Queens food guide: Flushing, Jackson Heights and Astoria

Queens is often called the most diverse place in the world by population, and its food shows it. A single subway line, the 7 train, passes through Chinese, Korean, South Asian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Tibetan and Greek neighborhoods within an hour. Pick one neighborhood, walk its main street and order what the next table is eating.

Why is Queens so good for eating?

Queens has been the first stop for many immigrant communities, and families who arrived decades ago run restaurants that still cook from home. Prices are lower than in Manhattan, rents are lower, and menus are less shaped by what tourists expect. The best strategy is to pick a neighborhood, walk its main street, and eat at two or three places, ordering what the table beside you is eating. Many restaurants post menus in several languages, and staff will help you pick.

What is Flushing known for?

Flushing, in northern Queens, is one of the city's biggest Chinatowns. Main Street and the streets around it hold food courts, dumpling shops, noodle restaurants, bakeries, hot pot restaurants and teahouses serving regional Chinese cuisines, including Sichuan, Shanghai, Taiwanese, Cantonese and northern styles, along with Korean food. The food courts along Main Street are the easiest way in. Food courts let you order from several stalls, and many sell dishes for a few dollars. Cash is more common here than in Manhattan, though most places take cards.

What is Jackson Heights known for?

Jackson Heights, reached by the 7 train to 74th Street-Broadway, has a dense concentration of South Asian and Latin American restaurants. Walk 74th Street for Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Nepali food, and Roosevelt Avenue for Colombian, Ecuadorian, Mexican and Tibetan food, including momos (dumplings) sold from small shops and carts. Street carts line Roosevelt Avenue. Sweet shops sell Indian and Pakistani sweets by the box, and several bakeries sell Colombian pastries. Halal food is widely available.

What about Astoria?

Astoria has long been known for its Greek community. Along Ditmars Boulevard and Broadway you will find Greek cafes, bakeries and grills, as well as Egyptian, Brazilian, Bosnian and Korean restaurants and bars with beer gardens. A walk to Astoria Park adds views of the river. Greek pastries and coffee are a good way to spend an afternoon.

What is the Queens Night Market?

The Queens Night Market is an open-air food market in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, in the parking lot behind the New York Hall of Science. It runs in the evenings from spring into fall, and its stalls serve dishes from dozens of countries, so you can eat your way around the world for the price of a few small plates.

How do you get around Queens?

The 7 train links Flushing and Jackson Heights to Manhattan, and the N and W lines serve Astoria. Subway service changes on weekends for repairs, so check the transit authority's notices. Walk between restaurants, because distances in each neighborhood are short.

What should you know about tipping and cash?

Tip 18 to 20 percent at table-service restaurants, and a dollar or two at counters if someone serves you. Some small restaurants and carts prefer cash, and a few have a card minimum. Carry a little cash, ask before you order if you are unsure, and remember that New York adds sales tax to the menu price.

What are the best dishes to try in Queens?

In Flushing, try soup dumplings, hand-pulled noodles, lamb skewers dusted with cumin, scallion pancakes and shaved ice desserts. In Jackson Heights, try momos with a spicy tomato chutney, chicken tikka and biryani, Colombian arepas and empanadas, and Mexican tacos from a cart. In Astoria, try grilled octopus, spanakopita, loukoumades (honey-soaked doughnut balls) and strong Greek coffee. Order several small dishes and share them, since portions are generous and prices low. If you are unsure, ask what the kitchen is best at, and point to what other tables are eating. Keep room for dessert: bakeries in all three neighborhoods sell pastries that cost a few dollars. Finally, bring a reusable bag and a few napkins, because street food is a messy pleasure.

A last tip is to avoid trying to cover all three neighborhoods in one day. Each deserves an afternoon, and traveling between them takes time on weekend subway schedules. Pick the cuisine you are most curious about and go deep.

Keep an eye on the calendar as well. Lunar New Year brings lion dances and special menus to Flushing, Diwali fills Jackson Heights with sweets and lights, and Greek Easter and the feast days of the Orthodox calendar shape Astoria's bakeries. Restaurants may close or run reduced hours around those dates, so call first.

How do you keep track of a Queens eating trip?

Queens rewards a plan and a notebook. In the Mosey app, rate the soup dumplings, the momos and the grilled octopus by the dish, add a tag such as Small Plates or Must-Try, and keep one list for Flushing, one for Jackson Heights and one for Astoria. Share the lists with the friend who always asks where to eat, and follow people who know the 7 train better than you do. Rating in a few towns, counties and cuisines is also how Mosey's Explorer badge fills in.

Rate your next Queens dish in the Mosey app and keep the list for your next ride on the 7.

More guides to read next:

• Manhattan Chinatown food guide: dim sum, dumplings and bakeries
• Staten Island food guide: Little Sri Lanka and the ferry
• Cheap eats in New York City under $15: where and how

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.