For all of those who think it’s too difficult to put together a night of good food and entertainment right here in our own backyard, let us bring you the good news – arranging a date night right here at home is not at all that difficult. You can stay close and still enjoy the night and each other. So follow us on just this one possibility…to none other than Metropolitan Avenue.
Dee’s Restaurant
DINNER: DEE’S – $91.75
Starting out at about 6:30p.m., we landed at Dee’s Restaurant on Austin Street in Forest Hills. Formerly located further down on Metropolitan Avenue (the original location is now occupied by Danny Brown’s), this once tiny restaurant has expanded its space to include a full size bar and three rooms (including one for private partying). The extremely stylish décor is warm, welcoming and very comfortable.
Now while this piece is not meant to be a dining review, our food choice for the evening is worth way more than an honorable mention. The menu at Dee’s is best described as a combination of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern innovation with an absolutely great brick oven pizza selection. Building your own pie at Dee’s is indeed a very rewarding experience.
Our dinner started off with two appetizers – Mediterranean mix, an ample supply of hummus, fava beans in a rich tomato sauce and eggplant and pepper caponata, served with Dee’s own hot focaccia. The mix of flavor and texture in this dish is incredible considering the simplicity of the ingredients.
For the second appetizer we chose to offset the vegetarian theme of the Mediterranean mix by ordering the mini-meatballs, seven of the divine little creations, made from a blend of freshly ground pork, veal and beef in a delicate marinara sauce – and some more of that focaccia. And when I say freshly ground, I mean it; if there’s one thing you can tell as a meatball master, (master of eating them, that is) it’s when the meat was freshly ground.
The short bridge between appetizersand our main courses was filled with a salad we were later sorry that we split – we each wanted one. Imagine a bed of mixed field greens topped with candied pecans and Granny Smith apples – we substituted goat cheese for the bleu on the menu – all tossed in Dee’s own delicious vinaigrette. Come on, you know you’re getting hungry now…
Dinner arrived not a moment too soon – our forks were actually at rest after the feeding frenzy of appetizers and salad. I craned my neck to see the top of the dish our server was lowering before me. Lo and behold, there it was – I had hesitated to choose the Mama’s meatloaf entrée because we had the mini meatballs but the images conjured up, merely by the reference to the meatloaf of Mama – well I don’t have to explain do I? In any case, there it was: a large portion of the loaf of meat we all love, surrounded by a heap of shoestring onion rings – yes you heard that right – onion rings, not potatoes – and a mound of what had to have been among the best garlic mashed I have run into–outside of my own kitchen of course. Outstanding!
As I looked across the table, the envy started to build. “Why, why, why didn’t I get the fish?” A little smile accompanied my offer and attempted distraction – “Would you like to try the meatloaf dear?” All the while my fork was perfectly poised to invade the beautiful plate of pan seared salmon and sautéed spinach staring back at me. It too came with the garlic mashed – I would leave those alone – I had my own – it was the fish I was after. For the sake of writing this article, I was able to talk myself into a taste of the highly guarded salmon across the table, and it was well worth the risk of the potential forking of my hand. Delicious!
Having arrived at 6:45 it was now nearing the next phase of our night – the movies. Showtime was 8:15 – we had to get there. But there’s no need to panic as we approach 8 p.m. – the movie theater is just down the street. Still we made the decision to resist the server’s temptation of dessert. We should also mention that our server was absolutely great and in fact everywhere you looked in the restaurant, it was obvious that the staff here knows that the customers are the central focus.
Cinemart Cinemas
THE MOVIES – CINEMART CINEMAS -$31.50
Believe it or not, we were able to stand after that meal, but if the aim was to walk off some calories, it wasn’t likely as the Cinemart Cinemas located at 106-03 Metropolitan Avenue was only one block away. We got the check and prepared to head out. After all, Iron Man 3 was waiting.
A quick stroll down Metro, and across one street, and we were just steps away from the oldest continuously operated independent theater in Queens, a designation earned by the Cinemart from the Queens Historical Society. It is the last of a generation of independent neighborhood theaters.
The theater has undergone a complete renovation and hosts five screens with a Dolby Sound System and well appointed seating – yes there are cup holders in every seat! The theater offers current titles and admission is a bargain at $9.00 regular price, $6.00 for seniors with ID and for children under 12 it’s also $6.00. There’s even a bargain matinee offering Monday through Friday-for all movies starting before 5 p.m. it’s $6.00.
Two hours and fifteen minutes later, having been thoroughly entertained by the latest in the world of Iron Man, the movie was over and there was only one thing on our mind – dessert.
Remember we didn’t have dessert after dinner at Dee’s and certainly a long enough time had passed without eating – oops, did we forget to mention the popcorn and Twizzlers at the movie? And the bottled water, which we should also mention was fairly priced – not the absurd $4.50- $5.00 a bottle brazenly sold at a majority of theaters. In any case let’s get back to the issue at hand. It’s 10:30 and we have not had dessert. I’ll fix that – after all–we are on Metropolitan Avenue.
Twist It Top It
FINALLY DESSERT – TWIST IT TOP IT FROZEN YOGURT – $12.45
We’re off to the next stop, hoping it will be the cherry on top of a thus far perfect night. Down the street, just about two blocks, to one of Forest Hills most recent additions. Twist it Top It, a frozen yogurt store, located at 103-09 Metropolitan Avenue, has opened to rave reviews, despite the infiltration of yogurt in the neighborhood, and it continues to draw crowds beyond that of its trendy nearby competitors, Red Mango and Vanilla Sky.
The Forest Hills Twist It Top It is the second of two locations with the first having opened in Howard Beach a little over a year ago. The storefront has to be one of the most appealing presentations along the avenue, a primarily glass construction with bright reds and oranges peeking out of the immaculate interior. In fact, we have never seen such a clean floor with so many feet standing on it. But let’s get to what really counts – the froyo!
With 16 flavors to choose from, things can get a little complicated, but let’s face it, these are the types of life changing decisions we’d love to be faced with every day. Should I get the Nutella or the peanut butter? The answer – GET BOTH! Oh boy, was that good.
But really, if those are a little too exotic for you, there are plenty of other, more normal shall we say, flavors. Sweet coconut, vanilla, chocolate are among the options and for fruit lovers among us, there are sorbet based selections, like mango and peach, that will rock your taste buds.
As any well dressed woman will tell you, it’s all in the accessories and here at Twist it, accessories come in the form of the topping bar extraordinaire. Thing is we also found it pretty different from other topping bars because here, the staff actually maintains the toppings and cleans the spaces in between the line-up. There are: fruits, all fresh, gummy confections, sprinkles, chips, nuts, marshmallows and every sauce under the sun. What a way to end the night!
As we walked along the well lit strip three blocks back to the car, it was hard to imagine that we had such a good time with everything in such close proximity and so close to home. On a rating scale of 10, this evening was a 12! We hope you’ll take our advice and try this date on for size – we promise you won’t be disappointed!
By Patricia Adams
