I have taken more culinary adventures to Flushing than to any other place in the city.  It’s 1 hour and fifteen minutes from my apartment in Brooklyn, either by taking the 7 train or hopping on one of the secret inter-Chinatown vans.  They’ll take you for $2.50 between the New York Chinatown, from lower Manhattan to either Sunset Park, Brooklyn or Flushing, Queens.  I say ‘secret’ because the lettering on the outside of the van is written only in Chinese, announcements are only in Chinese, and I have never ever seen another white person ride one.

My parents have no concept of the new Flushing, they remember it from their childhood as a neighborhood of mostly Jewish people.  Recently, an explosion of mainland Chinese immigrants (not to mention those from elsewhere in East Asia, South Asia, Latin America and beyond) have made it their new home.  Always in the market for a cheap, tasty, casual, immediate-satisfaction dining deal, my time in Flushing is usually spent snatching up a series of snacks.  (Have I mentioned that I’ve been blessed with a fairly quick metabolism?)  I will try to limit this post to ONLY $1 street foods, though I could probably write an entire series on what to eat in Flushing.

$1 Street Food: Peking Duck Sliders.

First, let’s imagine hacking off a generous portion of moist Peking duck with crispy skin.  Top that with shards of scallion and cucumber to offset the rich meat, add a dollop of sweet hoisin sauce, and shove it inside a Chinese-style chewy flour bun.  It’s one dollar, piping hot and in my hands in about thirty seconds.

$1 Street Food: Xinjiang Barbeque-Style Skewers.

Last week I waxed poetic about my love for fatty lamb with cumin, and here’s a streetside grill selling skewers of lamb, beef, or other meats for, yes, $1 each.  If you don’t order a fistful, the grillman will probably make fun of you.  If you don’t order them spicy, he just might make fun of you again.

$1.50 Off-the-Street Food (it doesn’t officially fit in with my theme but I had to!): Scallion Pancake Egg Wrap.

Take a part soft/part crispy thin scallion pancake, and fry an egg flat on the surface.  Add some unidentified salt and spices (I think it’s MSG, but I stopped worrying about that a long time ago) and roll it all up together for a savory, filling, hand-held portable breakfast.

Flushing can be a little bit difficult to navigate, as it’s kind of just like China out there.  If you’re ready to dazzle your taste buds and don’t mind a little grease, go on the adventure and try them all.

Stacey Shapiro is a language, travel, food and dance enthusiast living in Brooklyn, New York.  She’s working on memorizing the subway map on a series of culinary explorations through the five boroughs.

Read more posts by Stacey

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 1:11 PM and is filed under Community Interest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.