quote:

Originally posted by Howard Baratz

Spud:

Thanks for the memories. I grew up in Kew Gardens and worked in Rego Park for a long time so the Forest Hills area was an old stomping ground (anyone out there remember the T-Bone Diner on Queens Blvd?). During the college years my friends and I spent many a night eating ice cream treats at Eddie’s. Incredibly rich ice cream and absolutely the best whipped cream ever. Since it has been a little over 25 years since my last visit (I now live in OK) it is great to know that this place that seemed a throwback to a simpler time even then has endured.

My friend and I went to the T-Bone once. We both had cast-iron stomachs, and both got horrible belly aches after eating there. But, that can happen anywhere I suppose…this was in the late 80s/early 90s.

For the first time in quite a while, I decided to venture out today from my homefront in Manhattan into Queens, NY, where I lived for seven years after college but to which I hadn’t ventured in about four or five years. Bear in mind that it takes only about 20 minutes to reach the Queens border from where I sit. But, that’s the way it is here; a lot of folks don’t tend to travel to the other boroughs often.

My main objective was to try some pizza I’d never had, at a place called Dee’s Brick Oven Pizza, in Forest Hills, Queens (Metropolitan Avenue and 71st Road). I’ll address that at the end of this review.

As I walked out of Dee’s, my intent was to go to a place a few subway stops away called the Georgia Diner (Grand Avenue subway stop, can’t remember the street), which made a chocolate cheesecake that was among my all-time favorite desserts. I probably haven’t had a piece for 10 years.

But, right across the street was Eddie’s Sweet Shop (Metropolitan and Ascan avenues, Forest Hills): a legitimately old-fashioned ice cream counter and sweet shop, with the requisite candy counter and uncomfortable metal stools. I figured, what the heck, how can I pass this up? So, Eddie’s it would be.

I was the only person in the place except for the two guys "working" there — that mainly consisted of talking about the movie Full Metal Jacket. They also, to my amusement, talked about a pizza place they’d just heard of called Nick’s. I had to laugh to myself, because Nick’s was just a few blocks away from where they stood and has been very popular for many years. These guys definitely aren’t roadfooders.

Anyway, I ordered a two-scoop hot fudge sundae with chocolate ice cream, without the nuts. I’m not the biggest ice cream guy, but this was great — just as I remembered from when I last had it many years ago. They served it in an old-fashioned silver ice cream dish, with the fudge dripping down the sides. The whipped cream was great, and the ice cream itself tasted very fresh. I forced myself to take my time with it. Definitely worth it.

Onto the pizza: Dee’s has been billed as having wonderful, cracker-thin crust pizza — my favorite kind. It was OK, and I’d probably eat it every so often if I lived in that neighborhood. But, the sauce was a little too sweet for my taste, and the crust, while good, wasn’t as thin as I’d like. The restaurant itself had a good feel, and smelled great. But, they’re moving to larger digs in a few weeks.