MAN, I was quite miffed not to have broken the story about Xi’an Famous Foods opening downstream on the Jackson River in Hunters Point. A reader tipped me off a few months ago at which time the official flag of Xi-an hanging from the abandoned 12-15 Jackson Ave was not visible due to the wind wrapping it around the pole, giving me a false sense of security in terms of when I could break the news. Anyway Nick Garber at Patch wrote it up first so tip of the hat. He was also able to contact the founder, not an easy task, and shared the fact that they do not deliver due to the belief their noodles should be eaten asap after preparation.
Another restaurant story which I was tipped off to months ago has yet to break, but is plain as day to anyone who lives in Court Square, is that Indie Wine & Food has permanently closed. Located on 43rd Ave and Crescent, it acted as a local cantina for residents in Link LIC and neighboring towers but couldn’t survive the pandemic.
What else is going on in the LIC restaurant scene since our updates in January and last July? The first stop in our culinary journey is in the urban forest that is the warehouse district south of the bridge, north of 44th Drive and west of 23rd Street. For those who can’t visualize this micro-region, that reaction is not surprising given its non-descriptness and lack of residential dwellings. Nevertheless it is the home of Lupo Rosso Pizzeria, which from what I can see has yet to open, but does have a website now! Adjacently1 on 43rd Avenue, is the empty shell that may someday become Rang, according to whose sign is “A taste of India’s colors, cocktails, and tapas bar.” It’s a small shell, as are numerous others housed in a one-story brick building painted white and anchored by the brewery ICONYC, seemingly creating a food court for their patrons. One shell that has opened in this cluster is the diminutive Sobremesa which serves tacos, burritos, and quesadillas.
Moving on we hit Court Square and the empty shell containing Indie that will not be re-opening. Yet as is so often the case in the restaurant business, when one place closes another opens and sometimes even thrives. Which is what we found just down the road at Tacombi, where patrons basked in the Spring sun one weekday, as WFH seems to have found a permanent home in LIC. And while we are making broad economic proclamations, we couldn’t help but notice the sign in the window of Xi’an Famous advertising pay of $17-$22 an hour and healthcare! Were they to take down this posting I’ll take it as a signal to buy Treasuries.
Two doors down from Xi’an (on upper Jackson) is the recently opened shoebox Coocoocachoo which sells fried chicken sandwiches and numerous other chicken offerings, as well as Spam Musubi, which appears to be neatly presented spam on rice wrapped in nori a la sushi. Coocoocachoo should not be confused with KuKu Chicken on lower Jackson, nor Hot Chicken Takeover which is the latest purveyor to open inside the JACX Building just up Jackson and offers Nashville Hot Chicken and other southern chicken offerings and sides.
In the meantime our next port of call was Cafe Sangdut on 23rd St. under the El, which described itself to the LIC Post as a place to try Indonesian beverages and purchase Indonesian clothing. As of now it has yet to open.
Finally, after passing the Xi’an-in-waiting on lower Jackson, whose flag is now completely unfurled, we came across the recently unfurled monolithic facade of Gamehaus on 51st Avenue, which hopefully is a sign of its readiness to open in the year 2022. And that’s where our unfurling ended.
Addendum: and if you want to get noodles at NoodleFactoryLIC you’re out of luck, because it’s actually a co-working space.
Addendum #2: and if you wanted to eat noodles while watching Pitbull at The Oval tomorrow night you’re out of luck, as Pitbull pulled outta LIC to tape it elsewhere. Mehh, Coldplay’s performance was leagues better.
Xi-an Famous Opening New LIC Location After Buying Building – it takes a lot of noodles to buy a building
New Indonesian Cafe and Apparel Store To Open In Court Square – mash-up
New MoMA PS1 Director Resigns – she just came aboard in 2019
Blue Bus Project ‘Bridging Communities’ Mural To Be Unveiled in Hunters Point
4 LIC Buildings Face Demolition For 2 Different Projects
Man Shot In Lobby of LIC’s QPS1 Tower – a playstation deal gone bad
LIC’s Zipper Building Up For Sale – the only stipulation is you can’t live there
Teen Driver Arrested In LIC Bridge Crash That Killed Cyclist – back in October
- which is a word according to Mrs. Merriam-Webster [↩]
l.i.c.m.i.k. says
June 16, 2022 at 7:26 pmWhat is the best way to tip you off to something new in the neighborhood? Is there an email?
Anonymouse says
June 17, 2022 at 1:39 pmThere’s a tip line email address at the top of the page