Nepali food in Jackson Heights and Woodside in Bon Appetit's Unexpected Ethnic Eats

Image source: Gary Soup on Flickr

Recently, Bon Appetit Magazine published “a list of ten less-explored cuisines and some recommended places to check them out.” We were happy to see that Queens was chosen as one of the ten – the cuisine highlighted here is Nepali, which is pervasive in Jackson Heights specifically, and to some extent in Woodside. In the words of Bon Appetit:

Recent years have seen an influx of immigrants from Nepal to New York City’s most diverse borough. Its Jackson Heights and Woodside neighborhoods are now filled with restaurants serving the country’s fare. The Himalayas’ unforgiving climate and topography have produced food traditions focused on sustenance and storage, which means lots of pulses* and grains, but there’s not much at these spots – which also offer Tibetan and Bhutanese dishes – that you could really call bland. Try a thali, a selection of curries served with rice and pickles; sukuti, dried, grilled meat dressed with diced tomato, onion, and chilies; or momo, doughy dumplings with various fillings, served with chunky hot sauce. And for breakfast, there’s no beverage more filling than butter tea–a hot, mouth-coating cup of khaki-colored milk fat.

In the article, they recommend the restaurants Himalayan Yak, Mustang Thakali Kitchen, and Peace Cafe. We passed by Peace Cafe a little while back and sadly, it looked like they were closing (Eating in Translation confirms this). It’s too bad, as their momos were quite tasty, and the staff was very friendly. We’ve enjoyed meals at both Himalayan Yak and Mustang Thakali Kitchen, too (their Chilly Buff is delicious – it’s a spicy buffalo dish).

We had a spectacular meal at Woodside Cafe, which is on the border between Woodside and Jackson Heights – their steamed vegetable momos are some of the best in the borough, and their potato achar is also amazing. The food at Lali Guras – they serve Nepalese, Tibetan, and Bhutanese, and the restaurant’s name means “rhododendron,” the national flower of Nepal – is also excellent, with the chicken momos being particularly tasty, as well as their thalis and mango lassi.

The other borough that was highlighted in their list was Staten Island, home to excellent Sri Lankan food.

Himalayan Yak, 72-20 Roosevelt Ave., Jackson Heights, NY 11377; (718) 779-1119 (GMAP)
Mustang Thakali Kitchen, 74-14 37 Ave., Jackson Heights, NY 11372; (718) 898-5088 (GMAP)
Woodside Cafe, 64-23 Broadway  Woodside, NY 11377; (347) 642-3445 (GMAP)
Lali Guras, 37-63 76th St., Jackson Heights, NY 11372, (718) 424-0017 (GMAP)

*Pulses are another name for legumes.

Unexpected Ethnic Eats in the United States [Bon Appetit]