Welcome to a new Q’Stoner food feature, Signature Dish! Once a week we check in with Queens restaurants and ask the owners about the all-time favorite dishes they serve. If you know of a dish you’d like to see featured here, please email emily@brownstoner.com

The Spot: Hell Gate Tiki, 12-21 Astoria Boulevard, Astoria.

The Deal: Hell Gate Tiki is a new tiki bar in the old Hell Gate Social space. The bar is located in an off-the-beaten track location that is worth the trip. The recent transformation into a tiki bar has produced a menu of Pacific-inspired cuisine.

The Dish: The Signature Dish at Hell Gate Tiki is the Tiki Tater Tot, which replaces the potato of a traditional tater tot with sushi rice. The rice is prepared the same as if it were being used for sushi, says the restaurant’s new owner, Jeremy Osslund. “You must wash it 10-plus times, create the seasoning of rice wine, sugar and salt, cook the rice and then fold the seasoning into the mixture as the whole thing cools,” Osslund explains. “Needless to say its a fun process to be part of.”

Prior to deep frying, the tots are dusted with rice flour to make them extra crispy. Tiki Tots are designed not to be eaten alone — they are paired with house-made sauces like spicy mayo, tiki sauce, and peanut sauce. The sauces can also be found alongside the other menu items, from Spam-fried rice to Tokyo Joes, a sloppy duck slider.

As the restaurant transitions from its soft opening to grand opening, Osslund plans to continue expanding the menu, giving customers new and exciting reasons to come back.