I'm always torn on trying a new restaurant as soon as it opens. On the one hand I'm usually really looking forward to trying something new, different, and hopefully delicious, but on the other hand I'm frozen with fear on having a poor dining experience that prevents me from going back when the bad experience is probably at least due in part to the infant stages of a new restaurant with trial and error. Well, with Sugar Freak I just couldn't resist and as it turns out, I'm glad I didn't.
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| Sugar Freak before opening |
Since I moved to Astoria I have been walking by this place and very intrigued by the few glimpses of decor I snuck. When one of my obsessive google searches about Sugar Freak finally came back with information indicating that this place had opened I couldn't wait to try it, you may even say I was an eager eagle, a rabid raccoon, or an impatient iguana. Well, my elation was temporary because good old daddy doubt slapped me in the face - with paralyzing thoughts of "what if the food sucks?" "what if the service sucks?" "what if they receive less than an A rating by the DOH?" - luckily I got a hold of myself before my thoughts really ran prematurely askew. I decided I would wait a couple of weeks before dining at Sugar Freak. I also decided I would enjoy a tasty beverage at the bar at Sugar Freak to try to feel out the atmosphere and see what I should expect.
After having some beverages at some other local establishments one Saturday evening in early July, my co-bar attendee and I stopped in Sugar Freak for a drink. The restaurant was crowded and there was even a wait for a table. I should add that this was a holiday weekend, which is a good sign for Sugar Freak because often non-beach located establishments have less of a crowd on holiday weekends in the summer.
The decor inside the restaurant is everything I imagined and more. It has a rustic and homey feeling to it, almost like the restaurant form of the store Anthropologie. Perfection. One thing I did notice was there was no one behind the bar for a few minutes after we entered. I'm sure they are still working out the kinks, but the wait time was noticeable. Apart from that, once the bartender did reappear, he was extremely friendly and served our drinks pretty quickly after we ordered them. They do not have the largest of best beer selection in my opinion, but the focus here is more on the restaurant so that is somewhat understandable. This particular visit to Sugar Freak was limited in time, but did leave me curious to go back and try the food.
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| I'm a big kid now! |
A bit more than a week later, on a Thursday night, my co-diner and I decided to try Sugar Freak. I was a nervous nelly because I had read a review on yelp that indicated some of my worst fears about a new restaurant may be coming true - running out of food, not great service, etc. However, I took off my diaper, put on my pull-ups and ventured off to Sugar Freak.
We were seated immediately at a corner table in the back of the restaurant. The decor which I really liked on my first visit turned into 100% love, lust, obsession, and a lot of other creepy feelings. Our waitress was super friendly in a genuine way that we appreciated. She informed us of the drink specials and gave us her opinion on her favorites. Two of the specials sounded particularly delicious and so we decided to order one of each - a country lemonade alcoholic beverage and a watermelon alcoholic beverage. The watermelon drink was mixed and muddled with fresh watermelon, elderflower, other liquor, and very thirst-quenching. The lemonade elicited a similar reaction. Both were perfection. The good or bad part (depending on the type of night you are looking to have) is that you can't even taste the alcohol, the drink is so smooth, but the alcohol is definitely in the drink!
As soon as we sat we also received a basket of heaven that came in the form of four mini corn muffins. I don't know what else to say about them except that I could have ate about forty-one more. Even my co-diner who isn't a huge fan of corn muffins loved them.
My co-diner and I both ordered spinach salads for appetizers. I ordered the half fried shrimp po boy as my main course. My co-diner ordered the half turkey burger po boy.
The spinach salad was delectable and I have not stopped thinking about the next time I can order it since I had it. It is pretty simple overall, but that is what is so great about it, it is simply delicious. The dressing was great and it had the perfect amount on it. The portions were in proportion.
Next came the main courses. Unfortunately, a full fried shrimp po boy appeared before me rather than the half that I ordered. In all fairness, I could have brought this to the waitresses attention as soon as the plate was put before me, but I chose to let it go and enjoy the meal. If it happened again I would speak up, but as a new restaurant, there was probably a miscommunication and the meal had been great so far. The po boys come with french fries. I got regular fries and my co-diner got sweet potato fries. I preferred my fries over hers and she preferred hers over mine. The fries are the one place they went wrong with portions, I received about five french fries. The actual fried shrimp po boy on a scale of okay-delicious-perfection was delicious. I won't say it is the best thing I ever ate, but it was far from just okay. I can't exactly place my five boroughed fingers on what was off about the sandwich, but it was missing something. My co-diner felt similarly about her turkey burger po boy and said she would definitely try a lot of other things on the menu before reverting back to ordering the same thing.
With dinner we each had another beverage, I ordered a glass of white wine and my co-diner ingested another watermelon beverage. The wine glass was generously filled to the tip top of the glass, but unfortunately was Chardonnay and a bit sweet for my taste. Hopefully, in the future, Sugar Freak expands their wine selection. Additionally, the table next to us ordered a carafe of wine, which is $28.00 and I found the size of the carafe a bit small for the price. On the topic of prices, while I find the food prices average, I found the price of the specialty drinks a bit much for Queens. Each drink was $11.00, which I would expect in the City, but not in Astoria. The glass of wine was $6.50, which I found fair considering how much the glass was filled.
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| Checkmate |
For dessert we ordered the Chess Pie. This was one of the best decisions of the night. It was served in a small mason jar and earns major bonus points for presentation. My co-diner describes the pie as "yummy yummy yummy in my tummy tummy tummy" and I would have to concur. The crust was the perfect consistency, the peanut butter crumble was crumbleicious, and the chocolate practically melted in your mouth. Needless to say, I would recommend the Chess Pie. This Chess Pie is so good that I think it could even beat Bobby Fischer. King me.
Sugar Freak is currently open Thursdays-Sundays from 5pm-11pm. I wish they were open a bit more often and a bit later because I could see just getting a few drinks there for happy hour or on a weekend. Also, I'm crossing my fingers that Sugar Freak starts serving brunch.
I sense a long and prosperous future ahead for Sugar Freak. There is no restaurant in the neighborhood that comes to mind that bears any real similarities to the Sugar Freak menu and ambiance and when you combine that with great food and drinks you have a winner. I suggest all of you RUN, don't walk, to getcha getcha getcha freak on!
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