82-street-partnership-flowers-viva-la-comida-jackson-heights-queens

As we have been telling you for the past couple of weeks, Viva La Comida was last night. It was a celebration of amazing food, beautiful culture, and Jackson Heights, a wonderful, vibrant community in Queens. In the words of the organizers,

“The 82nd Street Partnership is shining a spotlight on the area surrounding Dunningham Triangle on 82nd Street in Elmhurst/Jackson Heights, Queens. Some of the many amazing things about the area, from the artists, to the history, to the food, are being harnessed to create one awesome night of fun, food, and entertainment.”

And that’s exactly what it was all about – highlighting that cultural richness of the area. The food trucks were an extremely popular aspect of the event, and for some trucks, the lines were particularly long. But even standing in line was fun (the line for The Arepa Lady was easily 30 minutes), since there was music playing in the background, people laughing with each other on the street, and great smells in the air.

One of the more astonishing things to see was the making of the Tortas Pumas at the Tortas Nezas truck. This is one epic sandwich, and contains, among other things, griddled ham, deep fried hot dogs, head cheese, and a fried chicken cutlet.

tortas-pumas-nezas-viva-la-comida-jackson-heights-queens

We took a more modest approach and ordered the Tortas Puebla, made with breaded chicken cutlet and all the fixings.

The Chipper Truck was out and their curry chips were outstanding – the curry sauce was a dark brown with an equally deep flavor. It was really good.

the-chipper-truck-viva-la-comida-jackson-heights-queens

The most popular vendor at this event was The Arepa Lady, who was slinging arepas all night long. And they were phenomenal as ever. We had salty sweet arepas de choclo, and thick, soft arepas con queso. The chicken chuzo (like a kabab) was also excellent, and was served with a tasty barbecue sauce.

arepas-from-arepa-lady-viva-la-comida-jackson-heights-queens

We heard the meat sticks from the Xin Jiang Prosperity Kebab cart were also very good. Additionally there was Peruvian food from Morocho, Solber Pupusas, as well as some kind of gelatin dessert for sale.

gelatin-viva-la-comida-jackson-heights-queens

Apart from the food there was music and dancing, and people were just really having a nice time kicking back and enjoying the day. There were some tables and chairs set up by the entertainment area. We had fabulous weather, too.

viva-la-comida-crowd-jackson-heights-queens

viva-la-comida-crowd-tables-jackson-heights-queens

viva-la-comida-crowd-singer-jackson-heights-queens

Overall, we thought this was a fantastic event and we look forward to seeing it again next year. Bravo to the organizers of Viva La Comida!


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment