A local’s guide to Woodside
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Puppies march through Woodside during the annual St. Patrick’s Day for All Parade. Photo by Jeffery DelViscio/Flickr.
Special to the Eagle
After noticing a significant gap in the New York City tourism website’s Queens coverage, we asked readers to submit their suggestions for things to do, places to eat and sites to visit in their favorite neighborhoods — and they responded!
The NYCGo website only profiled nine Queens neighborhoods, so we're bringing you our readers' responses for what to do in the few dozen other places that make our borough the best in the world.
In our sixth installment in our experts' guide to Queens communities, Woodside resident Laura Shepard shares her favorite spots. Shepard is a spokesperson for Bike New York City, which organizes the annual TD Five-Boro Bike Tour.
What are the best places to go, people to see and things to do in your neighborhood?
The best thing about Woodside is easily its location at the confluence of the bike network (where Skillman & 43rd Ave. meet the Queens Boulevard protected bike lanes) and the 7 train. Biking is both useful and enjoyable here.
Solid State on Roosevelt Ave is by far the best bar and place to hang out. It has all New York State beers, board games, pinball, Wednesday night trivia, and it occasionally shows movies. There's an eclectic mix of people of all ages, some regulars, some not. El Don Taqueria is next door and Solid State lets you bring food in, so it's a winning combination!
La Flor is the cutest, most romantic corner restaurant. Everything is elegantly decorated: the hand-made menus, tiling on the walls, and plates of delicious food. The menu is sophisticated with Mexican twist and demonstrates a lot of skill. Prices are reasonable considering how fancy and delicious it is. Sometimes there's a violinist or singer. The servers often throw in dessert if you order a bottle of wine.
Other great restaurants: I am Thai, Dawas, The Alcove, SriPraPhai and Cafe 52
Things to do: Sunnyside Family Fun Bike Ride, Sit on a bench and people watch at John Vincent Daniels Jr. Square, Watch the World Cup on Roosevelt Ave, March in the St. Pats for All Parade, Visit the geographic center of NYC at Queens Blvd and 58th Street.
