Presidential ice creams and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Wednesday October 17, 2012

President Obama or President Romney ice cream – what would you put in them? 

Malu in LIC is back at their creativity wheel again and have issued a challenge to other creative ice cream souls. From their Facebook page:

“Malu would like to create a Romney Ice Cream and an Obama Ice Cream, in hopes of making this election a little livelier. Tell us what you think should be in each (kindly note – we’re a kid friendly family business!). We’ll create both flavors and see what tub finishes first. Could this be the new straw poll or just a yummy way to make it through to Nov 6th?”

LIC has a new bus shelter

If you take the bus year-long you know how bus shelters really do block the wind. LIC got a new one in early October – LIC Partnership posted a picture of it on their Facebook page. Nice.

Festival grounds instead of a stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park? Welcome to 2008

Did you know there was a plan for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, one that was full of recommendations as to how to revitalize the park (the MLS folks believe they will be able to do that with the stadium; they have also reached out to the community, offering to upgrade the community soccer fields, and plan to be a good neighbor). This plan, called the ”Flushing Meadows Corona Park Strategic Framework Plan”, would have strived “to transform Flushing Meadows Corona Park from a fragmented, confusing, flat, uninspired, pavement-ridden open space into a grade-A greensward.” A few of the things that were recommended:

• Demolish the Pool of Industry and create “festival grounds” as a gathering space.
• Unearth the Flushing River and reroute it along the park’s east side so as “to create a continuous ribbon of water” connecting Meadow and Willow Lakes (which would both be restored).
• Preserve the other historical remnants of the World’s Fairs, in particular the Unisphere and the New York State Pavilion, and “drastically improve access to, and circulation within, Flushing Meadows.”

No matter what, though, things are going to happen in the park, and the soccer stadium looks pretty much like a done deal (though you never know). Still, it’s fun to think about what might have been, and good to know that the park was getting some attention.

Serious Eats heads to M. Wells Dinette

The M. Wells Dinette is the newest restaurant darling of LIC, and the Serious Eats folks spent some time there recently. In their article, they give a nice summary of the M. Wells Diner history, then dive into the food. Their initial impression:

The menu is smaller, both in number of dishes and in terms of their size—not small by any means, but no megaburgers either. And it appears more focused and pared down. The mix of re-done French classics, Americana, and WTF dishes are all there, but they’re a little less aggressively odd. And where you could get foie gras on practically anything at M. Wells Diner, the menu on our visit didn’t have it at all (though the menu changes frequently, and rest assured there is foie gras elsewhere).

Their slideshow is making our mouths water, too.

The Astoria Renovation

Over on Brownstoner, they’re chronicling a renovation in Astoria of a 1930s brick rowhouse, and it’s really interesting to see the progress. They post an update about every month or so. The latest one is about the facades that have been drawn up, with inspiration from Forest Hills Gardens (think Tudor style). Definitely worth keeping an eye on.