My partner on a late Saturday evening was planning to get some food with their friend, so that means I can venture out on my own. As people know from reading this site, I’m a ramen fiend. I love to try all sorts of ramen, and I never mind eating it by myself. This ramen location recently opened only a few weeks ago, and I definitely prefer early dinners. It’s located very close to the 7 train Court Sq stop, and is just around the corner from the Long Island City Trader Joe’s.

In our area, there has been a plethora of Chinese restaurants opening. Literally around us, there are at least 3 hot pot places. I don’t really consider Nai Brothers a hot pot, but what grabbed my attention was that it specializes in sour fish soups. Nai Brothers is a very small chain with its primary location in Flushing, and this Long Island City location being it’s smaller sibling that’s closer to Manhattan.

We’ve been frequent shoppers at Murray’s Cheese for our normal night in eating cheese and charcuterie. This location in Long Island City also has a restaurant part of it. I’ve taken a few glances at the menu, and there were some individual things that caught my eye. Fortunately, it was a lazy Saturday, and it was raining. This would be the ideal night to try this place out. We were able to walk in without reservations at 4:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon.

The Kyuramen restaurant chain has been slowly making its way throughout the greater NYC area. They just opened a location out in Long Island City which is not too far from where we live. This restaurant had construction signs early in the pandemic and just never opened until now. We thought we would be able to get seated right away on an early Sunday afternoon, but they checked us into Yelp and we had to wait around for about 15 minutes for a table of 2.

Carla is a local neighborhood restaurant close to Long Island City and Queensboro Plaza. At first glance, the restaurant’s menu seems very basic, but sometimes I think this could be misleading. I had been periodically glancing at the menu, and I noticed it changing every so slightly on a monthly basis. Since we had a lazy Saturday, we decided to try this place out. The restaurant’s motto is all about good vibes.

When I first saw the word “sobremesa”, I instantly thought of dessert since that is what it means in Brazilian Portuguese. This restaurant is more of a taco place and is relatively new in the Long Island City neighborhood, and it’s located in a barren neighborhood with a bunch of empty warehouses. Surprisingly, there was a beer place opened next door, and there was an outside picnic area where people can enjoy their tacos in a social environment.

I’ve somehow gotten my partner to enjoy pasta a bit more. Some sacrifices have to be made such as looking for lasagna, but it’s worth it. I have to thank Tony Soprano and how he always made Italian sandwiches and pasta look so delicious. We had to stop by the pharmacy, and nearby was this incognito Italian wood fire pizza place. We were able to walk in without reservations on a Saturday evening around 5:30 PM.

Having been to Sweet Chick before in North Williamsburg, I vaguely remember this place having pretty good crust. I often get Pies N Thighs confused with this. In Williamsburg, there’s always a line outside, so when we walked by here with no line, we decided on a spur of the moment to try this out. When you sit at a table, there is a QR code that you can scan and even place your order.

Near where we live, they semi-opened this restaurant on Jackson Blvd at the start of the pandemic only to shut it down pretty quickly. We’ve walked by here several dozen times, and it was never really opened until the last 6 months. Reading online, it seemed they had to change their menu several times for adjustments for some reason, and the menu itself initially seemed basic and not overly attractive. It felt they were trying really hard to attract a brunch crowd, so we have not been enthusiastic about trying.

In the city, there are not too many Afghan restaurants to choose from. I’ve only had Afghani food once in my life in NorCal, and it didn’t ever make me yearn for it. However, I thought the menu looked enticing since we were looking for hummus and kabobs around Long Island City. This restaurant is located on the busy Vernon Blvd, which is becoming a happening street for this area. This location of Sami’s Kabob is their second location, whereas their first location is in Astoria.