{"id":197248,"date":"2026-04-14T19:51:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/197248\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T19:51:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:51:48","slug":"queens-night-market-teases-new-vendors-at-preview-event-ahead-of-its-opening-weekend-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/197248\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens Night Market teases new vendors at preview event ahead of its opening weekend \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t Search our comprehensive guide to things to do in Queens<\/a> for more local events \u2014 or submit your own<\/a>!<\/p>\n

The Queens Night Market<\/a> teased what\u2019s to come at this year\u2019s night market during a food preview event at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan last Thursday.<\/p>\n

The event showcased 11 new vendors added to this year\u2019s roundup, who presented samples of some of their dishes for guests to taste.\n<\/p>\n

Vendors represented cuisines from a variety of countries \u2014 a central pillar of the Queens Night Market\u2019s claim to fame since its inception in 2015.\n<\/p>\n

Cuisines featured at the preview event ranged from countries including Vietnam, India, the Dominican Republic, Panama and many more.\n<\/p>\n

Guests were served small, bite-sized dishes of foods including potato knishes with spicy mustard, sweet lokshen kugel, beshbarmak, bone marrow, b\u00e1nh kh\u1ecdt, quipes, orejitas fritas, aloo chaat, vada pav, chana jor garam, masala sticks and silog.<\/p>\n

Cocktails were also served during the event, bringing an extra flair to the event with drinks such as pisco punch, a coconut cooler and \u2014 for the more adventurous \u2014 a dirty pickle martini.<\/p>\n

\"\"A vendor serves cocktails including pisco punch, a coconut cooler and a dirty pickle martini. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

Ginela Smith-Carrera and Galo Carrera, a married couple who founded G&G Cuisine LLC<\/a>, attended the event and served Panamanian dishes including hojaldre con salchica, chicheme and a crowd favorite, carima\u00f1olas.<\/p>\n

Ginela said she loves cooking and originally intended for their food truck, Casa Carima\u00f1olas y M\u00e1s, to serve items like rice, beans and chicken.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the kitchen,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I actually had to go back to Panama and take classes because I saw the demand was for fried food.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

For example, carima\u00f1olas are made of fried dough of mashed cassava, also called yuca, that is stuffed with a savory filling.\n<\/p>\n

Galo, on the other hand, said he began learning to make carima\u00f1olas after visiting Panama in 2019. He recalled bringing back a suitcase full of the stuffed pastries that he bought at a supermarket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife finally realized I should learn how to make them,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s our best seller.\u201d
\n\"\"Carima\u00f1olas, which are made of fried dough of mashed cassava (yuca) and stuffed with a savory filling, were served by Ginela Smith-Carrera and Galo Carrera, a married couple who founded G&G Cuisine LLC. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo\n<\/p>\n

Gracia Clery-Leonce, founder of Bevo\u2019s Kitchen<\/a>, served Caribbean cuisine at the preview event, including bread pudding, rice, green banana salad and a traditional St. Lucian drink called lime squash, which is a refreshing, sweet-tart Caribbean beverage.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the kicker \u2014 all the foods the vendor serves are vegan.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in the science field, and I\u2019ve come to realize that a lot of the illnesses we suffer from are because of our lifestyle,\u201d Clery-Leonce said. \u201cSo, I started my own business trying to make foods that will help build the immune system instead of deteriorating it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clery-Leonce emphasized that despite the fact that it\u2019s vegan, it\u2019s all cooked in traditional Caribbean-style, and she encouraged people to give it a try because they may be surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you find the right vegan person who can really cook good vegan food, you wouldn\u2019t know you\u2019re not eating meat,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the spices, the vegetables and using healthy things as a substitute. No chemicals or preservatives \u2014 just all natural.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Cherry banana bread pudding served by Bevo\u2019s Kitchen, a Caribbean restaurant that features vegan dishes. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

Isaac and Samantha Onuorah, who are also married, co-founded Soronko Kitchen and Bakery<\/a>, blending Nigerian and Ghanaian cuisine. They served West African meat pies, moin-moin and beverages that included hibiscus tea and pineapple ginger juice at the preview event.<\/p>\n

Isaac grew up in Nigeria, and Samantha, who has a culinary background and works as a chef, grew up in Ghana.\n<\/p>\n

When the couple bought their home in Suffolk County in 2020, he said they noticed there was a lack of African-inspired restaurants, which is why they decided to bring their culinary expertise to a business of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily, we got a good response, and it\u2019s been off to the races since then,\u201d Isaac said. \u201cWord of mouth just spread like wildfire.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

He said the Queens Night Market team reached out to Isaac and Samantha because many of Soronko\u2019s customers are from Queens.\n<\/p>\n

The kitchen combines both Nigerian and Ghanaian influences, which Isaac said are largely the same in terms of cuisine.\n<\/p>\n

Well, almost. He pointed out that Jollof rice remains a point of contention in the two cultures and it is often debated whether it should be cooked with jasmine rice or long-grain rice.<\/p>\n

Isaac pleaded the fifth when asked which one he preferred, joking that he wanted to keep the peace in his marriage.
\n\"\"Soronko Kitchen and Bakery served meat pies with beef, chicken and vegetable fillings. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo\n<\/p>\n

The Queens Night Market was founded by John Wang in 2015 after he experienced a period of unemployment and began struggling to afford basic costs in New York City. As rising costs impacted communities across the city, Wang began thinking of ways to improve it.<\/p>\n

He realized that aside from Los Angeles, the United States didn\u2019t have a proper night market like many other countries across the world, including his home country of Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Wang decided to implement price caps on dishes, ensuring that attendees did not pay more than $5 for a dish from any vendor. Today, that price cap remains steady at $6 per dish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think every other headline I read in New York City is about affordability,\u201d Wang said. \u201cQueen Night Market was always built on the idea of what the community can afford. It\u2019s nice that we\u2019re more relevant than ever because of our price cap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past 11 years the night market has been hosted, it has welcomed vendors representing over 100 different countries\u2019 cuisines.\n<\/p>\n

Queens \u2014 often referred to as \u201cThe World\u2019s Borough\u201d \u2014 is the most diverse county in the world, which is something Wang said he made a deliberate effort to highlight at the night market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ideal scenario is that five or ten years down the road, we will have had a vendor from every country represented in New York City,\u201d Wang said. \u201cNew York City is so powerful, fun, exciting and enriching because of everyone\u2019s backgrounds here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"B\u00e1nh kh\u1ecdt. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Orejitas fritas. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Aloo chaat, vada pav and chana jor garam. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Potato knishes with spicy mustard. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Silog. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

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