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Kosher Cookin'
EMPIRE K ROASTERS: 100-19 Queens Blvd. Forest Hills, (718) 997-7315
CUISINE: Kosher, American,
Traditional Jewish
HOURS: Sunday through Thursday 11:00
a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Closed Sabbaths and Holidays.
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Visa, Master Card and
Discover
What do you get when you mix the culinary
cleanliness standards of the Vaad of Queens with the home styled taste of a good old’
fashioned barbecue? Empire K Roasters.
Don’t take the barbecue image the
wrong way- there’s definitely no pork anywhere on the restaurant’s premises.
But, with grilled, fried, flame broiled and barbecued chicken, pasta salads, freshly
prepared vegetables, cole slaw, potato salad and the choice of hot dogs, hamburgers, shish
kabobs, there’s a lot of old fashioned flavor. It’s delicious food, and the best
thing is that it’s kosher.
Empire K Roasters, offers a wide variety of
chicken, seafood, turkey, and beef, but they don’t stop there. There are vegetarian
dishes and platters, all day breakfast food, low fat items, and Jewish favorites such as
pastrami and gefilte fish on the menu.
On Tuesdays they offer an all-you-can- eat
buffet style menu. For the very reasonable price of $7.99 you can choose from a variety of
foods. This Tuesday, the day I visited, they offered three styles of chicken- fried,
barbecued, and Spanish-style roasted, which was served with the choice of yellow rice,
mashed potatoes, ziti in marinara sauce, zucchini ratatouille, seasoned roasted potatoes,
peas and carrots, which join the choices of cole slaw, three-bean salad, pasta salad with
broccoli, and pickled beets as part of the buffet menu. Soft drinks and dessert also comes
with the meal. The variety is nice, and the food is good.
Atmosphere at Empire K Roasters is
down-to-earth. Four-tiled black and white checkerboard floor squares and walnut colored
wood inlays with ceiling fans border the fuchsia formica tabletops, and black and fuchsia
chairs. An oversized menu board, very helpful because of the huge variety, is posted along
a wall steps from the entrance. Atmosphere is not the restaurant’s strong point- but-
the atmosphere is friendly, and the restaurant seems to be a favorite of young couples,
and families.
"It’s a good family
atmosphere," said Empire K Roaster co-manager Nissim Douek. "People who like
good family food enjoy coming here."
No doubt, the prices, which are very
reasonable, are attractive to young families, but at one point during my visit, I counted
six baby carriages, pulled aside tables. There’s something solid about that. And in
addition to the prices, the wholesomeness, and the wide variety of kosher food on the menu
makes a visit to the restaurant hard to resist.
Don’t let the unpretentious decor
detour you. The food is very good. The prices are very low. The variety of culinary
choices is tremendous – and it’s kosher!
– Gary McLendon |
