The Strand
“We don't have too many booze barns in Astoria and I really enjoyed the communal style seating and the live band.”
“To highlight a couple of my favorite menu items:
The Pulled Pork Omelette is probably one of the best omelette's I've ever eaten.”
“I mean it really is hard not to be jealous in the sweltering heat of NYC when someone else is drinking that ice cold moonshine in mason jars.”
The Strand
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Seriously underwhelming.
My friends and I were looking for a lunch place that wouldn't have a ridiculous wait on a weekend, and one of them suggested the Strand. We showed up around 1:30 on a Saturday, and it was relatively empty (though they have a huge space so that explains part of it).
You order at the counter and then seat yourself at a table with your tray of food. We tried an array of meats and sides – brisket, pork shoulder (they were out of pulled pork – for shame!), bacon, and baby back ribs along with cornbread, slaw, and mac and cheese. Almost everything was cold (all of the food is pre-prepared and sitting on the counter…) and the only two meats I even somewhat enjoyed were the brisket and baby back ribs. The pork shoulder wasn't good at all and the bacon was mediocre. Sides weren't much better – mac and cheese wasn't cheesy at all (it tasted like they had slathered some oil or butter on the cooked noodles) and the cornbread, while okay in taste, had the texture of pound cake.
About the only thing they have going for them is that the space is pretty cool – really big, industrial, and airy, and I've heard they do live music and other events, which I could see being a fun experience.
The food, though, is glorified cafeteria fare. I won't be back.
So wonderfully country casual that I never want to leave. Beer variety is great, and if you're not sure, ask for a taste. The bartenders are more than happy to help. Come hungry and order some good BBQ, don't forget the cornbread. They will give you a piece the size of your head. The live music just adds to the appeal of this rustic, down home gem. It's just happiness.
Good food and great beer/location. The BBQ has been a little hit or miss for me, personally. Babyback ribs were fine but not as flavorful as I like. Very moist though! Spare ribs were the opposite – tons of delicious flavor but DRY. The brisket is definitely my favorite choice. Regular brisket is solid but their pulled brisket…holy crap was that good. I wasn't sold on their food before I got the pulled brisket but now I am.
The beer is very impressive! You don't always expect a BBQ place to worry about having good beer, but this place delivers. Great craft selection, and since you order the beer separately from the food, you don't have to worry about long lines! Weirdly they don't let you keep a tab open, which kind of threw me, but really, it's not that hard to hand over your card every time, plus then you have it on you to go get food later.
The interior is wonderful – very spacious, with long beer hall-style tables and a nice rustic vibe. We stopped by on a Sunday afternoon and it was surprisingly empty, which of course I'm perfectly fine with. I noticed a small stage which looks like it's used for live music, and for Tuesday trivia! The trivia itself was pretty good. They only have three rounds, plus a bonus question, which seems pretty short. But it runs pretty smoothly, and the first prize is a $50 gift card! The only downside of trivia is that the guy who runs it is apparently not too great at sticking to a schedule. He was 45 minutes late yesterday, and my buddy who's been to trivia before says it's a bit of a habit with him.
I've been here a few times now and I must say the first time I didn't like the food it was too dry but loved the atmosphere. I came here again yesterday with a part of about 10-15 for my bday and had a blast. As per other reviews, I requested a table somewhat away from the live band since people said it was really loud so we go a nice corner table which worked out well since we had kiddos in our party. The food was much better than last time although the potato wedges and Mac and cheese were subpar. Meats-chicken and short ribs were amazing, drinks are always great here and just an overall good time.
Generous selection of beer. Great place for large groups and live bands during the weekend. I didn't get to try their food, but will definitely adventure out here again to see what the fuss is all about on their BBQ.
Plus: Bartender is heavy handed on the liquor. Win-win for everybody.
Summary: Live Music, large space and easily comfortable for a group of friends, and generous portions of booze. A solid 3.5!
The meat looks much tastier and juicier behind the see through glass than on the plate. The pastrami was dry. My friends got other type of meats and said it was dry too. The chicken was the winner and tasted not bad and wasn't dry. The sides were good. The homemade pickles were yummy and so were the string beans.
Service was a bit slow hence long line. They had enough space to have 2-3 people cutting and weighing meat.
The space was definitely large enough for a group of 20 or more people. The decor was nice as well.
Great service but mediocre food.
BBQ ribs – a little bland, wouldn't go back for this.
Lamb ribs – very tasty.
Brisket – only meat I actually loved once I added bbq sauce and hot sauce.
Cornbread – goes good with the meat.
Pico de gallo – was delicious and tasted great with the cornbread.
Mac & cheese – awful. Not cheesy, needed salt, would never order again.
I wanted to love this place but it's really nothing special but a good place to hang with friends and listen to live music.
The meats are now more expensive than they were three years ago, and a few key things were lacking – the brisket and ribs were not seasoned very much or at all – it seems like they expect the patron to use as much or little sauce as they like when I would prefer a much more guided experience. Additionally, something as simple as cutting the brisket across the grain to make it less chewy was not done, and it was given to us as an unseemly chunk. Who wants to eat stringy, tough brisket that takes forever to chew?
Mighty Quinn's is infinitely superior.