Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

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August 12, 2013 By cheryl

Breezy Dogs & Shakes (Breezy Point, N.Y.): A Dog Day of Summer

Lunchtime on a hot summer’s day and two small boys are very silently perched on a bench near Fort Tilden Beach.

They’re still; their eyes a little glazed. Finally, one breaks the stupor to very slowly say, “These are soooo good.”

The source of their trance is at their elbows — two almost empty cups of thick, cold milkshakes and the carcass of lunch. At this point, sous chef and I have just gotten off a sunny bus ride all the way to the end of the Q22 line at Rockaway Beach, all in search of this mythical Breezy Dog food truck we’d been reading about.

From the look of the fog these boys were in, lunch was starting to seem worth the ride …

[Read more…]

Filed Under: American, Beach, Food Truck, New York, Queens, Tales From the Road, The Beach, Travel Tagged With: Beach, Breezy Dogs & Shakes, Breezy Point, Burgers, Food Truck, Fort Tilden, Hot Dogs, Milkshakes, New York, Rockaway Beach, Summer

August 11, 2013 By cheryl

The Wharf (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.): A View — With Food on the Side

Remember how I mentioned that people love to tell me where I must eat when I travel?

Well, The Wharf in New York‘s Rockaway Beach is certainly not one of those places.

Check it out, yes — I definitely heard that. With its outdoor dining deck with sweeping views of the water and Manhattan’s skyline in the distance, The Wharf’s vista for a sunset cocktail can’t be beat. But eat? We had read and heard enough about the food to know there were probably better restaurants in Rockaway Beach.

Even so, on a recent evening, as our cocktails on that famous deck were disappearing, the vaunted view was nudging us to stay.

How bad could the food truly be? We decided to find out …

[Read more…]

Filed Under: American, Beach, Brunch, New York, Queens, Restaurants, Seafood, Tales From the Road, The Beach, Travel Tagged With: Belle Harbor, Brunch, Fish, New York, Rockaway Beach, Seafood, Seaside, Steak, The Wharf, Waterfront

August 10, 2013 By cheryl

Rockaway Taco (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.): A Surfside Start

You get an inkling that a place is good if everyone who finds out you’re going somewhere for the weekend says you absolutely have to eat there.

Friends, your hairdresser — your hairdresser’s wife. You get the idea.

So on my first visit to Rockaway Beach in New York, I knew there was one place I had to find and hit: Rockaway Taco  …

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Beach, Mexican, New York, Queens, Restaurants, Tales From the Road, The Beach, Travel Tagged With: Beach, Breakfast, Chilaquiles, Mexican, New York, Rockaway Beach, Rockaway Taco, Tacos

July 30, 2013 By cheryl

Lemon-Garlic Yellow Beans: A Summery Side

I may not be the biggest fan of vegetables but summer, with its vibrant farmers markets, always manages to lure me to the green side.

Or, as this week had it, the yellow side.

A late-afternoon visit to my neighborhood market this week yielded a lovely surprise — bags of bright yellow string beans going for just 50 cents.

What to do with them? I decided to take them home and see …

[Read more…]

Filed Under: American, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Brooklyn, Farmers Market, New York, Summer, Yellow beans

February 17, 2013 By cheryl

Royal Seafood: A Singaporean Chinese New Year Feast

It’s difficult being far from home at the holidays — which is what makes February a trying time most years.

Living in New York, far from the Chinese new year feasts and festivities of Singapore, I always feel like I’m missing out. Thankfully, though, there was a special dinner this year — on the seventh day of the lunar new year no less. Now, the seventh day is the day that Chinese celebrate as “Ren Ri,” the day that humans were created. (According to Chinese mythology, the first life-form the goddess Nu Wa created on the first day of the year was the chicken — go figure.) And since it’s the birthday of humans, the Chinese celebrate it as everybody’s birthday.

So it seemed fitting to be heading out to a Chinese new year celebration at Royal Seafood in New York on a day that we could toast everybody’s birthday …

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Asian, Chinese, Holidays, New York, Restaurants, Singaporean Tagged With: Chinatown, Chinese new year, Lobster, New York, New York Times, Royal Seafood, Singapore, Wong restaurant, Yu Sheng

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