Kew Gardens, NY

New Shanghai 125-02 84th Road Kew Gardens, New York 11415 (718) 846-0125 (718) 846-0180

Has a Chinese & Japanese Kitchen that ROCKS! Free delivery! I love them.

I love being a Work at Home Mom (WHAM). You get sweet foodie paradise perks. Seriously!

I am sitting over here with a big cool aid grin on my face because my little ones love Chinese and Japanese food almost as much as their Mama. One of the best places to eat in Queens County is New Shanghai. They have excellent taste and service customers off of two awesome menus. I frequently order meals from both categories and have to say my fave two entrees are their Deluxe Platter of Salmon Teriyaki and their Beef Teriyaki. We are about to chow down on 'em right now. BTW, both come served with Tempura, California Rolls, Soup, Salad and Rice. If you ever find yourself in need of a party platter for an open house, dinner party, or movie night with the DVD player, these are the people to call. Trust me. I'm talking Spanking-A tasty! Another plus: very reasonably priced too.

If your little minions are as picky as my little minions, you can not go wrong with New Shanghai.

What's your favorite foodie paradise spot? Inquiring minds want to know. :-)

In my first days as a Realtor I was advised against dealing with co-ops. As a rookie agent my ears were closed to warnings against anything complicated (I thought I was bigger then Goliath and I can conquer the whole world and some). And yes - my first deal was the sale of a co-op listed by Foxtons. I still have nightmares; after signing the contract it took "only" five months to close thanks to the "cooperation" of the listing agent and the Foxtons policy (no wonder they went bankrupt!) , and the unresponsive management company wasn't too much help either, not to mention the board. I promised myself that never ever -repeat - EVER deal with co-ops again, but the fact that I am working mostly in Queens New York did not let me keep my promise.
I sold quite a few co-op units now and I learned the ins and outs of these complex and you-want-to-pull-your-hair-out transactions. Also, this is how I found the gorgeous complex in Kew Gardens that I want to tell you about: The Hampton Court. It is my absolute favorite place in Queens!

Hampton Court was originally built around 1937 as Kent Manor into and surrounded by Forest Park. It consists of four Tudor style buildings with a total of 316 apartments placed in a large and airy courtyard. Today the property is known for its well-kept buildings, landscaping design, and round the clock security. It is one of the premier properties in Kew Gardens conveniently located walking distance to the long Island Rail Road and to the E and F trains. The address is: 117-01 Park Lane South Kew Gardens NY - the complex is bordered by Forest Park on the West and North side, Park Lane South on East and Metropolitan Avenue on South (see link at the bottom of page).

NY Times listed Hampton Court as one of the most prestigious apartment buildings in Kew Gardens along with the Shellball, the Beverly House, and the Georgian House - all built before World War II.

Like most of the pre-war buildings the apartments of Hampton Court are unusually large for New York City (a one bedroom can get to 1,000 square feet - trust me that is LARGE for a New Yorker). The maintenance is not the lowest: from mid 600's to mid 800's for a 1 bedroom depending of how many shares are allocated to the apartment and what floor it is located on - higher floor = higher maintenance. For a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment (1,300 to 1,500 sq feet) the monthly maintenance ranges from $1,000 to $1,200'ish.

The prices are not bad at all for what you get: large one bedrooms and jr. 4's were sold in 2008 form 209k up to 240k; the large 2 bedroom 2 bath apartments are selling in the range of 310k to 360k. The only shortcoming of this complex in my opinion: there is no parking. I have to tell you though that most of the owners are willing to pay the price of driving around a few times for a parking spot on the streets in return of the privilege of living in a complex that was rightfully described by Frank Daliendo the former Board President of the Hampton Court Owners Corporation as one of "the premier properties in Kew Gardens and truly a jewel in the crown of the community."

Hanni Varro-Papadima

ERA Gotham Realty

Location:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=117-01+Park+Ln+S,+Queens,+NY+11418&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.059939,54.84375&ie=UTF8&ll=40.708507,-73.835936&spn=0.003741,0.006695&t=h&z=17

Cocina Latina Bar and Grill by The Silver Towers

It is 12:51 EST and I am a very happy camper. I will be on my way to Remax People Realty to update my contracts. Hubby is sleeping on the futon and Stephen is taking a break from being the Minion Blur (translated: sleeping in his crib). Before I go into the office, I am going to sneak out with my laptop and head on over to one of my favorite foodie paradise spots on Queens Blvd: Cocina Latina. Lunch is from 11:30 - 3:30, so I am making a bee line for some slow roasted chicken in their famous secret sofrito sauce served with rice casserole, greens and sweet plantains. Yum!

I plan on enjoying some of my favorite writers while dining out because they have wireless Internet. I love foodie paradise spots with wireless Internet access. It give me the option to continue working or having a little play time while taking a break. Today's lunch line up includes:

"Aquiring The Golden Egg," where my girlfriend C. Sally Cheeseman tells us about closing her first Bank Own Property yesterday. You will benefit from her outstanding outline of some of the details involved and how she usually goes beyond to help a client.

"Enough. Blog Action Day," is a wonderful post my girlfriend Chris Fisher composed concerning writing a blog when she discovered her local crisis center ran out of food and had to close their doors on a Tuesday. Chris cleaned out her cupboards and confessed she felt really bad that she didn't do more on an ongoing basis. She makes a vow which inspired me to make a personal promise to myself as well. There is a quote from Gandhi near the end, "You must be the change you want to see in the world." How cool is that? Awesome!

While I am at lunch today I am going to be thinking about what I can do as a Realtor to help make a positive and lasting change for someone. I hope I can come up with a worthwhile random act of kindness not just for today, but every day.

I hope C Sally C and Chris inspire you, the reader, to do something nice for someone else every single day the way that they have inspired me to try...

I love being a Work-At-Home-Mom (WHAM). You can get a lot done if you try.

This foodie paradise report is inspired by my girlfriend Deborah Burroughs, an Agent/Loan Officer in Vista, CA. We enjoy sharing a lot of information about our home towns and she has just added a wonderful addition to her Volcano Plug series which you can read here. Deborah, besides supplying some wonderful photographs to take you on a virtual tour of the area, talks about the history of Oceanside and mentions several foodie paradise spots of her own with gorgeous sea scape views. I figured I give her a little New York eye candy: an interior city scape view starting with a gorgeous, kid friendly place to eat with a lot of atmosphere.

Open from 11AM to 11PM every day, the Cocina Latina Bar ad Grill is located at 125-22 Queens Blvd, Kew Gardens NY 11415 (718) 577-9800. It is one of my favorite places to eat because the menu is outstanding and the prices very reasonable. (BTW, they do home delivery, people. Yay! Gourmet food on the run! How cool is that?) Cocina Latina is so close to home that leaving Briarwood to enter Kew Gardens is as simple as crossing to the other side of Queens Blvd. As a Work-at-home-Mom (WAHM), the fact that we don't have far to go when we are in the mood for some great food at a child friendly establishment is a huge plus in my book. I give it four thumbs up! (e.g. Carol, Michael, Stephen and Noah with big, cool aid grins!) The truth is, you may find me there more quickly there than you'd find me sitting in my REMAX People Realty office. It is a great place to meet with clients and a lovely, relaxing spot to work on my laptop.

Little people do not normally sit at the bar, but Stephen has a thing for the ladies employed here and he likes to pick out his mint candy on his own. Everything constructed at C.L. is hand crafted by my neighbor and good friend Thomas Valdez. He's a partner in a wonderful design firm that does excellent work and the C.L. is slated to be showcased on cable television sometime in September. The wood, stone and plaster work is truly amazing. There are so many lovely details one should really stop by to enjoy this type of eye candy up close and personal while soaking in a fine dining experience. You will not be disappointed by the menu, for there are so many excellent meals to choose from. The "Empanadas de Pollo/Carne" and the "Costillitas de Cerdo" (slow roasted baby back ribs in a pineapple guava glazed served with slaw) are a must have! The "Chuttasco a la Brasa" (grilled skirt steak with three chimichurri sauces, served with yuca cheese fries, tomato red onion cilantro salad) is a very tasty foodie paradise meal, indeed. My hubby is a "Filet Mignon" man, and Cocina Latina does this dish proud, for it is served with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed with mushrooms and brandy sauce. Mmm...

The leather bench is also a custom job that runs along the wall from one end to the other of C.L. It is very comfortable and I always make it a point to sit against the wall when I am enjoying my meal. Stephen's favorite dish is the rice and black beans. Mine is anything on the menu (except Calamari and only because I just don't eat that. It's a personal pref, not a negative to anyone else and certainly not to Cocina Latina).

The Blur Minion was on a lunch date with his two favorite women and all wiggly grins when hugged by my girlfriend Susana. He loves salsa music and spent most of the meal dancing in his high chair. Susana had the "Salmon al Horno, Encrostado en Yuca" which was divine! I'm talking roasted salmon with yuca and plaintains crusted grilled pineapple sauce - yummy! I went for my favorite which is "Chicken Quesadilla" with mozzarella, cheese, beans, sour cream, guacamole and cilantro sauce. Of course, Stephen got a taste of both of our meals while enjoying his side order of rice and black beans. If you are ever in Kew Gardens or Briarwood, the Cocina Latina Bar and Grill is a must see and do for your foodie paradise pleasure. Just cross Queens Blvd onto the opposite side from the Court House and Maple Grove Park. You can't miss it.

Here's a little eye candy of Thomas Valdez's work. Enjoy!