If your goal was to get a sample of all the major lineages on Earth on a single street, where would you go?!

Graphic: Oliver Uberti and M. Brody Dittemore, NG Staff

Astoria of course.  Well, that is if you are on a National Geographic assignment to retrace human migration since the dawn of time and then test whether you can find all of those genetic lineages on a single street.  That is exactly what Spencer Wells and his team did as part of their Genographic Project.

Read the full article here, but the basic gist is that this team spent four years traipsing the globe to find all genetic marks from hundreds of indigenous groups in order to retrace the migration paths of human existence.  After collecting the DNA samples, they decided to see if spending an afternoon on 30th Avenue in Astoria during a street fair would provide them with a sample of each of the genetic lineage that they had found during the course of their work.

Lo and behold, 193 volunteers later and they came very, very close to succeeding their goal.  Just one genetic lineage was missing from the sampling, which was the lineage of a Khoisan hunter-gatherer tribe in southern African (who had apparently diverged from modern humans over 100,000 years ago).

While Astorians may not have any Khoisan blood, I'm still impressed by this result, but not surprised that they chose 30th Ave as their study location!

Four stars

I saw 4 stars tonight on my nighttime stroll in Astoria!  That's 3 more than I've ever seen in Manhattan :)

Irene irks Astoria

A huge tree that fell half a block from our apartment, even lifting up the cement!  Amazingly the car next to it was hardly damaged.

So far the storm (which has been downgraded from a category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm as of 9am this morning) has brought rain, wind, and some damage to our fair city. In Queens 25,000 people are without electricity, but luckily Astoria itself has seemed to fare okay (knocking on wood as we may still a second wave coming our way).

Astoria's blowin' in the wind

Hurricane Irene is on her way up the east coast and we're bracing ourselves for a wet and windy rest of the weekend.  Our apartment building was spared from being on the zone list (albeit 2 blocks away from where Zone C begins), but regardless I'm sure it will be an interesting night and day tomorrow watching the storm unfold! To everyone in the path of Irene, stay safe and dry!

Well, at least retailers in NYC will meet their month-end quotas!

Irene is ensuring that New York retailers are meeting their month-end quotas by gracing us with her presence this weekend.  I ran a few errands after work and couldn't believe the lines!  First I waited 25 minutes in a line at the drugstore where people were stocking up on water, first aid kits, and snacks and then stopped by my grocery store to pick up a few items for dinner and waited a whopping 30 minutes in line (the 10 items or less line no less). As packed as that grocery store gets, I've never waited more than 5 minutes in line!  Both stores were more packed than I'd ever seen them and people are definitely heeding the city/media's advice to get prepared.

Hoping that Irene decides to change her plans for the weekend!

Census tract 281=most diverse place!

Census tract 281, which is a 3 block area in Jackson Heights, Queens (from 83rd St. to 86th St.), is officially the most diverse census in the city.  With 21 languages spoken and 51 different countries represented, I think it's safe to assume that this census is probably the most diverse in the country, let alone the world!  More than 70% of residents speak a language other than English, including (but not limited to) Spanish, French, Russian, Hindi, Chinese, and Tagalog!  All in 3 blocks no less.

What a fun area for exploration :) J and I often venture to Jackson Heights for its great dining options, but I think a specific trip to this census tract is in order!

Food update #4

Tierras Colombianas (3301 Broadway): Huge restaurant and menu offering a wide variety of Columbian foods.  I got the Bandeja Campesina (country plate) which was filled with every quintessential Columbian food group (meat, beans, rice, plantains, avocado, a unique bread made of corn, and topped with an egg) and J got a delicious fried chicken platter that came with similar sides.  You can't go wrong as there are so many delicious options, very large portions, and unbeatable prices! We will undoubtedly be back to make headway on this enormous menu :)

Harissa (34-05 30th Ave): Delightful mediterranean/North African restaurant serving traditional middle eastern and North African cuisine.  It looks like a takeout place at first glance, but there is table service in back.  We got the single front table that overlooks the sidewalk and it was a perfect evening to sit and enjoy the atmosphere of Astoria life.  This time around we stuck to their middle eastern offerings, but their North African options and breakfast menu sounds outrageous as well so we'll be sure to come back for a tasting of all of that.  Very reasonable prices to boot!

My vote: keep the dash

Unlike the other four boroughs that make up New York City, the addresses in Queens have a hyphen to provide people with additional information on their target address.  In a recent Daily news article (click here), I discovered that there is apparently a controversy over whether the hyphen should remain in the address or not.  The article describes the historical context and current hyphen controversy.

To get you up to speed, the logic in the hyphen's use is quite simple and, in my mind, very helpful in determining where the address you're seeking is located.  As the article describes clearly: "a typical street address in Queens has the form X-Y and Z.  If Z is a street, then X is the closest lower-number avenue.  If Z is an avenue, then X is the closest lower-number street.  In both cases Y, after the hyphen, is the house number." I think having this logic to the addresses is really beneficial as I can always figure out where I'm going without having to rely on google maps!

While the original need for the hyphen may not be necessary anymore (see article for historical explanation), I don't really understand why other Queens residents are baffled by this and against having the hyphen.  I am pro hyphen all the way!

[Update]: Waje

Okay so I cooked the waje and apparently you can't eat the shell, only the small seeds inside (picture below).  Definitely more of an involved side dish than I was planning on for dinner.  Quite an interesting legume!

A legume that can't be located on google... who knew that was possible?!

I decided to purchase a legume I had never heard of at the market that was named "waje."  Looks like a string bean and assume that I can cook it the same way...  I hope!  Just to be sure and to learn more about this bean, I googled it and can't seem to find anything on this food.  Did you think that was possible?  I sure didn't!  Either Trade Fair gave it the wrong name or they're discovered a new legume :)  What do you think?  Have you ever heard of waje?

Picture perfect weather

No picture enclosed as it wouldn't do the day justice, but we had such great weather today that I have to give mother nature a shout out. There were threats of rain predicted, but all day we had beautiful blue skies and the temp was in the low 80s with relatively low humidity. Definitely took advantage of it and hope you did too if you were fortunate enough to have this kind of weather (and didn't have to work)!  I have to admit after the July we had, I thought August was going to be a bit tougher than it has been!  Definitely no complaints here :)

Choices choices choices

How can you decide which type and brand of tortilla to go with when there are this many to choose from?!

How fitting

What a fitting name for the middle school near my apartment (although I do have to admit I was surprised they went with this name):

The characters of Astoria

Astoria is not only unique in its diversity, but also its characters!  Meet a few of the interesting people that I've encountered on my block alone since moving out here:

• Jimmy: my neighbor who is often found hanging out outside the entrance way to our building; anytime I have seen the UPS man on our block (3 times thus far), Jimmy is always chatting with him and walking with him from delivery to delivery 
• Neighbor #2: I don't know his name, but he's always leaning against a car outside the entrance way to our building smoking a cigarette nine times out of ten when I come and go from the building! He always has a smile on his face and a friendly hello when we pass, but I can't get past the fact that he is always wearing a sweatshirt and jeans... even when the temperatures were reaching well past 100!
• The neighborhood gossipers: several groups of men (sometimes Greek, sometimes Eastern European) sit on the benches outside the park at the end of my block and kibbitz all evening long. I often see my super hanging out with one of the usual groups and regardless of whose group's turn it is, it's always a packed bench!

The origin of Steinway Street

As you may guess, Steinway Street is named after William Steinway, one of the co-founders of Steinway & Sons piano company (he was one of the sons).  Steinway built a company town for producing pianos in none other than Astoria back in the 1870s!  While the company was founded in Manhattan, they grew so quickly that they needed more space so they purchased 400 acres of what is now Astoria and built Steinway Village, which had a large piano factory and everything else a company town would need (housing, library, school, etc.).  The factory is still in use today and offers limited tours, which I am hoping to take advantage of sometime soon!  Upon William's death, Astorians decided to rename Main Street to Steinway Street.

Upcoming festival!

Sure to be an experience, I stumbled upon this flyer for an upcoming Ecuadorian festival that will take place in the park near our apartment.  The pictures in the flyer (which are hard to see) are a little confusing as some of it seems family-friendly and other pictures are a bit more risque...  I'll be sure to catch some of the festival though and will report back!

Does your grocery store offer this?!

Don't think I'll ever get used to the unique selection of foods available in Astoria!  Here is a selection of what I found today at the grocery store (just a small fraction of the unique produce from around the world).

Starting in Latin America: Yuca anyone? Not pictured but surrounding this heaping pile of yuca was many kinds of chilis, plaintains, and several banana varieties!

Moving on to India (from left to right): Tomatillos, Indian Cactus Fruit, Green Mangos for cooking, and Indian Squash - does your grocery store stock any of these items???











And finally, moving on to China I came across Chinese okra. Who knew okra came in such a large size?!


Yum yum!  Can't wait to cook dishes with these great veggies!

Food update #3

Afghan Kebab House (25-89 Steinway): The name says it all - this small, one room charming restaurant in Little Egypt serves great Afghan food and kebabs!  We got a combo of kebabs, which were each marinated in different sauces and cooked to perfection, and chicken quorma (Afghan stew), which was filled with chicken, veggies and a mouth-watering combination of spices.  The meals come with delicious basmati rice that is perfectly spiced with cardamon, flat Afghan bread, and salad.  Couple it with amazing Moroccan mint tea and you've got a perfect dinner for two!  We will surely be back to sample more kebabs and quormas!

Ovelia (34-01 30th Ave): This open-air corner Greek restaurant has a great atmosphere and serves an awesome and inventive brunch.  We dined with friends so lots of interesting foods were tried! For instance, the beet omelette, which, as the name suggests, is a beet infused omelette filled with goat cheese; the dish came with a side of sauteed fruit, which were delicious!  Another interesting twist on brunch was the greek yogurt stuffed french toast, which was a tasty combination.  Will definitely have to try other inventive menu items on our next visit to this place!

That's it for this time.  Stay tuned for more restaurant reviews in the next installment!

If you build it, they will come?

This huge new building's storefront space has been on the market since before our first visit out to Astoria looking for an apartment back in March.  This past week, they became a bit more obvious/desperate in their need to fill the space! The picture doesn't even do it justice, but each window is filled with a bright neon sign begging someone to make an offer. Anyone in need of a storefront in Astoria?!

Astoria's ethnic heritage

An ethnic heritage lesson for my neighborhood:

Astoria started out with the traditional immigration patterns of NYC (Dutch/German followed by Irish and then Italians).  Apparently in the early 1900s there was a significant Jewish population, although we don't see too many of the remnants of that today - although I did learn that there is a synagogue a few blocks away that has been around since 1925!  Will be checking that out soon and will report back!

In the 1960s many Greeks immigrated to Astoria and gave Astoria the distinction of having the largest Greek population outside of Greece!  They are still a very common ethnic group in the area despite the growth of other ethnic groups in the recent decades and, as I've mentioned, there are many Greek restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and Greek Orthodox churches in the area.

By the mid-1970s the Arab population grew from pretty much all of the countries in the middle east (Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria) and they concentrated in what is now known as Little Egypt.  Finally, in the past two decades there has been an influx of South American and eastern European immigrants from Brazil, Albania, Bulgaria and Bosnia.  Not to mention the young professionals who have migrated from Manhattan :)

Pretty interesting make-up, right?!

Meat markets galore

As I've mentioned in other posts, Astoria seems to have an abundance of specialty food stores.  One such retailer is the butcher shop, of which we have at least 2 within a 5 block walk from our apartment.  They display the carcasses outside the window to lure(?) customers in and seem to offer quite an array of fresh, quality meats.  Haven't had a chance to purchase from the butcher shop yet (Trade Fair has butchers as well and so far that has been where we've shopped), but I'm sure we'll be here at some point and will be overwhelmed by the selection and price!

Little Egypt

We ventured into Little Egypt this weekend, which was quite an experience!  The picture below doesn't quite do it justice, but this is a few block long area on Steinway that is filled with Arab food stores, restaurants, shops selling items from Turkey, Egypt, and other countries, and, of course, many hookah (nargela) lounges.  All of the signs are written in Arabic (some with english too) and the streets are filled with groups of men chatting and smoking hookah and drinking tea.  It definitely feels like the middle east for these few blocks and we thoroughly enjoyed walking around and experiencing Little Egypt!