Happy Valentine's Day and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Thursday February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is a day of love and we hope you will get to celebrate with your favorite loved ones (not necessarily romantic ones!). Remember, there are a bunch of specials going on in Sunnyside, and we have some alternate date ideas, and more romance options in Queens. You could have fun in the Z Hotel this month, too! Nothing says you can’t extend your Valentine celebration for a while.

And it’s Lent right now, too (in the western Church)

Lent in the Western church started yesterday, and we know a number of people that have decided to give up meat and take on a vegan diet during this time in the church year. Orthodox Lent begins March 18, and strict observers go vegan during this time. Our friends over at CitySpoonful have a great post up about two vegan dishes appropriate for Lent, from Astoria’s own Zenon Taverna. First there is Fasolada, made with Great Northern Beans, and then there’s Spanakorizo, which is spinach with rice.

New taste treats at Basil Brick Oven Pizza in Astoria

We had the chance to try a bunch of new dishes at Basil Brick Oven Pizza and they are really stellar. In particular we loved the green lasagna (made with potatoes instead of pasta) and octopus carpaccio, but there is amazing risotto, salads, fried calamari, lobster ravioli, meats and pizza. And that’s just the beginning! Definitely stop by and try some of their fantastic food – we can’t wait to go back!

Vander-Ende Onderdonk House in Ridgewood looks pretty in the snow

We really like this recent photo of the Vander-Ende Onderdonk House in Ridgewood taken over the weekend after the snow fell.

Image source: Vander-Ende Onderdonk House Facebook page

More photos can be found here, and more on the house itself can be found in our article on Queens historic houses.

A pair of hawks are hanging out in Jamaica

One of our readers wrote to us about two hawks that have been spending time on his fire escape. From what we can tell, for a while one of the hawks would come by alone, but recently he has brought another hawk with him: “It was about 7 years ago. I thought it was a owl. Then, I look again and realized, it was hawk. Over the years, he came back. But, this year, he came with a mate.”

Kind of a romantic story, if you think about it. It’s so great that these magnificent birds can be seen still living in the big city.