April 11, 2016 By Michael Florio
The Queens Dinner Club, a new group aiming to showcase a different Queens restaurant each month, will feature a Sunnyside venue at its first event.
The club will host its inaugural event on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Tangra Asian Fusion, located at 39-23 Queens Blvd. Attendees will get to try 10 different dishes over four courses, including lollypop chicken, chili chicken, beef tangra style and fish with hot garlic sauce.
“There will be a family style, Indian-Chinese feast,” food writer and club co-founder Joe DiStefano said.
Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased online here. Tickets will not be available at the door.
DiStefano, along with co-founder Jonathan Forgash, chose Tangra for their first event due to its unique blend of Chinese and Indian food, DiStefano said.
“It has a lot of powerful, spicy flavors that blend well together,” he said.
Forgash has been visiting Tangra Asian Fusion frequently in the past few months and told DiStefano about it. The two thought it would be a great restaurant to start with, as many residents may be unfamiliar with Chinese-Indian fusion.
“I love Chinese and Indian food and when I found this fusion I became obsessed,” Forgash said. “I went there 12 times in the past three months. Now I want to share it with other residents.”
The restaurant’s décor also stands out, as it was previously a Romanian steakhouse. It has a number of large chandeliers inside, according to DiStefano.
Tangra Asian Fusion owner Peter Lo said he is excited to be the first restaurant showcased by the Queens Dinner Club.
“It is a big honor,” he said. “The pleasure is all mine.”
Lo, who opened the restaurant in 2005, is excited to showcase his food and hopes that a lot of people who have not yet tried it will attend.
“I hope to see a lot of new faces,” he said.
DiStefano is expecting at least 50 people to attend.
The club will visit a different restaurant each month. Their goal is to bring the community together while highlighting different culinary options around the borough.
“We want people to enjoy the wonderful restaurants in Queens,” DiStefano said. “We want to introduce people to new restaurants while they have a great time.”
“It is a way for people to get together and try something new in an affordable way,” Forgash added.
The duo are looking to host unique events, such as a mash up that features beer from a Queens brewery and food from different restaurants around the borough, according to Forgash. Other ideas included an Indian brunch.
“We want to host some fun, really exciting events,” DiStefano said.
DiStefano is a Queens-based writer and culinary tour guide. He founded the Queens-centric food blog, Chopsticks+Marrow. He has been featured on The Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” and Fox 5’s “Wining and Dining with Rosanna,” and his writing has appeared in Serious Eats, the Village Voice, Gourmet and Food Republic.
Forgash is a chef and founder of Servana, which offers temporary culinary care for those who are ill, new families and those who are traveling.
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2 Comments
maybe its just me but this is a strange choice for you FIRST meeting. makes me wonder…. i did eat there once. I wouldnt pay forty bucks to stuff myself with it.
I thought so too, considering that there are a number of what I think would be more logical choices.