a happy Sunday in Queens

Sunday was the first day of the French Open.  How grand to wake up on a Sunday morning, turn on the Tennis Channel, and pretty much watch tennis all day.  Well, at least until it was time to get ready to meet some friends for dinner.

So, the big theme of this year's French Open is: can Djokovic continue his unbeaten streak, or will Nadal remain supreme at Roland Garros?  Frankly, I don't find that theme very interesting.  So I will just quietly, and in my head, root for that final to NOT happen.  I will instead root for other players, such as my uber-favorite, my darling Roger; I would also be happy to see a Frenchy do well--I like Monfils, Tsonga and Gasquet quite a lot, so I'll root for them (though they're all in Roger's half of the draw.  grrrr.).  Oh, and I also enjoy another French guy, Gilles Simon, and he's on Rafa's side of the draw.  Maybe I'll root really extra hard for him.  :)   I've definitely softened on Mardy Fish (though, for the love of God, put on some proper socks) and I have a sentimental attachment to Marcos Baghdatis (my mom and I saw him play the US Open qualies one year and he's just delightful).  I'm developing a fondness for Dolgopolov, and would root for Kohlschreiber if he weren't playing the American, Sam Querrey, in the first round.  I'm sorry Tommy Haas and Ernests Gulbis both lost in the first round--I like watching them play very much. 

So, what does all that blather mean?  I want Roger to win, of course.  But even I am realistic and know it's a tall ask.  But a girl can dream.  And if it can't be Roger, there are at least 100 other players I will root for over the guys most pundits believe will win.  I'm just mean that way.

Sunday night, I met some dear friends for a birthday dinner in Flushing.  I've lived in Astoria for fifteen years and I had never been to Flushing until I started going with Chris and Tony.  Dumb, I know.  But now that we go, I want to go all the time!  It's so fun and every restaurant we've been to has been amazing!

Of course, because it's New York, there was subway agita.  The trains aren't running local in Queens, so they're all packed on the way to Roosevelt Avenue, where you can change for the 7 train.  I should've gotten a picture of how packed the train was.  I don't think trains should be as crowded on Sunday at 4pm as they are on Monday mornings at 8am, but apparently I'm in the minority.  Then I had to wait forever for the 7 train to arrive.  That meant I was late meeting the guys at the restaurant.  I hate being late.

So we met at Fu Run restaurant, on Prince Street.  It's an easy walk from the Main Street stop on the 7 train, just about a block and a half.  I've eaten there before with Chris and Tony--I remember LOVING the house special Muslim lamb chops.  Oh crap.  I'm vaguely vegan now.  No lamb.  Crap.  But I did decide to have fish.

The owners know and love Chris and Tony, so we got to sit in a cute little private room for our party.  Sorry, there are no photos of food (bad lighting and too much wine too early), though I did get one food photo that will make you laugh later.  The restaurant gives you a little plate of roasted peanuts when you sit down--watching people eat the peanuts with chopsticks was pretty daunting.  I am doing better with the chopsticks, but peanuts are beyond me.  I always ask for a fork, just in case, but I can generally make do without it.

Chris and Tony have travelled extensively in China and they say this food is very authentic.  They like to order a lot of different plates, so, for a group of seven, we ordered another house special, mixed vegetables with green bean sheet jelly (clear chewy noodles); the Triple Delight (potato, eggplant and green pepper, served cold); Tiger Vegetables (a cold salad with cilantro, green peppers, dried shrimp and sesame oil); string beans with mushrooms; eggplant in garlic sauce; tofu in a brown sauce with red peppers; fried fish, crusted with cumin and pepper; and the lamb chops (which I did not eat--I just looked longingly at them).  yes, we ate every bite.  Truly yum yummy.  I will say, though, that the mixed vegetable dish was a little spicy for me, but otherwise, I didn't have any problems.  Chris and Tony enjoy a red wine, but since my doctor has suggested I stay away from red wine until after my next surgery, I brought along a bottle of my favorite falanghina, which was really delicious with the Chinese food.  Yay me.

As we're all sitting and chatting and finishing all that food, the chef and owner were planning a special surprise for Tony's birthday.  This is what they brought him, complete with lit candle and singing 'happy birthday':

Suffice it to say, we laughed our patooties off when it arrived.  And we ate every bite.  :)

After dinner, we went to a new grocery store and food court down the street.  It was ever so fun!  Chris said it reminded him a lot of Hong Kong.  I am definitely taking my mother there when she comes next month.  I'll try to get good pictures.  I've toyed with the idea of getting a new camera--we'll see how many more doctor bills come my way.  If I can make it fit into the budget...fingers crossed...