Queens Comfort

Queens Comfort popped up on my radar this past May, when a New York Times article highlighted various culinary hotspots in the up-and-coming food scenes of Astoria and Long Island City. Before ever visiting it, I was immediately drawn to two things about the place: the distinguished look of the restaurant and the accompanying vibe, and their menu that changes daily. Having a menu that constantly offers new food choices is no easy task, and I was intrigued at the dedication that must go into coming up with new, different food options so frequently. I also appreciate the physical restaurant itself – the exterior looks like it could be someone’s house, with a “Queens Comfort” sign hanging outside one of the two windows, and a bench in front of the other. The inside of the establishment is not big, but it is not cramped either; smaller, four person tables line the perimeter of the room, with a bunch of these smaller tables forming one long table stretching throughout the middle, making it perfect for larger groups, or intermingling of smaller ones. Additionally, there are individual seats on the counter. It is a cozy, comfortable dwelling, which pairs well with their name and comfort food offerings. The interior is decorated like someone’s personal living space as well – a projector plays movies on a projector screen, with shelves of movies one can choose from within reach. There is a bowl of candy near the entrance, along with a guestbook.  And the mugs for coffee and tea are a hodgepodge of collected mugs like one would have in their own cabinet – my friend got a Florida mug with postcard images of seashells and aquatic life.

Queens Comfort exterior, by night

window number one

window number two

projector screen playing a Halloween movie

middle table chain + counter area

Queens Comfort is unique for Astoria. Besides having an evolving daily menu, they are also BYOB and specialize in southern comfort food. Although not the healthiest of places, Queens Comfort aims to evoke nostalgia through their food, using kid-friendly ingredients such as Eggo waffles for their fried chicken and waffle dish, Honey Smacks cereal sprinkled on salad, Oreo doughnuts, and a PB&J Burger, with Skippy’s peanut butter and grape jelly spread on a beef patty.

My friends and I found ourselves at Queens Comfort on a Tuesday night, a bit later on in the evening for a late dinner. Having checked out the menu online, I was excited to learn that they had two types of mac and cheese as appetizer dishes that day: a scallion mac and cheese, and a bacon mac and cheese. As I was ordering the scallion mac and cheese, I was told by the waitress they had run out. I was really looking forward to this and had it in my head I was going to have it there, so I was a bit disappointed to find out so last minute that they had run out for the day. I also had a question about the meatloaf sandwich, and learned they were out of that as well.  Our group decided on the fried green tomatoes with ranch dressing, and the corn with Parmesan cheese and sriracha sauce drizzle for our appetizers. For our main dishes we had the Animal Burger, the Fried Pickle Burger, and the Pulled Pork Sandwich. All three came with fries, and ran for $12 each. 

The fried green tomatoes were a delightful surprise. Considering they were covered in a thick coating of breadcrumbs and fried, they were light and not soaking in oil upon their arrival. The tomatoes were fresh and perfectly coated and seasoned in the breadcrumbs. I was expecting the generic store bought, thick ranch dressing to come with it, but was pleased to see a lighter, homemade ranch sauce arrive at the table, which did not overpower the taste of the tomatoes. 

fried green tomatoes w. ranch dressing

fried green tomato

The corn was equally delicious, with the taste of the cheesy Parmesan mixing with the kick of the sriracha sauce and the sweetness of the corn harmoniously.

corn w. Parmesan + sriracha

Our waitress did not ask us how we wanted our burgers cooked, which caught me by surprise and also made me nervous for what was going to be on my plate. Being picky about my meat and how it is cooked, I was relived upon biting into my Animal Burger to notice that it was cooked perfectly – medium well with no pink on the inside, and a bit of char on the outside, just how I like it. The burger itself was delicious – I was really impressed by the juiciness and flavor of the meat. It was a great burger. The Animal Burger consists of caramelized onions and “animal sauce.” Not knowing what this animal sauce was, I figured it would be some blend of mayo and ketchup, which I believe it was. I enjoyed my burger wholeheartedly but was not impressed with the fries, at all. After eating a few of them, I gave up on the spuds. They were overwhelming soggy and limp, and so saturated with oil that many of them were translucent. They were also lacking seasonings, and not hot. I love fries but only when done right, and that to me means crispy, fresh, hot, and salted. Queens Comfort fries lacked on all fronts. And it wasn’t just mine – the fries that accompanied the Fried Pickle Burger and the Pulled Pork Sandwich were the same.

Animal Burger

The Fried Pickle Burger came stacked high with freshly fried pickles and Dijonnaise sauce. Fried pickles are a bit tricky since the fried coating usually slips off the pickle, but the crunch and the accompanying sour bite of the pickles synced with the juicy beef. The Pulled Pork Sandwich came topped with fresh homemade coleslaw. Additionally, my friend ordered a homemade lightly sweetened iced tea which was, as the description stated, perfectly sweetened with just a subtle hint of sugar.

Fried Pickle Burger

 Pulled Pork Sandwich

Next came dessert. One of our main deciding factors on coming to Queens Comfort that evening was seeing that they had Pumpkin Butterscotch Bread Pudding on the menu. My friend is a fiend for bread pudding, and the sound of this got us all excited for dessert. As our waitress came over to take our dessert order, and as the word butterscotch left my friend’s lips, our waitress informed us they were also out of the bread pudding for the evening. Our other options were the Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts and Pumpkin Pie. We ordered those, along with a Stumptown coffee. Yes, Queens Comfort serves the fan favorite Stumptown coffee, which is hard to find in this neck of the woods. The Pumpkin Pie was okay, but had no particularly special flavor. The doughnuts however, were awful. Both our doughnuts were hard, dry, and stale, and tasted as if they had been sitting out from the day before.  I knocked my doughnut a few times on my plate to hear a knocking sound, with sprinkles of the sugar and cinnamon coating falling on my plate. I unfortunately could have gotten fresher doughnuts at Dunkin’ Doughnuts.

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut

Pumpkin Pie

I would go back to Queens Comfort, but under certain conditions. I would definitely aim to get there earlier in the day, before they run out of some of their dishes.  Next time I order dessert, I’d ask when the dessert was made. As for the soggy fries, I do not know if that would change depending on the day, or if that is how they are made intentionally. I know some people like soggy, oil drenched fries, but I certainly don’t.  Our server was not very attentive, and lacked to tell us what was done for the day until we ordered it. I understand that due to the nature of their menus, they do not have big batches of dishes, and run out of menu items fast. But what bothered me about our server is instead of telling us upfront “we are out of x-y-z” she waited all three times until we asked about or chose to order certain dishes before telling us they were out. It is also cash-only. These issues aside, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Queens Comfort and am curious to try their other offerings. I like that it is BYOB, and that their menu has some really unique items you cannot find elsewhere in Astoria.  I am fond of Queens Comfort's laid back vibe, and think it has a lot of potential to amass a foodie following here in Astoria and other parts of Queens.