Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcakes are the most amazing and perfect desserts. The cake was always moist, spongy in the nice springy way, and not crumbly. But the best part of the cupcakes was the frosting. While I love sugar, many bakeries top their cupcakes with frosting that is overwhelming sweet that is in stark contrast to a good cake. Sugar Sweet Sunshine's cupcakes were nicely sweet and creamy, complementing the cake fantastically. My favorites are the Pumpkin and Sexy Red Velvet cupcakes, but sometimes a simple Sunshine cupcake was just right.
In Astoria, just like in any neighborhood in NYC, there is a great selection of tasty foods. Almost every time the boyfriend would come over, we would bicker about where to eat dinner. No matter how long the discussion went on or how many options were brought up, 98% of the time we would choose either the El Rey Del Taco Truck or the King of Falafel and Shawarma cart.
The taco truck is exactly what it sounds like. After 7pm on the corner of 33rd St & 30rd Ave, a brightly lit truck would serve the most amazing portable Mexican food I've ever had. Burritos were always too big for me, so I usually got 2-4 tacos. The meat changed each time I ordered, but it was always a choice between the tongue, beef, or pork. My tacos had everything in those delicious corn tortillas--onions, herbs, cilantro, guacamole squeezed from a bottle, and hot sauce--served with slices of radish and lime. I cannot describe the experience as anything less than a mouth orgasm that always left me wanting more, even if I was completely full.
Subsequently, I also loved Azteca Pride El Rey Del Taco which is owned by the same people as the taco truck. The selection was obviously much larger than the truck, and the portions are huge. I highly recommend the salted pork enchiladas with green sauce with come with a (large) side of rice and beans. It's best when washed down with a cold bottle of Jarritos.
The King of Falafel and Shawarma cart was a slightly different experience. Every time I would walk to the grocery store, I would pass the smells of spices and grilled meats, trying very hard not to give into my cravings. After all, I needed to save money on food, not splurge on every mouth-watering quick meal I wanted. When I was able to indulge with the boyfriend, it was always with the same thing--their famous chicken and rice platter which always came with a falafel. Oh, god, I often think about that falafel and how I could just eat dozens in one sitting. The outside was fried to a crunchy shell that enveloped the soft, flavorful insides. I always have to eat them slowly to savor how good they are, otherwise I would just become sad that I ate it in two seconds.
But back to the chicken and rice, a simple-sounding dish that was infused with the best halal flavors. I was continually surprised that the chicken was never dry even though it was chopped into little pieces. I couldn't tell you what kind of spices were used to marinate and grill the chicken, but I do know that there must be tons of cumin in it. In each platter, the server/grill master/king would pile a great amount of juicy chicken on top of your choice between basmati or yellow rice; add a little salad of lettuce, tomato, pickled pink radishes, and pickles; and squeeze on your choice of sauces followed by one falafel. We chose both hot sauce and white sauce every time. The flavor and heat explosion is better than I could possibly describe. The platter is huge, and there were many-a-times when I couldn't finish it. There were many more times when I ate it all, became greatly stuffed, and didn't regret one extra bite.
While that isn't an extensive list, it's made me very hungry and now I have to eat something incredibly inferior to those to shut up my growling stomach.
