Mr. MacKay told of a recent conversation he had with a French journalist who was keen to tour Queens.
“She said, ‘I’m so excited to see Long Island City. Everybody in Paris is talking about Long Island City.’ And I said, ‘Really?’ ” Mr. MacKay recalled. “She said, ‘Can you take me to Sweetleaf?,’ ” referring to a popular cafe in Long Island City. “I said, ‘Sweetleaf?’ She said, ‘Yes! Everybody in Paris is talking about Sweetleaf!’ ”
I was just in Long Island City today, running 3 miles with my daughter.
I blogged about Sweetleaf over a year ago - but I don't know if everybody is talking about this little coffee shop or the swanky new location on the edge of the East River which also serves alcohol - probably the latter though. Interestingly there's a new little French pastry shop Cannel Patisserie in Long Island City but I guess that's no big whoop to Parisians.
As the Times piece notes:
Yes, Queens... New York City’s equivalent of a flyover state, perhaps most famous for two sitcoms, one featuring a food-fixated deliveryman and the other a xenophobic bigot.I'd better hurry and finish my play 12 ANGRY JURORS FROM QUEENS so I can get some of that tourist dollar. No telling how long Queens-mania will last.
Also fancy - there is a pianist who lives in an apartment across the lot from me and this person plays for hours at a time. I don't recognize the tunes but they play them well - some sound like Broadway-type music and others are classical-sounding. But either way it's a nice sound to have in the background while you're blogging or working on a play. Tres bien.