Come Home
To Buddy's
BUDDY’S DELICATESSEN & RESTAURANT:
215-01 73 Ave., Bayside
CUISINE: Kosher
HOURS: 9:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. 7 days a week
CREDIT CARDS: Visa and Mastercard
PARKING: Neighborhood street parking
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes
DELIVERY: Free, $15 minimum
If you’re craving mom’s homemade potato pancakes
and chicken soup, there’s only one place to park your home hankering’ self
— at the new Buddy’s Kosher Delicatessen and Restaurant.
Inside the restaurant is a homage to New York, circa the
first half of the century. Its walls are covered in handmade murals and wooden cutouts
depicting the pinstriped pride, the New York Giants, the Marx brothers, Laurel and Hardy,
Coney Island’s "Tunnel of Love," and other quintessential symbols of the
era and the area. Mock signs dangling from the ceiling read, "Hot knishes $3,"
"Lava Soap," "Popps Gum," and "Send A Salami To Your Son In The
Army."
I began my foray into the "good eats" with a
steaming bowl of cabbage soup ($2.25), which was sweet and tasty, and accompanied by a
chunk of bread — that would suffice as a meal on a cold night.
With a brief pause to down some of Dr. Brown’s black
cherry soda (also kosher), I was on to the vegetable of the day — zucchini. Sautéed
in a light tomato sauce, it was delectable and fresh — tasting as though it had been
plucked from the vine moments earlier ($2.25). Next up was the homemade onion rings, which
were huge, greaseless, and so good on their own that I didn’t insult them with my
usual dunk in ketchup. The finale was my favorite — a potato pancake ($2.10).
Deceptively sized, it is filling on its own and delicious with a side of apple sauce.
After listing his favorites — which essentially
included the entire menu — Restaurant Manager Mike enticed me to try a brownie. He
was so convincing he soon had to have one too. The ideal way to end the meal, the
home-made brownies are, both warm and light.
From "melt-in-your mouth knishes" to
winter’s defense — "chicken in a pot" — the food is no-nonsense,
and served simply, but filling and delicious. There is both a luncheon special, and an
early bird special ($8.95 includes entree, soup, vegetable and coffee or tea), and Mike,
the deli’s cooks and servers soon have you feeling at home in no time.
Buddy’s also does catering, and will be serving a
Thanksgiving day special which includes turkey and all the extras for $11.95.
— Justina Williams |
