Watch Out Brooklyn, Comfort Cookin' Comes to Astoria

(Maple Bacon Buttermilk Biscuit at Queens Comfort)

Queens Comfort

(written for WLA by Bradley Hawks of Amuse*Bouche)

I'm only gathering first impressions--these guys just opened their doors to the public today. But if lunch was any indication of what we can expect from Queens Comfort, Astorians can already rejoice. Southern-style comfort food has landed on 30th Ave. And not just any comfort food. This stuff will rival even your Granny's best baking.

Giving a major facelift to the space formerly occupied by recently shuttered Blue Restaurant, only the turquoise diner stools remain, with long communal-style tables replacing the booths, the whole eatery feeling more like a general store or old-fashioned Baptist potluck dinner.

(L-R: Thompson, Sullivan, Contini, D'Alessio)

Childhood friends since fifth grade from Long Island, co-owners Dave Contini (C.I.A. graduate and resident baker) and Donnie D'Alessio teamed up with Chef Casey Sullivan--who has a diverse resume that includes extensive experience with award-winning master smokers in Kansas City where "these kind of dishes are his religion," smiles Contini. When artist-designer Avery Thompson came on board, it "just seemed a natural fit" and so he, too, joined the creative team.

The restaurant, still in soft opening, will focus on southern style comfort food with a strong Louisiana influence (they even serve a traditional boudin--cajun rice sausage). Along with Stumptown coffee from Brooklyn, brunch service is expected to start next weekend, featuring glorious recipes like a Kentucky Hot Brown Benedict and Bananas Foster French Toast.

While I will wait until their official opening for a full review, here is a sample of the dishes I have tasted. And let me tell you... these are some of the most outrageously delicious comfort plates I have enjoyed recently--in many cases exponentially better than their counterparts in Williamsburg.

Fantastically velvety split pea soup, almost like a warm and savory winter mousse, crowned with a haystack of crispy pork belly that actually crunches at the bite, giving way to salty and tender bacon inside.

Contini explained that they operate on the KISS-philosophy (Keep It Simple Stupid) which results in an absolutely perfect, classic rendition of some of the best mac-n-cheese you could crave. Almost five inches tall, this golden browned casserole of elbow macaroni with cheddar, gruyere, and bechamel is crunchy crisp on the edges, yet smooth and deliciously cheesy throughout. It's a perfect comfort meal all by itself (though I am dying to try their chicken pot pie, pot roast, and pulled pork sandwich!)

Best fried chicken sandwich. Ever. A flaky buttermilk biscuit is slathered with maple butter and hot sauce, housing a juicy boneless chicken filet fried in a crisp, light, buttermilk batter, served with a heaping pile of Zapps potato chips delivered from Louisiana. Outrageous.

You haven't had a donut until you have tried Contini's cinammon-sugar-dusted cake donut. As my stomach was grinning to full capacity, I enjoyed this donut hole. The coating was crunchy with an almost toffee-like snap, giving way to a surprisingly moist cake donut you won't even want to dunk in anything.

The diner counter, reminiscent of a classic country store, is jeweled with cake stands of donuts and cookies, just an early preview of Contini's developing baked confections.

I couldn't keep my hand out of the cookie jar, and this "cluster cookie" will keep me sneaking right back in again and again. A chewy chocolate crinkle cookie loaded with tender walnuts.

Though the menu, prices, and hours may fluctuate somewhat while Queens Comfort settles into its rhythm, I say you shouldn't wait much longer before this place gets packed. The food is already great, the energy homey and warm, and the entire team couldn't have been more welcoming, even before I busted out my camera and started asking questions.

And since I know my posts can sometimes tip toward the heavier side of the menu, I took note for my vegetarian friends that they do offer some tempting entree salads, including a rendition with arugula, fig preserves, goat cheese, pear, and toasted walnuts, and even a Queens Caesar with charred romaine, black pepper mustard, and toasted croutons.

Sandwiches and salads are all $6.50-$8.50, with entrees ranging from $7-$14, and sides and soups from $3-$6. While they await their liquor license, beverage service is BYOW (bring your own whatever). I'd love to hear about your experiences as you welcome this wonderful new addition to the neighborhood... please post impressions and comments below.

**UPDATE**
We returned today with some friends, and here are some more images of what we sampled! The owners also confirmed that once the liquor license arrives, they plan to host ping pong after dinner service in the evenings.

Arugula salad with goat cheese, fig preserve, pear, & toasted walnuts

Smoked turkey sandwich with bacon, cheddar, apples, & herb mayo

Pulled pork with Stumptown BBQ sauce & slaw

Chicken pot pie

Homemade coffee cake

Tags: Blue, Cajun, Comfort, Cooking, Home, Queens, Restaurant, Southern

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Comment by Bradley Hawks on February 27, 2011 at 6:44pm: Love it!

And I just got a sneak peak of the brunch menu...

It's gonna be KILLER.

Note, they will be closed tomorrow (Monday) to finalize some recipes. And then their official opening will hopefully be this coming weekend sometime.

I'll definitely see you there many-a-meal, I am sure.

Comment by Chad Marra on February 27, 2011 at 2:51pm: Bradley as you saw..went here with Laura this morning for brunch. Absolutely amazing experience. A note to the crowd is that the kitchen does not open until 12pm (at least today), but we sat down easily right before 12 and popped open our champagne which was greeted with copious amounts of orange juice within minutes.

We had the buttermilk maple bacon biscuits to start which were AMAZING. My one complaint is that they were room temperature and I offered the team the suggestion of serving them warm/fluffy/split with a small amount of butter inside. Definitely worth trying regardless but I would love to have had warm. We enjoyed our biscuits also with the mac and cheese...simply amazing.

We finished with the fried chicken sandwich but opted for the cheddar scallion biscuit over the buttermilk just to really send our arteries over the edge. De-lic-i-ous. Our other "halfsie" sandwich we split was the brisket sandwich on brioche bun. Now I'm from the South so I have a pretty biased view of brisket (so many good versions back home), and I personally thought the brisket here was lacking in overall taste. What saved it was the horseradish sauce to give it a little extra flavor. Bites were delicious with the sauce, but without I felt like I was eating something without much flavor at all. Oh yeah, and everything was super tender too! NOMS.

Consensus: Go here asap, bring a bottle of your favorite, try a robust amount of things with your group, and enjoy an unprecedented food coma!

I'm sure I'll bump into you all soon :)

Comment by Emily Cintron on February 25, 2011 at 2:26pm: Love it! Great brisket sandwich and mac & cheese. Astoria really needed a spot like this and I love that they do all their own baking!

Comment by Jackie D on February 23, 2011 at 4:54pm: I tried the chicken and biscuit and it was delish! The coating was like a fish fry and the chicken breast was tender and juicy. The biscuit sandwich could have fed two people, or one very hungry foodie.

I promised the chef/owners that I'd be back :)

Comment by Michael on February 23, 2011 at 3:23pm: Thanks to Bradley I have been spending my paychecks on dining out!

Comment by Amy Litt on February 23, 2011 at 1:17pm: Casi and I checked it out last night and loved the ambiance, the service, and the food. To be totally honest, their mac and cheese could use a little work and I was disappointed by the total absence of any other vegetarian options besides the goat cheese salad. Fortunately, the partners are out working the floor and were really solicitous of feedback so I got to pitch a few ideas. They also were happy to accept a beer out of our 6 pack when we didn't have enough cash for a 20% tip.

Comment by Bradley Hawks on February 23, 2011 at 3:35am: I absolutely had to go back today... with friends. Just added the new images.

(p.s. whenever you want the address to a restaurant in one of these posts, the name of the restaurant at the top of the post is also a link to their page on WLA, with location, hours, and all that good stuff... sorry if I didn't make that clear)

Comment by Ran Craycraft on February 22, 2011 at 6:37pm: Tried this out today and was not disappointed. Their split pea soup was delish--not to mention the fried chicken sammich. YUM!

Comment by Jackie D on February 22, 2011 at 6:27pm: Thanks for the review! I'm so excited to try it. That Blue Star Diner was unfortunately never really good. And while I don't enjoy seeing old Astoria restaurants die out, the pain is eased slightly when a great new place comes into town. Yet another reason why I don't have to trek to Manhattan or BK :)