Author: ruhlwrite

There has been much to celebrate in Elizabet Flores‘ life, but she has marked only four occasions with formal parties. The largest, an event for 300, was for her wedding a decade ago. La Bomboniera at its new location, 34-19 28th Ave. There were smaller affairs when her daughter, 8-year-old Marylu, and then her son, 6-year-old Richard, were christened. And the latest, a blow-out bash on the sidewalk with a mariachi band, bouquets of balloons and a tent, was held in November 2015 to mark the…

Continue Reading →

It’s too hard to sit still, and there’s no point to it. Life equals kinetic energy, which is why Verunka Vlkova-Fierro plugs in the 6-foot-long sign as soon as she makes her entrance into the living room. Dozens of dazzling light bulbs, Broadway brilliant, spell out LASSO THE MOON. Until recently, Verunka was an opera singer. Verunka, who is Betty Boop cute and as bright and bouncy as a beach ball, can’t stop herself. She jumps onto the sectional sofa and throws her arms triumphantly…

Continue Reading →

Forty-eight. That’s how many years the Victory Sweet Shop, Astoria’s oldest Greek bakery, has been serving its traditional desserts. Forty. That’s how long George and Antigoni Sakalis, the owners and bakers, have been married. Victory Sweet Shop & Victory Garden Cafe, 21-69 Steinway St. Fourteen. That’s how many days they knew each other before they became man and wife. They don’t think there’s anything unusual about their quick wedding or, for that matter,…

Continue Reading →

There’s one central aisle at Dave & Tony Salumeria. Narrow as a needle and straight as an arrow, it is packed with Italian pastas and cookies, bunches of herbs and cans of tomatoes and olive oil. Dave & Tony Salumeria on 30th Avenue at 36th Street. At the back, it cuts to the right, making a short square that bypasses the meat, cheese, sausage and sandwich counter before rejoining the main artery. Right now, it’s empty. Well, that’s not quite accurate. Albie’s walking…

Continue Reading →

The map on the wall is punctuated with round red pins that look like Rudolph’s reindeer nose. Each one of them, Ben Taylor explains, marks the spot where Beecher’s Fault, the band he leads with Ken Lamken, has played. The dots, nearly two dozen in number, travel up and down, round and round and sideways along the East Coast. Ken’s a native of New Jersey. Last night, the dot was Lancaster, Pennsylvania. By the time Ken and Ben and bandmates Max Maples (drums), Serge Ruccolo (bass)…

Continue Reading →