Nancy Ruhling's Astoria Characters

Declaring that he likes to eat more than he likes to cook, David Manrique fires up the iron skillet. David is from Colombia. He drops dollops of butter into the pan and stirs in chopped onions, scallions and tomatoes. When everything is sauteed to his satisfaction, he cracks open the eggs, scrambling them. He’s already made the arepas – yes, you can buy them in the store, but they just aren’t as good. Cooking this dish, arepas y huevos pericos, makes David feel closer to home,…

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To say that this has been a time of great change for Alan Rand is a vast understatement. Alan, who is 70, lost his longtime job in commercial interior design and moved from Brooklyn Heights, where he had lived in a rent-stabilized apartment for 40 years, to Astoria a year and a half ago. Alan’s new to Astoria. It has been liberating. Even exciting. Because for the first time in his life, Alan, who has white hair and the enthusiasm of a teenager who has just been on his first…

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A couple, a pair of Shiba Inus in tow, orders iced coffees and muffins. After the women make their exit – the dogs don’t want to leave, even to go to the park — a guy comes in and asks for a coffee and a toasted bagel slathered with cream cheese. Maria’s the owner of the Sunshine Cafe. His friend arrives moments later and sits at an outdoor table with a black coffee plied with enough sugar to make it as sweet as one of the Danishes he didn’t order. The next customer…

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 Brittany Kwait knows that her longtime boyfriend, Clay Knobler, is going to propose. She picked out her engagement ring, an ample pear-shaped diamond, in April, and she’s pretty sure he’s going to pop the question before she starts her residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center Northwell Health in Manhasset, Long Island, on July 1. But she hasn’t figured out when or where Clay will do this. It should be noted that Clay’s not very good at surprising her – she found…

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It’s a really funny and inventive name: Tootles & French. As with most things in life, there’s a story behind it, one you’d never guess in a million years.When Chad Goldsmith was 3, he and his much more experienced and sophisticated older brother, who was 5, were ordering in a restaurant. French, aka Chad. Chad had chosen French fries, and his brother had selected noodles. Much to the horror of the boys and their fledgling taste buds, the waiter mixed up their orders, prompting…

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