Sept. 27, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge
Bourbon and Vine on 30th Avenue will officially close today, to be swiftly replaced by an east-west fusion Indian restaurant.
Owner Rocco Del Greco said he sold Bourbon and Vine, located at 36-05 30th Ave., in July, but has been sharing the space with the new owners while they started early renovation work in the back of the house.
A farewell party will take place today, with discounts on everything including specialty cocktails.
The new Indian restaurant will be called Kurry Qulture, owner Sonny Solomon said.
Acclaimed chef Hemant Mathur, who was on the team behind the first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in the U.S., will be in the kitchen at Kurry Qulture, Mathur confirmed.
“We are blending east west,” Solomon said. “We’ll be using ingredients which are common in American cuisine at this time of year, and then we are focusing on the same climate zone in India.”
Therefore, during the fall, chefs might incorporate turkey meat into dishes from parts of north India with a similar climate, Soloman said.
Winter will bring curries and heavier sauces, and venison to recall North American hunting season. During the summer, chefs will focus on the hottest areas of India.
“I think it’s time for us to do something in Astoria, and bring up Indian cuisine at a different level, so people can see that India’s not just about chicken tikka masala and saag paneer,” Solomon said.
Del Greco, who owns an advertising company, said, “one of the reasons I brought a restaurant to Astoria in the first place is I always worked with other people’s businesses, and I always wanted to create my own.”
“It just wasn’t the right fit for me, but I did find a bunch of people who wanted the place,” he went on. “I waited until somebody really special wanted the space.”
“I like the area because it’s a very diverse neighborhood,” Solomon, who lives at Broadway and 29th Street, said.
Solomon said he aims to open Kurry Qulture in mid October.
4 Comments
Another Indian restaurant. If you want to reminisce about the day an Indian or Paki family moved 30 people into that 2 bedroom apt in your building, the smell of curry will do it and every Indian restaurant stinks of it. Jainist Hindu people spare every insect ;hence, the cockroach Indian mythology is based in reality.
Incredible for Astoria. Hemant Mathur and Sonny Solomon have been behind two Michelin star restaurants in the city. I can’t wait.
About time! The bartenders there were awful, so rude and the food was mediocre.. place could’ve been a huge hit if they hired friendly people
“The bartenders there were awful.”
I applied here for bartender last year and during the interview the owner felt the need to “teach me” more about bourbon, handing me a Jim Bean Catalog. He proceeded to tell me I wasn’t “right” for the job even though I’ve been a bartender in New York for over 10 years (longer than he has lived here, I guarantee) and said to try back when I brush up on my craft beer knowledge.
Good Game, Bourbon & Vine! Back to Connecticut, transplant.