The Best Burger in Woodside

Hey guys! Things have been crazy, as usual. I've just adjusted to the workload of 5 classes rather than the 4 I had in the first semester. I'd like to tell you guys about a great experience I had in MHC 150, the Macaulay seminar for the Peopling of New York. Basically, this class studies immigration and how the demographics and culture of New York have changed over time. It's really interesting stuff. Our main project is a mini-documentary of a hyper-diverse neighborhood in New York, or one that has at least a 20% representation of 3 separate ethnicities in its demographic. My group chose Woodside, Queens as our neighborhood. We visited the area on Saturday. Getting there was a bit of a logistical nightmare because the 7 wasn't running from Grand Central, so we had to take the 6, to the N, to the 7. My group decided to start at Donovan's Pub in the Irish part of town, across from the Catholic church. This pub has been in Woodside for 47 years and was just recently sold from the original owners to a friend of the family. We went in there for lunch and got a tour, as well as some contact information for an interview for our documentary. The place is much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside (kind of like the TARDIS or that tent from Harry Potter). It has 3 fireplaces and a library. The staff is ridiculously friendly and authentically Irish, accents included. The inside is dark, but warm. We wanted to stay there for a long time because of the horrible rainy weather. This place has a reputation for the best burger in Woodside. They totally weren't kidding. I would marry this burger if I could. It was amazing, probably the best burger I've ever had! Even the fries were delicious: hand-cut and salted roasted potato fries. Even better, the owner paid for our entire meal! We made sure to tip very well.

After lunch ,we walked up and down Roosevelt Avenue, taking pictures of all the interesting signs. This neighborhood is pretty evenly divided between Filipinos, Latinos, and Irish. My friend had lived in Woodside for 10 years and knew where to take us. Most of her relatives even worked the stores in the Filipino part of town. As you walk down Roosevelt, you see the transition from one ethnic enclave to another. Within a couple of blocks, you'll see Donovan's Pub and Catholic church, then some Ecuadorian restaurants and Latino call centers, and finally purely Filipino markets with signs all in Tagalog. And all this within about 5 blocks! It was a fascinating look at how people come to live near each other and co-inhabit an area, as well as how different cultures can mix together. Even though it was a pretty rainy day, we made the best of it and saw some interesting stuff. I'm really glad that I'm taking this class because I'd never otherwise think of visiting Woodside on my own, and even if I did, I wouldn't look at it the same way. I'd recommend going to Donovan's if you're ever in Woodside, or if you just want a really great burger!

Erica