal, definitely head to Tazzina!

Tazzina

102-15 Metropolitan Avenue

Forest Hills, Queens

Approx. 1 mile walk from the E/F/M/R trains at 71st-Avenue / Forest Hills

Katsuno in Forest Hills - An Unexpected Japanese Treat

At a brunch last year, a number of attendees highly recommended that we check out Katsuno, a Japanese restaurant in Forest Hills, Queens.  When looking up the Katsuno menu and reviews after this initial recommendation, I was pleasantly surprised to find vegetarian options at the restaurant (the initial recommendation we received focused on the meat and fish dishes).

Although the staff wasn't fully prepared for my vegetarian questions/requests when we visited Katsuno in December, they were very friendly and I was able to cobble together a strong meal from many parts of the menu.

We started with the cucumber moroni miso, a cucumber slice dish with an unrefined miso (and maybe rice?) topping that was sweet/salty/rich and added a lot of flavor.  I generally liked the dish, but wasn't as wowed by it as others at our table because I think the texture of the topping was a little too gummy and sticky for my liking.

We also ordered the agedashi tofu, which after some back-and-forths with the waitress, the kitchen was able to make without bonito/fish products.  The tofu was very well-prepared and nicely salty.

My two "main courses" were cobbled together from two smaller dishes on the menu - the vegetable tempura and an avocado-cucumber roll.  Both were good, but fairly simple dishes, so I don't think showcased what the Katsuno kitchen could do.

 

We concluded our meal with the green tea tiramisu, which my husband loved but I thought was slightly chalky and not fully put together (maybe it was frozen or refrigerated before serving?).  I imagine when we go back to Katsuno again, we'll probably try it again though because despite my criticisms, it was still pretty interesting.

Katsuno

103-01 Metropolitan Avenue

Forest Hills, Queens

15-minute walk or short cab from the E/F/M/R subway trains at Forest Hills-71st Avenue or the Forest Hills LIRR stop

Wafa’s in Forest Hills - Amazing, Fresh Lebanese in a Casual and Bustling Setting

The husband has been wanting to try Wafa’s in Forest Hills for years now - and even though we go to Forest Hills a fair amount, for some reason we hadn’t stopped in this Lebanese restaurant until this past month.

We went on a Saturday night last year around 7pm, and were lucky to get a table for 4 within a few minutes upon our arrival (despite cold/rainy weather, Wafa’s was completely packed).  The space itself is fairly small (one rectangular room) and the overall setting was very casual - a mix of families with children, couples, and groups of friends populated the restaurant when we were there.  

Although service was a bit slow because of the crush of people who seemed to enter around the same time as us, the service was both friendly and helpful.  Between the four of us at our table, we sampled a number of their dinner platters and many vegetarian offerings.

We started with the Fattoush salad and Foul Mudammas.  The Fattoush was fantastic - the vegetables were very fresh and were perfectly completed by just the right amount of tangy dressing and pita chips.  The Foul, or fava beans, were also really tasty with some zip from the lemon juice and fresh tomatoes.

(Fattoush)

The main courses were equally well prepared - with a good amount of seasonings and balance between spiced flavor and the underlying meal base, whether it be vegetables or grains.  I had a vegetarian platter for my main course - the tomato bulgar, cauliflower and falafel.  I also tasted the rice and lentils and green salad that accompanied others’ meat dishes.

The falafel was well cooked, and not too oily or too dry, and the tomato bulgar was also cooked quite well.  The cauliflower - which was fried - was a little oily, but did have a relatively good flavor.  I ordered it because our waitress said it was a very popular platter accompaniment, but in the future, I think I might try the okra, tabouleh or another vegetarian side.  

(Vegetarian Platter)

Generally though, the portions were enormous (one platter is certainly enough for two people, or one meal and another full meal or two of leftovers), so ultimately it was a very well priced and very delicious meal out.  Definitely a restaurant repeat when we are next in Forest Hills - and because they deliver, maybe more incentive for us to move to FH in the near future!

Wafa’s

100-05 Metropolitan Avenue

Forest Hills, Queens

Approximately 1 mile or a 20 minute walk from the E/F/M/R trains at 71st Avenue/Continental, and slightly shorter walk from the Forest Hills LIRR stop