Hi guys! This is my very first QC Voices post of the new semester, welcome back! You can find my last post about bagel shops around Queens here.
I’ve decided to dedicate my first post of the new year to a neighborhood that I know relatively well, Rego Park. A few of my really good friends live here, and this is where I went to middle school.
Me (left) and my friend Manisha (right) before our band concert. Killing it. Slaying since 2007.
Oh, Junior High. I went to J.H.S 157, also known as Halsey (63-55 102nd St, Rego Park, NY 11374). I sometimes miss middle school. It was a time when sticking up the peace sign while posing for a picture was actually cool (no offense if you still do it today), mozzarella sticks were introduced on the McDonald’s value menu (they were my jam) and my biggest concern was matching my converse sneakers to my t-shirt (sometimes still is). I would roam the streets of Rego Park with my giant book bag after school.
But enough about middle school. There are a lot of cool places in Rego Park to go to that not many people know about. Did you know they filmed a scene from the 2013 Martin Scorsese film “The Wolf of Wall Street” here?! And did you know that the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (I’m obsessed) has visited a restaurant here?!
Rego Park has a lot to offer! Here are some of my favorite places in Rego Park, Queens:
Ben‘s Best
Located: 96-40 Queens Blvd, Rego Park, NY 11374.
Ben’s Best has been my family’s go-to for chicken soup whenever someone is sick for as long as I can remember. If my mom ever heard me or my brother cough or sneeze excessively, she’d always ask us if we wanted our dad to pick up soup from Ben’s on his way home. To which we’d always say yes to because, well, how could we not?
This place is amazing. It’s a really great place for authentic Jewish delicatessen food. According to their website, Ben’s was a favorite of Jerry Lewis, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Senator Jacob Javits, Governor Pataki, and Mayor Ed Koch since opening in 1945 at this location.
The restaurant is a little small in size, and homey. You can tell that the people who come are mostly regulars, not even looking at the menu when they order. The walls are covered with awards, pictures with celebrities who have visited Ben’s and newspaper articles written about them.
My favorite thing on the menu is their chicken soup. They call it their “Jewish Penicillin.” It heals, you guys. It really does. More than you know. And the bowl is HUGE. It’s like a giant mug.
I’m not sure what’s in it, other than a significant amount of carrots, dill, chicken, and noodles, but it’s so good. I’m pretty sure it’s the best chicken soup I’ve ever had. You can’t go wrong with a bowl of it on a cold winter day. Or anytime, actually.
Their soups are made fresh daily and they have one special soup for each day of the week. On Monday and Saturday it’s vegetable, on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday it’s split pea, on Wednesday it’s potato, and on Thursday it’s lentil.
They also have mushroom barley, matzo ball, and chicken kreplach soup. A kreplach is a small dumpling, usually filled with ground beef.
The slogan on their website is “Home to the Best Pastrami You’ve Ever Eaten” and I happen to agree. Their “overstuffed” sandwiches are the best. My favorite is definitely the pastrami.
They serve this giant sandwich on rye bread, and suggest that you put spicy deli mustard on the sandwich. Slather the mustard all over it. All. Over.
And look at the size of this thing! It’s difficult to wrap your jaw around this one. I usually take some pastrami out and leave it on the side. Sometimes I even make a whole other sandwich with the excess. That’s how much pastrami is in this sandwich! So good.
They have other types of sandwiches like corned beef, beef tongue, roasted turkey, salami and chopped liver. You can see the full dine-in menu here.
They also have a crazy Ben’s Best Challenge, which was done by someone from the Daily News. You can watch the Youtube video here:
Ben’s Best was featured on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (!!!). I love this show so much, I don’t even know why. This episode was actually just on T.V. today! You can watch their segment here on the Food Network’s website where they make fried kreplach.
Come check out Ben’s Best Deli, it’s all kosher and delicious!
Knish Nosh
Located: 98-104 Queens Blvd, Rego Park, NY 11374.
This place has the best Knishes, in my opinion. Such a good place for Jewish delicacies. You may be thinking, what’s a knish? A knish is a Eastern European dough pie filled with a filling of choice. It’s either baked or fried. So satisfying.
My brother was obsessed with knishes from Knish Nosh when he was little. It was impressive how fast he could put away a spinach knish. With apple juice out of a sippy cup, of course.
It’s been open since 1952, and recently moved to this Rego Park location from Forest Hills. The menu is varied and impressive. Did you know there was more than one type of latke? I didn’t! Knish Nosh has four different types: regular potato, sweet potato, zucchini, and vegetable.
The last time I went there I was with my friend Emma. Ana Vasilescu, one of the main chefs, was there in the kitchen. Emma saw her last name and knew she was Romanian, and so she decided to speak to her in Romanian while we ordered.
They had a nice, long conversation in Romanian (not entirely sure what it was about) and then Ana invited us to sit down. She said she wanted to give us some things to try, which was so sweet of her. She gave us a few items, including a hot dog and a meat knish, to try free of charge (thanks Ana!) It was all delicious, and perfect with spicy mustard!
The knishes are really dense and filling. They’re flakey, moist, and flavorful. There are many different types other than meat and spinach like broccoli, kasha (cooked buckwheat), cabbage, carrot mushroom, mushroom, and sweet potato. They also serve cocktail knishes.
They have other traditional foods like perogies, strudels, and kreplach and for dessert they serve cinnamon raisin rugelach.
They were also featured on NY1! Watch the segment here on NY1.com.
Come try a Knish at Knish Nosh! You won’t be disappointed and they have some really nice people working here.
Shalimar Diner
Located: 6368 Austin St, Rego Park, NY 11374.
I love diners. I love the laid-back vibe of diners, I love how late they’re open, I love how you could basically order anything from them, I love the booths, the fries, the soups. I even love the smells. And Shalimar Diner fulfills my diner-love on every level.
Not only is it great, but a scene from the Scorsese film “The Wolf of Wall Street” was filmed here! You know the scene when Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) meets Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) for the first time? When he approaches him and asks him about his Jaguar parked outside? You can watch the scene on Youtube here. Look at the diner!
I really wanted to sit at the booth Jordan was sitting in, but when I got there the booth was already taken. 
It’s the very first booth on your right. You could ask any staff member (they’re so friendly) which booth it is if you’re not sure. They have a picture of the scene and a description of it on their wall.
They have a lot of great things on their menu. I’ve heard that their corn beef hash is really good. I personally like their chicken soup.
They have everything you could possibly want on the menu like Belgian waffles, pancakes, club sandwiches, wraps, burgers, Italian specialties, roasts, and seafood. They have a crazy variety of desserts. You can see their full menu here.
This diner has good hours, it’s open from 7 a.m. to midnight everyday, so it’s perfect for a late night diner run!
Come check out Shalimar Diner and sit at Jordan Belfort’s booth!
Avellino Ristorante & Pizzeria
Located: 9703 64th Ave, Rego Park, NY 11374.
I’ve known about Avellino’s for a while now. I used to come to this traditional Italian restaurant with my mom a lot when I was little. It’s been family owned and operated since 1977, and I’ve heard it is known in Rego Park as the best pizza around.
And I agree, their pizza is something else. It’s crispy and crunchy and they have cool combinations. My favorite is the broccoli and mushroom slice.
Their dining room is split in half, one half being the actual sit down restaurant, the other half for pizza, calzones, or anything quick.
But my all time favorite item on the menu is probably their spinach sauté. It’s SO good I could eat it all day and never get tired of it. It’s pretty simple– they just sauté spinach with olive oil and garlic, but they must do something to it to make it as amazing as it is.
PC: Avellino’s
Everything is perfect about it, even the color! Look how green! They have other really great items on the menu such as different traditional Italian pastas like lasagna, manicotti, stuffed shells, spaghetti, pasta primavera, and fettuchini alfredo.
I also really like the chicken francese. It’s chicken cooked in a lemony wine sauce. All of their entrees either come with pasta, salad, or french fries. If you try the chicken francese I suggest getting it with a side of pasta and asking them to cover the pasta in the francese sauce. It’s really good, and light. It’s a good lunch.
You can view their full menu and website here.
Come check out Avellino’s, it’s directly outside the 63 Drive- Rego Park station so it’s easy to get to! The staff is also really friendly and attentive.
Thank you for reading this post about Rego Park, Queens! I hope you decide to go and check these places out. And I hope you like them as much as I do!
Rego Park natives: Did I forget to mention your favorite restaurant in Rego Park? Let me know in the comments below!
Until next time!
