The Holiday Issue: Fall 2019
Sitting here putting the finishing touches on our Holiday issue, I feel the warm days of summer giving way to cooler nights, and sense the branches gripping tightly onto their leaves. A gentle fading of one season into the next. As the publisher of a printed quarterly publication, I know that the magazine needs to be completely finished long before it is distributed. Perhaps writing about my own holiday memories is expected, but it’s the future of Edible Queens that I find occupies a greater portion of my mind.
When I started this magazine more than three years ago, I was full of hope. Our small team was eager to give voice to the community with the most diverse food culture anywhere. Over the years, we have told the stories of inspired home cooks and chefs, explored where flight attendants nosh, checked out unique restaurants and bars, shadowed food delivery cyclists, improbable bakers, urban farmers, and the list goes on. Since our beginning, we have won awards for our editorial excellence and have even been noted in The New York Times “what we are reading” mentions. As readers, you have not been shy, letting us know how much you have enjoyed (or not!) our storytelling.
While the Edible Communities group may come across as a media giant, each and every one of the 80+ magazines you come across throughout the US and Canada is independently, locally owned. We all share the same mission, but I alone own Edible Queens.
Like other local media, we are facing economic challenges. Over the past three years, the expense to produce quality stories has exceeded the amount of revenue we generate from local businesses—by more than I care to admit. Despite numerous accolades for our food writing, financial support from businesses around the borough has not been enough to keep us afloat. Major tourism cities and towns across the nation tout their local Edible publication as an asset and partner to spread the best their communities have to offer. Why not Queens?
The objective approach to writing about the myriad of artisanal food producers across Queens is the hallmark of our publication and there’s a lot to celebrate in this Holiday issue. Visit with Vincent Marinelli of Crossbay Seashell Fish Market in Howard Beach, where he shares his freshest catch for your holiday feast. I’ll wait till you catch your breath after seeing Iri Greco’s photos. Learn to make tasty gujiyas, empanada-like pillows stuffed with dried fruits and nuts, from famed restaurateur Sonny Solomon, whose Kurry Qulture is a Queens must.
Tamales are a Latin American staple and a tamalada party to assemble them means serious business. Families gather around the kitchen table, each member playing a role. Contributor Julia Schwietert Collazo reveals how chef Omar Bravo learned to make tamales in his hometown of Oaxaca. Writer Eleanor Cummins invites us to see how “acclaimed pastry chef Michael Mignano puts the world in a dessert case” at Farine Baking Company. Yasmin’s Alishav’s cover photo says it all, but the ginger pecan cheesecake may be what I make for the Thanksgiving potluck—that is, after I whip up a batch of Dr. Jessica Harris’s herbed cornbread. And when time does not permit baking, editor Abby Carney shares a roundup of spots to pick up fritelle, buñuelos and those divine filhós from Portugal.
Please support these businesses that have helped Edible Queens cover this diverse, dynamic borough for three exciting years.
This holiday season, we hope you buy your books at Astoria Bookshop, shop and eat anywhere in Sunnyside–Sunnyside Shines, have a spectacular meal at East West restaurant/Sheraton in Flushing, taste some marvelous brews at Singlecut Brewery, host your holiday party at Vetro/Russo’s On the Bay and, above all, patronize the members of the QEDC, an organization that tirelessly seeks to support small businesses and revitalize neighborhoods throughout the borough.
Happy holidays and thank you all for reading us.
