Friday, February 1, 2008

Queens plans Super Bowl fun

BY NICHOLAS HIRSHON
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Befitting its title as the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, Queens also will do the Super Bowl a little differently.

One Glendale mall is using a most unusual sales pitch: Come here to avoid watching the game. And an Astoria restaurant is putting an Old World twist on sports bar munchies.

While the pigskins fly in Glendale, Ariz., this Sunday, the Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale, Queens, will host a bizarre contest for ugliest bridesmaid dresses - offering women an escape while their husbands spend hours glued to the Giants-Patriots showdown on TV.

The 5 p.m. party at Stella Gialla fashion boutique includes champagne, a three-tiered wedding cake and a floral centerpiece for the third most visually painful outfit.

"Not everybody is into the Super Bowl," teased co-owner Vanessa Reyes, 29. "I don't even know how football is played, as unfortunate and un-American as that is."

The grand-prize winner will earns a makeover for their mirror-breaking garb.

"We make the dress into whatever the winner wants, whether it's pants or pillow covers," explained employee Flori Moreira, 23, who thought up the promotion.

But that's not the only place to pass over the pigskin in Queens.

The Grand Cafe on 30th Ave. in Astoria is offering Greek grub and music while the big game unfolds on TV. Management even devised a $12.50 special based on the betting spread, Patriots over Giants by 12-1/2 points.

For that price, diners can order a Greek salad, one of three appetizers, mousaka or a chicken kebob platter for dinner and, for dessert, baklava or sugar cookies.

"If the spread goes up, like if a Giants player gets injured, then our price is going up too," warned co-owner Johnny Solo, 32, who'll be rooting for Big Blue. "But we're hoping it goes lower for everyone."

And those looking for a nonsports drama around kickoff time can check the Cinemart Cinemas in Forest Hills, with 10 showings - including the Oscar-nominated "No Country for Old Men" and "Michael Clayton" - that run during the game.

"People should have an alternative, and we have a great lineup of movies," boasted owner Nicolas Nicolaou, 50. "We don't close early for football games."


Welcome to Queens, where reporters can't resist using the words "ethnically diverse" even when they don't have to.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Welcome to Queens, where reporters can't resist using the words "ethnically diverse" even when they don't have to."

Yes, indeed. It wouldn't surprise me if these newspapers (New York Times, Village Voice, Daily News,etc.) buy special keyboards with these cliche phrases already programmed on the function keys:

F1 = "ethnically diverse"
F2 = "vibrant diversity"
F3 = "multicultural"
F4 = "evil gentrification"
F5 = "saintly minorities"

As another example, here's some pabulum from the NY Times on their article on "Commuting":

"No. 7 Train

From Flushing, Queens, to Times Square

Stopping at a succession of ethnically diverse neighborhoods, the No. 7 lived up to its nickname as the International Express. Just glancing around the cars as we sped, elevated, over one of the most diverse counties in the country, the passengers represented a perfect cross section of New York City.

You could even see it in the foods people had for their breakfasts: a piece of tropical fruit, a Chinese bun, a bagel and coffee. ..."

Excuse me, stewardess, where's the barf bag?

Anonymous said...

Wow, even Goebbles would have blushed at that spin.

How many ways can you paint the picture, 'immigrant slum?'

Anonymous said...

One Glendale mall is using a most unusual sales pitch: Come here to avoid watching the game.

The folks at Atlas are odd and well a bit dim and now much dimmer. If the only 2 people I saw at this Mall a couple of Sunday evenings ago is any indication of shopping interest here is concerned, well the only folks there on Super bowl Sunday will be well, no one. Ugliest bridesmaid dresses the draw? Huh did I miss something here, did I hear right?

Glendale and Middle Village residents, relax the end is near for your sufferring through this Mall short life, it not even on life support at this time.

Anonymous said...

The bloggers on this website seem to think that everything should be ridiculed and bitched about.
I can see some fat guy with a comic book t-shirt, and a can of coke living in a dirty apartment somewhere in southern Middle Village trying to figure something to ridicule about each post (which they assume to be amazingly witty.)
Cant you see that this post by the Queenscrapper was not made for ridicule but actually an advertisement for his nearby community friends? (The Queenscrapper is from Maspeth)
Queenscrappper bloggers are truly the dumbest of the dumb.

Queens Crapper said...

And with that comment, you became a "Queenscrapper blogger" yourself. Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

"I can see some fat guy with a comic book t-shirt, and a can of coke living in a dirty apartment somewhere in southern Middle Village trying to figure something to ridicule about each post (which they assume to be amazingly witty.)"

Please don't talk about Dennis that way. Remember - he's innocent until proven guilty!

Anonymous said...

"I can see some fat guy with a comic book t-shirt, and a can of coke living in a dirty apartment somewhere in southern Middle Village trying to figure something to ridicule about each post (which they assume to be amazingly witty.)"

Speak for yourself tubby!

Anytime you want to race me in the half-marathon to marathon distance, let me know!

Anonymous said...

The bloggers on this website seem to think that everything should be ridiculed and bitched about.

Blogging is better than beating the daylights of the idiot down the block whom is ruining our quality of life by illegally stacking humans in his basement.

Blogging on this site give me a forum by like minded citizens whom have seen the great qualities of our neigborhoods in all of Queens go down the drain and wish to prevent ourselfs getting from getting sucked down that same drain. With exchanges of ideas and lot's of venting, perhaps it motivates us all to do positive things to individually make a difference to improve the quality of life in Queens. No one is untouchable, including you assh***.

Anonymous said...

John Prester is one of those running, bicycling, health food types - he must be a liberal.

Anonymous said...

"John Prester is one of those running, bicycling, health food types - he must be a liberal."

Yes, I must be a liberal! That's why if you scroll to the very top of this thread, you'll see my post making fun of the NY Times article on the "vibrant diversity" of the #7 line.

I don't think a true "liberal" would EVER publicly say anything negative about "diversity"! There's a reason why Vermont is such a "liberal" state, do a Google search on the demographics of the state, and you'll learn something.

And one more thing, I'm a registered Republican, and favor Ron Paul for president!

As for you, you're probably one of those wimpy white nerds who reads the NY Times daily, thinks Obama is brilliant, tell everyone how wonderful diversity is, yet live in an almost all white neighborhood, and probably have a fetish for Asian women.

Anonymous said...

And one more thing, I'm a registered Republican, and favor Ron Paul for president!

Did you say Ru Paul? If you did we would probably be better off than Ron Paul...

Anonymous said...

Ron Paul is not exactly a conservative, now is he? You ARE a liberal John.

Anonymous said...

Queens is already
a SUPER TOILET BOWL
right "Crappy" ?

It's being destroyed
by by our own politician/developer partners !

uhohgillyweed said...

Today is March 11, and I know this post is from so long ago that no one gives a crap, but I still feel the need to comment, even if no one will ever read it. This was actually an event to promote the movie 27 Dresses, where the main character has to wear 27 hideous bridesmaid dresses that every bride insists you can "just cut it, and wear it again"...it was done as a partnership with Regal Cinemas as a FILM PROMOTION, NOT AN ANTI SUPERBOWL EVENT...the media (in this case a moronic sub par writer from the Daily News)chooses to say and write what it wants without regard to the truth...just a small example of a much larger problem that distorts the reality of politics, government, economy, and freedom.