Robin Kawada, owner of Takesushi Restaurant on 42nd Street. Takesushi will be participating in this year’s Taste of Sunnyside (Photo: QueensPost)
Sept. 29, 2021 By Michael Dorgan
The annual Taste of Sunnyside is just days away and a full list of participating restaurants/bars has now been finalized.
The event, which aims to showcase the diverse restaurant mix of the neighborhood, will take place this Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. with more than 30 local businesses set to take part.
This year’s event is being revamped as a restaurant/bar crawl as opposed to being held in one location under a big tent.
The event will provide foodies with the opportunity to go door-to-door to sample the food and beverages offered by participating restaurants/bars. There will also be several trollies available to bus attendees to the establishments.
Some of the participating restaurants include regular favorites like Tito Rad’s Grill, Senso Unico, Maggie Mae’s, Bliss 46 Bistro, and 43 Bar & Grill.
Tickets for the Taste have gone on sale with general admission costing $50, with VIP tickets priced at $75 each.
Newcomers to Taste of Sunnyside include two local sushi restaurants – Takesushi, located at 43-46 42nd St., and Ariyoshi Japanese Restaurant, located at 41-13 Queens Blvd. Participants will be able to drop by these establishments—like the other participating venues—and sample their food as part of the event.
The offerings from the establishments will mark the first time sushi will be served at the event, according to the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID), which organizes the Taste.
Other businesses participating for the first time include Sweet Avenue and The Goat.
Taste of Sunnyside 2017 (Photo: Sunnyside Shines)
Food from Tito Rad’s Grill (L) and drinks from QNSY (R) (Photos via Facebook)
Jaime-Faye Bean, executive director of Sunnyside Shines, said that the event will be much more than a local food and drinks festival given the challenges New Yorkers have faced with COVID-19 over the past 18 months. She said the event, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic, will be about community.
“After a year’s hiatus we are bringing the community back together to celebrate the resilience of local businesses,” Bean said.
Bean said that many residents—as well as business owners—have had to reinvent themselves in the face of adversity due to the pandemic.
For instance, a new sparkling cocktail manufacturing company called QNSY was created by husband-and-wife duo Tara Merdjanoff and Jeremy Bohen during the pandemic.
The pair worked in the bar trade and as actors but they decided to launch the business after they lost work during the lockdowns. QNSY is based in Jackson Heights and will be serving drinks from Jack’s Fire Dept., Bean said.
Cakes by Claire, a business that sells floral cupcakes, has also risen out of hardship. Owner Claire Kim started the company as a side project but was forced to focus on it full time after she lost her job, according to Bean.
Cakes by Claire will be offering its baked goods at the Lowery Bar and Kitchen, Bean said.
Souvenir t-shirts of the event, pictured, will be sold at The Globe bar Sunday (Photo provided by Sunnyside Shines)
Meanwhile, souvenir T-shirts to mark the event will be sold at The Globe Bar, located at 49-10 Skillman Ave., which is also taking part for the first time. The sales proceeds will be donated to the Mosaic Church food pantry on 43rd Avenue, Bean said.
Ticket holders will be required to check-in for the event at Lowery Plaza – located at 40th Street and Queens Boulevard under the elevated 7 subway train – where they will be provided with recommended routes to follow on the crawl.
All attendees will be required to show proof that they have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in order to take part, organizers said.
VIP ticket holders will be able to start the event an hour earlier—at 2 p.m. They will also be provided with a dedicated trolley and be entitled to skip regular lines at each stop.
A live DJ will play throughout the day at Lowery Plaza, while attendees can also capture the moment at a photo booth at the location.
Tickets can be bought online by clicking here.
A list of participating restaurants/bars are listed below
43 Bar & Grill (sports bar)
Alewife Brewing Company (brewpub)
Arriba Arriba (Mexican restaurant)
Ariyoshi (sushi restaurant)
Austin East Ciders (cider makers)
Big aLICe Brewing (brewing company)
Big Shane’s Ice Cream (ice cream makers)
Bliss 46 Bistro (French bistro)
The Boiis Co (makers of whimsical cookies called mookies)
Cakes by Claire (floral cake makers)
Caribbean Cuisine (Caribbean restaurant)
Chakra Cafe (Turkish coffee and breakfast shop)
The Courtyard Bar (Irish bar)
Dazies Restaurant (Italian restaurant)
La Vienesa Bakery (Colombian bakery)
Firefly Petite Bistro & Cafe (Latin American & southern European cafe/bistro)
The Globe Tavern (neighborhood bar)
The Goat Bar (neighborhood bar)
Jack’s Fire Department (American bar)
La Adelita de Woodside (Mexican bakery and restaurant)
La Vienesa Bakery (Colombian bakery)
Maggie Mae’s Bar (neighborhood bar)
Mangal Kebab (Turkish restaurant)
QNSY (sparkling cocktail manufacturers)
Rincon Melania (Ecuadorian restaurant)
Riko Peruvian (Peruvian restaurant)
Sanger Hall (American bar/restaurant)
Senso Unico (Italian restaurant)
Single Cut Beersmiths (brewery)
SoleLuna (Italian restaurant)
Sotto le Stelle (Neopolitan pizza, restaurant)
Sweet Avenue (bar focusing on craft beers)
The Lowery Bar & Kitchen (local bar/restaurant)
Tito Rad’s Grill (Filipino restaurant)
Ice cream from Big Shane’s Ice Cream (L), cupcakes from Clair’s Cakes (C) and “mookies” from The Boiis Co (R) (Images provided by Sunnyside Shines)
(Taste of Sunnyside 2021 poster)
Featured Events
