One of the city’s best sandwich slingers, Cemitas El Tigre, is closing this month in Queens. The Sunnyside lunch counter’s last day of service will be on Friday, October 24, at 45-14 48th Avenue, between 45th and 46th streets.
Lyu started Cemitas El Tigre as a Smorgasburg vendor in 2012, and opened the physical restaurant in November 2015. He’s keeping his other Mexican restaurant, the Bajan-styled burrito and taco spot Summer Salt, open in Manhattan. A new restaurant by a different team will be taking Cemitas’ place.
There’s a new Mexican restaurant named Whitexicans, which opened in Jackson Heights on Thursday, October 9 at 81-15 Northern Boulevard. between 81st and 82nd streets, per Gothamist. The website reports that co-owner Mateo Gomez Bermudez (who is from Colombia) is “aware” of the criticism over the name, which blends white and Mexican, and that it was “his idea and was a response to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.”
Something to add to your calendar
Manhattan sip-and-stroll event Taste of the Seaport is happening later this month, taking place at Piers 16 and 17 on Saturday, October 25 from noon to 4 p.m. The restaurant lineup includes steakhouse Delmonico’s, pizzeria Keste, a preview of the forthcoming restaurant and bar Willet’s, and others; there will also be Eataly’s pasta making classes, music, and kid-friendly activities. $70 taste card tickets come with six bites, then there are VIP options too. The food event’s a fundraiser for Lower Manhattan public schools Spruce Street PS 397 and Peck Slip School PS 343.