offManhattan

Don’t let the rope outside rub you the wrong way; there’s nothing pretentious about Chef Ricardo Cardona’s creatively reimagined Dominican food. Nestled inside what used to be an auto shop, Gabbana is an open, two-level space with cozy, dark blue leather booths, live Colombian music, and a chimichurri dish to moan over.

At the tip of the Rockaway Peninsula on Jamaica Bay, Breezy Point in Queens, often rhapsodized as the “Irish Riviera,” is a seaside community still overlooked by most New Yorkers planning their quick summertime escapes, which is good news for people who like a peaceful beach or bike ride—without losing sight of the Manhattan skyline on the horizon.

What: Queens Theatre in the Park: Latino Cultural Festival

Where: Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens

When: Friday, July 29 – Sunday, August 8th

Why: Queens stays true to the international character of its borough with the return of Queens Theatre in the Park‘s 14th annual Latino Cultural Festival. From inception, QTP’s tradition of transporting locals to global countries with a program of dance, film, music and spoken word has made it the cultural conduit for New Yorkers. There’ll be traditional dance (tango, milongo, urban) and legendary voices (Susana Baca, Yomo Toro,) interlaced throughout the performances. Don’t miss Leon Geico who is hailed as a pop-folk Bob Dylan, and Columbian folk artist Jorge Velosa who’ll introduce carranguero music. Representing countries include Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, the U.S. and Venezuela. Whether your mode of transport to this celebration of Latin roots is by bike, bus, or train, you’ll feel like you’ve seen the world in nine days.

What: Queens Art Express Festival

Where: Along the No. 7 Subway Line

When: June 10-13th

Why: Queens is seeking to take over the reign as Borough of Arts with the second installment of its annual arts festival, Queens Art Express (QAX). With nearly half of Queens’ population being foreign born, there is no better borough to showcase the diversity of culture than this four-day program sampling 38 venues and 80 local merchants along the No.7 train.

People go to bars for lots of different reasons. Some of us meet friends or colleagues for conversation. Others go to dance, meet potential mates, see bands, or just plain old fashioned get drunk. It’s a less common perk to experience a bar that treats its drinks like a renowned restaurant treats its food.

On the stretch of Jackson Avenue between the Court Square stop on the 7 train and Queens Citibank building, lies a warmly welcomed breath of fresh air to the bar scene. Nestled amid the industrial likes of an engineering business and a transmission shop, is an unassuming flashing retro neon sign reading very simply, “BAR.” Pull open the heavy metal doors to enter Dutch Kills Bar and you walk into time’s past. 

Getting outside is what warm weather is about. For many, Queens is an afterthought. The advantage of getting less attention is you often experience more bang for your buck. This list of seven places will give the other boroughs a run for their money in quality, décor, price, and atmosphere. And let’s be honest here, whatever strangers you end up sitting next to in Queens will likely rate lower on the annoying index than Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Staten Island. This list is a brief introduction to the myriad charms of outdoor dining in queens.

Queens is king tonight at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center as 43 arts organizations and 17 indie artists are honored with nearly a quarter of a million dollars by the Queens Community Arts Fund (QCAF). The QCAF is an award presented by Queens Council on the Arts from a handful of benefactors—New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Greater New York Arts Development Fund, the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, and the JP Morgan Chase Arts Foundation Regrants Program—whose generosity ensures that this borough’s creative voice is heard.

All five boroughs of New York are densely scattered with a variety of cultural pockets holding strong ties to the old country of its generations of immigrants. Queens leads the pack as the most culturally diverse county in the country. When we think of Astoria, we are quick to think Greek (or of a certain Czech Beer Garden), but the stretch of Steinway Street between 28th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard is rich with North African, and more specifically, Egyptian and Moroccan culture.