Peruvian lunch at El Anzuelo Fino in Woodhaven, NY

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

I recently got invited to El Anzuelo Fino (The Fresh Fishhook) in Woodhaven, Queens. This place opened in 1998, after the owners, Maria and Amilcar Torres, who opened a restaurant with the same name in Lima, Peru in 1982, decided to relocate to the US. It is a small place, with definitely a neighborhood feel. A family business for sure: Amilcar was inspired by his mother to become a Chef and Boris, his son, followed the same path after falling in love with this industry at the age of 12, while working with his parents. Later on, after being trained by Peruvian Chefs, Boris attended the French Culinary Institute and worked in NYC restaurants including Red Rooster, Boulud Sud, Nuela, La Mar, and Raymi before taking over the management of El Anzuelo Fino. 

The decor there is really simple, if it is not for the stone wall with fishes in the bottom, swimming freely, probably knowing that they would not be served as ceviche. Because I learnt from my friend Chef Vanessa Greeley, who is from Peru, that ceviche is definitely, with lomo salteado, a specialty of the country. 

For our first immersion into Peruvian cuisine, our host was Maria Torres herself. She explained to us the story behind the restaurant, as well as the passion her family has for this business.

Before I talk about the food that was presented to us, let's talk about the beverages. First is wine: they do not have a wide selection there, but if you are curious about Peruvian wines, you should be satisfied.

They also have cocktails, like the Pisco Sour that Maria prepared for me. 

It was made with Pisco and just 2 drops of Angostura for the sour taste.

This is definitely not something you would drink like milk...

If you prefer non-alcoholic beverages, they have shakes, as well as the chicha:

Chicha is a drink made with purple corn that is boiled for 2 hours and then prepared with fruit like apple and pineapple.

It is quite sweet and thick, with a taste that I cannot really compare to anything. It was our first encounter with purple corn, that I never tried before and that we would retrieve in our dessert.

Lunch at Telly's Taverna in Astoria, New York

When we got invited to Telly's Taverna, we were thrilled! Jodi used to live in Astoria at the time I met her and this was my first discovery of Queens. In fact, we walked around and even went to her old place after lunch, trying to identify what was new and what was not. 

I was not surprised that it was a Greek restaurant that invited us: Astoria has a large Greek community and there are plenty of Greek restaurants there. 

The first thing we noticed when we entered in the restaurant was the fish display and the grill that was behind it.

They get their fish from a market in the Bronx and it definitely looked fresh.

After passing the first dining room, we ended up in the second one that was pretty large and full of Christmas decorations, with a tree in the back.

We sat close to the window, ready for a feast! But first was a glass of ouzo, a traditional Greek aperitif that is anise-flavored.

I just added couple of ice cubes in it and sipped it, not like milk for sure...

The first dish that came was Nana's green salad, made with chopped romaine lettuce, feta, scallions and peppers.

It was light and refreshing, however, I would have liked a bit more feta in it.

Then came three dips:

Roka Turkish Cuisine in Kew Gardens, NY

Last Saturday, we were invited at Roka Turkish Cuisine restaurant in Kew Gardens. The restaurant, which opened almost a year ago, features a Mediterranean menu crafted by Chef Erol Firat. We got to meet with Annette Dulger, one of the owners and had a nice chat during this incredible tasting you will witness in this post, talking about her home country, Turkey (Annette was born and raised in Istanbul), but also about food! What sets apart Roka (that means arugula - salad rocket) is definitely the food: ingredients are purchased in local farms and you will not find any meat with hormones, canned or processed food! And you can definitely taste it! 

The place is bright, with a simple decor; one of the colors that is prominent there is blue and there are large ovals of blue on the ceiling, to represent the sea.

When we arrived (early), the restaurant was empty, but as the time passed, it got very crowded with an heterogenous clientele: families, friends, couples, young, older...For sure, there were regular customers, welcomed by Annette with a kiss on the cheeks, very European. Annette spent a lot of time talking to us, but giving us some space so we could appreciate a dinner en tête-à-tête, but we quickly realized that most of the customers received the same treatment: she was talking to them, making sure that they were fine or did not need anything, sometimes sitting with them for a quick chat. It did not seem to be intrusive and in fact, contributed to the feeling that it is more than a neighborhood gem: more like going to a friend's home and catching up, regulars treated equal with newcomers. 

It was time for us to start what would be a feast! Annette proposed to try some Turkish drinks (non-alcoholic as they do not have yet a liquor license). So we had a sour cherry juice as well as a sparkling soda that had a slight bubble gum taste! I usually do not like sour cherry juice because it is too sweet and too sour; this one was perfect.

Then, they brought us some Turkish olives and olive oil, also from Turkey:

As well as some Turkish bread, freshly made!

The bread was light and airy, with sesame seeds on top, perfect with the olive oil, but also with the cold appetizers they brought us:

It was a sampler similar to the one on the menu, but with few more dishes. The one on the menu has Lebni, Babaganush, special spicy Ezme and hummus for $12. Proposing a sampler is a great idea because it allows patrons to try different appetizers and I am often frustrated when there are so many good things on a menu to try and no sampler is proposed. 

We had:

Hummus, made with mashed chickpeas, fresh garlic, tahini and herbs: