{"id":230271,"date":"2026-05-13T18:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/230271\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T18:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:46:10","slug":"queens-taste-welcomes-record-breaking-crowds-at-lics-sound-river-studios-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/230271\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens Taste welcomes record-breaking crowds at LIC\u2019s Sound River Studios \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

A record-breaking crowd turned out at Long Island City\u2019s<\/a> Sound River Studios Tuesday evening for the 22nd annual Queens Taste, which saw more than 50 vendors showcase their best dishes at the borough\u2019s signature culinary event.<\/p>\n

Roughly 580 guests packed the gallery-style venue at 4-40 44th Dr. for the annual event on May 12, enjoying delicious bites from across the borough and across the world.\n<\/p>\n

The event, organized by the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC), aims to spotlight some of the borough\u2019s best restaurants and bars in the hopes that guests will be inspired to travel to the brick-and-mortar location. It also strives to highlight Queens as a culinary destination.<\/p>\n

\"StaffStaff at Rego Park\u2019s London Lennie\u2019s prepare ceviche for Queens Taste. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

QEDC Deputy Executive Director Rob MacKay described the annual event as a \u201cbeautiful reflection of Queens,\u201d capturing the borough\u2019s diversity and thriving food scene.<\/p>\n

Guests at the event sampled flavors from all over the world, including authentic West African jollof rice from the Jollof Guys, ceviche from LIC Peruvian joint Jora and pupusas from Jamaica-based Salvadoran restaurant Rincon Salvadoreno.<\/p>\n

MacKay said the event aimed to showcase a diverse range of culinary options as well as a diverse range of Queens neighborhoods.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of the regional diversity we have,\u201d MacKay said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got guys from Laurelton near the Nassau County border, almost on Long Island, and we have a bunch of people from the other side from Long Island City and Astoria \u2013 and we have everyone in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OnlyOnly Rare NYC provided hand-rolled ice cream. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

MacKay added that the event is a celebration of the delicious bites that Queens has to offer, helping to put the borough on the map as a true culinary destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have ski slopes here in Queens, but what we do have is an incredibly diverse population, which means we have an incredibly diverse restaurant scene. You\u2019re not going to see non-Mexican people selling Mexican food. You\u2019re going to see someone who was born in Mexico cooking with his grandmother\u2019s recipe.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best things about Queens is the food and restaurant scene. It\u2019s all based on diversity and we\u2019re so much cheaper than Manhattan. Let\u2019s face facts. We\u2019ve got bigger portions too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"QEDCQEDC provided an ice sculpture for the occasion. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

Guests had no shortage of portions on Tuesday, enjoying everything from pork tacos to bao buns and from authentic Italian pastas to bite-sized burgers.<\/p>\n

There was also no shortage of sweet treats, with Tipsy Scoop providing liquor-infused ice cream and Heritage Bread Pudding providing variations of bread puddings. Laurelton\u2019s Only Rare NYC also provided hand-rolled ice cream for guests at the outdoor terrace of Sound River Studios, which provided panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline.<\/p>\n

A number of Queens bars, including Neir\u2019s Tavern and Sanger Hall, also provided alcoholic samples for the evening, with the Wine Room of Forest Hills providing a selection of wines.\n<\/p>\n

Ben Guttmann, executive director of QEDC, told QNS<\/a> prior to the event that Queens Taste provides Queens businesses with exposure to potential new customers, adding that QEDC goes to great lengths to ensure that participating restaurants at Queens Taste reflect the borough\u2019s diversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cQueens is the most delicious place on Earth and we are so proud to be able to feature the diverse and rich culinary scene here,\u201d Guttmann said.
\n\"PhotoPhoto by Shane O\u2019Brien\n<\/p>\n

He added that Sound River Studios is a \u201cone-of-a-kind space\u201d on the LIC waterfront, providing an outdoor patio space ideally suited for the May sunshine.<\/p>\n

MacKay, meanwhile, said QEDC would determine whether it would return to the space next year or bring Queens Taste somewhere else in the borough, with previous events taking place at the New York Hall of Science and Shea Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really all depends on parking. Like everything else in Queens, it all depends on parking,\u201d MacKay said.\n<\/p>\n

To see a full list of businesses who participated in the 2026 Queens Taste, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A record-breaking crowd turned out at Long Island City\u2019s Sound River Studios Tuesday evening for the 22nd annual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4895,9,24,63,4897,122,90410,124,123,78639,90411,78640],"class_list":["post-230271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-ben-guttmann","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-qedc","tag-queens","tag-queens-economic-development-corp","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-queens-taste","tag-rob-mackay","tag-sound-river-studios"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}