Recently published in a local Queens newspaper.

Local Restaurants Join Together For A 'Taste Of Queens" 

The Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) held its ninth annual "Queens: A Taste of the World," fundraising event on May 10 at Citi Field's Caesars Club. More than 40 Queens area restaurants, vendors, and QEDC Entrepreneur's Space clients were represented, each of whom competed for tasting awards. The host of the evert was WPIX Morning News Anchor Tamsen Fadal and this year's team of celebrity chefs included Marcus Samuelsson and Anita Lo chose the restaurant winners. Prior to the awards ceremony, guests were able to sample dishes from New York City's largest and most diverse borough. 

Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, QEDC Executive Director Seth Brornstein and George Fertitta of NYC & Company welcomed the guests before they presented the winning restaurants with a Taste of Queens Plaque. Marshall spoke about the success of this year's QEDC event in bringing together local restaurants to help further Queen's reputation for great food and a magnet destination for NYC tourism. 

"Wherever you come from in the world, Queens has a restaurant that serves your home cooking," Marshall said. Chef Marcus Samuelsson followed Marshall's comment saying, "The people of Queens are like their food, warm and diverse." 

Winners included Dazies of Sunnyside who received the Iconic Restaurant Award. 

Papazzio of Bayside won Best Appetizer, as did Pop Diner for its Plantano Relleno. 

Best Entree went to Strawberry's Sports Grill for its Chili. 

Bonne Fete won Best Dessert for its Filipino Date Cake. And Brooklyn's McClure's Pickles won Best Beverage Award (alcoholic) for its Pickled Juice infused Bloody Mary. 

Other participation restaurants were the two perennial favorites London Lennie's, which featured a raw bar, and Valentino's On The Green served Filet Mignon Carpaccio. The recently opened Astor Room dished out a delishous Short Rib Stroganoff and Youcake of the QEDC Entrepreneur Space dazzled guests with personalized photo cakes and cookies.