Attendees sample food at Chakra Cafe during the 2024 Taste of Sunnyside. Photo: Ramy Mahmoud.
Oct. 14, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
A record crowd of 1,200 people lined the streets of Sunnyside on Sunday afternoon for the 14th annual Taste of Sunnyside restaurant crawl.
Participants reveled in the fall sunshine as they moved between the 65 participating restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, which ranged from Latin American eateries to Irish bars and from Asian restaurants to bakeries and ice cream shops.
The event, organized by the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID), also featured a block party at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 46th Street in addition to roaming groups of musicians who performed throughout the route of the Sunday’s restaurant crawl.
Photo: Ramy Mahmoud.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The Taste of Sunnyside aims to promote the neighborhood as a culinary destination by showcasing the diverse restaurant mix in Sunnyside. Attendees go door-to-door to sample food and drinks from participating businesses, which set up stands in front of their establishments to allow ticketholders to sample their cuisine.
Sunday’s event was record-breaking on several fronts. It featured by far the largest number of attendees and participating restaurants. It was also the longest-running event in Taste of Sunnyside’s 14-year history, running from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Queens DA Melinda Katz enjoying the festivities and food. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The event was changed to a crawl format in 2021 due to safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and to allow attendees to better engage with the participating businesses, with long lines forming outside a number of restaurants throughout the day on Sunday.
Dirk McCall de Palomá, executive director of Sunnyside Shines, said the crawl format has been an overwhelming success. It shows attendees where specific restaurants are located in the neighborhood and allows them to connect with restaurant and bar owners.
“You’re meeting the people behind the food, and you’re trying one of the best things on the menu,” McCall de Palomá said.
Restaurant and bar owners throughout the neighborhood were overwhelmingly in favor of the crawl format, stating that Sunday’s event helped to put Sunnyside restaurants on the map.
Michelle Murphy (left) and staff at Bar 43. Photo Ramy Mahmoud
Michelle Murphy, who co-owns Bar 43 with her husband Nick, has participated in Taste of Sunnyside since the event’s inception and describes the restaurant crawl as an opportunity to meet new faces in the neighborhood.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
“Even meeting and greeting people here at the front of a restaurant, they’re more enticed to come in. And a lot of people, even today, actually went in, bought drinks as well as had the sampling,” Murphy said.
Staff at Sotto Le Stelle, including owner Valerio Marchi (second from right). Photo: Ramy Mahmoud.
Valerio Marchi, the owner of Sotto Le Stelle, SoleLuna, and gelato spot Arcobaleno, has been involved in the restaurant crawl for eight years and said it was a “beautiful thing” for Sunnyside. He also welcomed the recent change of format, which brings attendees to individual restaurants rather than restaurants to stands set up underneath the 46th Street subway station.
“People come to my restaurant and know how it looks,” he said. “It’s easier to prepare the food as well. We can prepare a little food and make it fresh. Before you used to have to prepare a lot of food.”
The event is especially beneficial for new businesses that have opened in Sunnyside over the past year.
Curley’s Bagels, which opened at 43-04 47th Ave. in July, participated in its first Taste of Sunnyside this year. Owner Mark Curley said he “couldn’t be happier” after engaging with members of the local community during Sunday’s event.
“One of the reasons I wanted to be a part of it (Taste of Sunnyside) was because we know that people haven’t had a chance to get here yet,” Curley said. “But they bought the tickets, and now they’re able to come and actually try us, and maybe they can come back now.”
Participants at the food crawl. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
For Kora Bakery, a Filipino-inspired bakery that has not even opened its doors yet at 45-12 Greenpoint Ave., the event provided an opportunity for owners Kimberly Camara and Kevin Broja to connect with their future customers and neighbors.
“Being able to actually meet some of the locals and and kind of introduce ourselves to them and tell them about what’s coming to their neighborhood, I think it’s been really great for us to really connect with people,” Camara said.
Kora, along with several other businesses, enticed attendees by playing music through speakers, but the bakery stood out from the crowd by offering additional giveaways if attendees participated in karaoke.
Carrie Long, the owner of Brookside Market at 43-15 Queens Blvd., said Taste of Sunnyside was helping to promote the establishment’s nighttime program and dinner menu. She also described the restaurant crawl as a fun community event.
“Everyone gets to know each other,” Long said. You see a lot of people. It’s a good way to check out the restaurants and have little samples without having to go in.”
Gerard Leary, the owner of Queens Boulevard bar Sweet Avenue, said the restaurant crawl was an opportunity for locals to stretch their legs and connect with businesses they didn’t know existed.
“When else are you going to get to meet more than 1,000 of your neighbors,” Leary said.
The Lowery booth. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The event also proved a massive hit among attendees.
Jessica Zhu and Evan Fassett, a couple who have just moved into the neighborhood, said the event offered an opportunity to sample the diverse culinary options that Sunnyside has to offer. The couple said they were particularly impressed by Spicy Nepal and Latin American fusion restaurant Costa y Mar.
“It’s really good that Sunnyside does these kinds of things,” Fassett said. “It’s good not only for us community members but also local businesses.”
Justin and Amanda Chapin have moved out of the neighborhood but have been returning for Taste of Sunnyside for the past three years to sample the best of what Sunnyside has to offer.
“Every year, it gets bigger and better,” Justin Chapin said. “There are more vendors every year, and the food’s delicious. It’s a great deal. You get more food than you can possibly eat.”
Photo: Ramy Mahmoud.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Participating Restaurants
The following businesses featured in this year’s Taste of Sunnyside, offering a wide array of flavors:
1. Arcobaleno Gelateria NYC (Italian)
2. Arriba Latin Fusion & Bar
3. Bajeko Sekuwa (Nepalese)
4. Bar 43 (Home of the Atomic Wings)
5. Baruir Coffee Shop (Roasting coffee in Sunnyside since 1966)
6. Belo Bar & Grill (Brazilian Fusion)
7. BK Dim Sum (Chinese)
8. Blended Smoothies
9. Bliss 46 Bistro (French)
10. Bolivian Llama Party (Bolivian)
11. Brookside Market
12. Cardamom Indian Cuisine
13. Chakra Café
14. Chiddy’s Cheesesteak
15. Chihuahua Restaurant & Cantina (Mexican)
16. Chipichape Bakery (Colombian)
17. Costa y Mar (Ecuadorian and Peruvian)
18. Curley’s Bagels
19. Danubius (Romanian)
20. de Mole Mexican Restaurant (Mexican)
21. Dolci Paradise Bakery
22. Elio’s Ice cream
23. Empire Shop
24. Good Stuff Eats
25. Jar Bar
26. Kaprichos (Colombian)
27. Kasbah Café (Algerian)
28. Kora Bakery (Filipino)
29. La Adelita (Mexican)
30. Laksa Shop (Malaysian)
31. La Pollera de Mario (Colombian)
32. La Vienesa Bakery (Serving Colombian baked goods since 1968)
33. Limeña Pisco Bar (Peruvian)
34. The Lowery Bar and Kitchen
35. Mad for Chicken (Korean Fusion)
36. Maison de Gateaux (French Bakery)
37. Marabella Pizza (Italian)
38. Masa Madre Bakery (Mexican & international artisanal bakery)
39. McGuinness’s Saloon (Irish Pub)
40. Melting Cups
41. Moa Coffee
42. Möge Tee
43. Mr. Burrito Loco (Mexican)
44. Newa Chhe (Nepalese)
45. Ricas Pupusas y Mas (El Salvadorian & Mexican)
46. Rincon Melania (Ecuadorian)
47. Riko Peruvian
48. Rogue Bar
49. Sanger Hall
50. Seoul Bystro (Korean)
51. Shah’s (Halah)
52. SingleCut Brewery
53. Spicy Nepal (Nepalese)
54. Soleluna (Italian)
55. Sotto le Stelle (Italian)
56. Sweet Avenue
57. Tacos el Guerro (Mexican)
58. Tangra (Indian-Chinese)
59. Takesushi (Japanese)
60. Tito Rad’s (Filipino)
61. Turkish Grill (Turkish)
62. Souk El-Shater
63. Wokout
64. Eggstravaganza
65. Ricebox
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
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