The Strand Smokehouse and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Friday January 4, 2013

The Stran(drama) Smokehouse

We’ve heard mixed reviews about the food at newly opened The Strand Smokehouse in Astoria – glowing (“tender and juicy” regarding the roast beef, and “some of the most delicious in the city” regarding the biscuits as part of brunch) to more critical (“coagulated fat and tough skin” and “pulled pork and ribs — both were dry and not much flavor,” two reviews on Yelp). We’ve also heard about the neighbors who are frustrated by the noise and smoke coming from this establishment. The management has made some changes but will that be enough? You be the judge and check out what everyone has to say about it all.

Sandy Can’t Get Me Down

It was great to read about this LIC teacher who has decided to write a children’s book about Superstorm Sandy. It will be called Sandy Can’t Get me Down, and will be self-published later this month. The teacher, Marie Barret, who teaches at Public School 111, has been “collecting the stories of brave children on the Rockaway peninsula and weaving them into a book of hope.” Barret was inspired by their survival stories.

She previously wrote a book about hurricanes right after Hurricane Irene, called Ms. Irene is So Demanding. About the new book, she says, “The goal is to take away the fear of hurricanes. The book will allow children to talk about things that have happened during the storm they might not have been able to talk about before. The message is you can survive anything no matter how sad it is.”

Halletts Point development – what’s up with that?

We put together an overview of the Halletts Point development, which will bring 2,200 new apartments in 7 buildings to the Hallets Point peninsula that sticks out into the East River just south of Astoria Park. The area is far from the subway, there are few services like retail, but perhaps the new development will solve some of these challenges. The developers could theoretically break ground later this year. We’ve also included a lot of photos of the area to give you an idea of what’s there.

A Steinway-SingleCut pairing?!?

Looks like SingleCut is getting a piano! Rulpsen Singlecutbeer proclaims on Facebook, “We are currently receiving a ‘housewarming’ gift from our awesome neighbors down the street…” with this photo attached:

Image source: Rulpsen Singlecutbeer

That’s pretty cool! SingleCut is hosting live music, so this is a terrific match. Steinway pianos are some of the very best in the world (you can even take a tour of the Steinway factory, just up the street from the brewery).

This morning we asked our readers if they’ve spied any wildlife (not pigeons or squirrels, which are ubiquitous), and here are some of the answers we got on twitter and Facebook:

SangriaWhisperr: @QueensNYCity On my block in Astoria (38th St btwn Broadway & 34th) I’ve seen raccoons eating leftover halal and possums eating Mexican!

nyc8675309: @QueensNYCity did you see the hawk eating rat video from Flushing a few weeks back? http://t.co/beMUYFWL

sacsplace: @QueensNYCity Some people on the N train qualify as wildlife.

Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden: Does “real deal” wildlife include cardinals, mockingbirds, and sparrows? We see many of these wild birds in our garden. They aren’t hawks, but they’re a little rarer than squirrels, pigeons, and feral cats!