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Columbia
Corner
138-58
Francis Lewis Boulevard
718- 528-8544
Cuisine:
Italian
Hours:
11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday and Friday; 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
other days
There’s
a restaurant in Rosedale that not only boasts “the best Italian food
in south Queens,” according to its menu, but has a nice environment
to enjoy it in, too.
Columbia
Corner is named after both the famed Italian explorer and its
geographical place in the world; not only is it in the extreme
southeast corner of the borough just feet from the Nassau county
border, but it’s on the corner of two major boulevards — Francis
Lewis and Brookville — as well.
The
spot makes for a great room to have a meal in; the one-story
restaurant — a pizzeria, really — is lined with windows on two of
its four sides and has two skylights in the roof.
Needless
to say, the dining room is bathed in sunlight and, with its two open
doors, brushed with a nice cool breeze.
Add
to that the assortment of plants placed all over the room, and the
effect you get is of being in a park with air-conditioning.
It’s like a greenhouse that happens to serve great pizza and
pasta.
Owned
by the original owners of Angelo’s, on Main Street in Flushing,
Columbia Corner serves pizza and calzones like any other pizzeria, but
also serves an impressive array of Italian entrees.
But
start with the basics: The restaurant’s most elemental item, the
$1.45 plain slice, is joined by more unique variations.
Those special slices — many with three different toppings —
look like pieces of art.
Especially impressive is the two-inch-high, $4 fresh
tomato-chicken-cheese slice; it’s as big as a roll and must not be
taken lightly.
Another
unique slice that looks so good you don’t want to eat it is the
common chicken and broccoli slice; Columbia likes to cut the chicken
into long strips that span the length of the square slice and, when
laid in alternating strips with similarly-cut pieces of broccoli, the
effect looks like some kind of national flag.
And
how does the pizza taste?
Definitely better than average; the tomato sauce—the best
part—is especially tart, tangy and fresh-tasting.
After
considering the pizza and other pizzeria-style staples like gyros and
calzones, look to the big hero menu.
There are about a dozen choices here, mostly based on chicken,
veal, meatballs or shrimp.
Plain
pastas area also available, for $7 or less per order.
But
it’s in its traditional Italian entrees that Columbia Corner really
shines.
Most
of the entrees are based on either veal or chicken and are around
$11.50. You
can have your meal prepared in the marsala, francese, parmesan,
scarpariello, cacciatore and other styles.
Seafood
entrees—only shrimp is available—are a little more expensive,
between $13 and $14.50.
You can get your shrimp prepared in the scampi, fried,
oreganata and parmesan styles.
Even
the appetizers are a step above what’s offered at typical pizzerias;
you can’t get garlic bread or zeppoles, but you can get baked clams,
stuffed mushrooms and sautéed calamari.
And
if being plain is your fancy, then some old pizzeria
standbys—chicken wings, burgers and garlic knots—are always
available.
Though
the prices at Columbia Corner are already low, a few specials during
the week also make the place more attractive.
Wednesday
is pasta night at the restaurant; you can get various pastas—from
baked ziti to stuffed shells to pasta with spinach and sausage—for
only $6.99 with salad and a piece of cheesecake.
On
Mondays, you can get a large pie, for pick-up only, for $5.99.
—
Shams
Tarek
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