NYC’s Hidden Gem- La Fusta

Anyone who knows me, or hangs out with me long enough will learn that I LOVE good food. For the last 7 or so years I’ve been fortunate enough to live everyday in the “Food Mecca” that is known as New York City. I’m telling you people, I’ve lived and visited other places, they’re nothing like New York when it comes to food. If you watch TV you tend to hear about the famous chef’s and their restaraunts. We all know Bobby Flay, Mario Bitali, or Top Chef’s Tom Collicchio all of whom have multiple restaurants here in the city that are guaranteed deliciousness. But my favorite thing to find are the hidden gems of the New York City food world. These are the restaraunts that aren’t written about in the New York Times, or visited by Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. This being said, I present Queens’ own: LaFusta

La Fusta, which in Spanish means “The Fusta” (sorry I couldn’t resist), is located at 80-32 Baster Ave. in Elmhurst, and is a wonderland of Argentinian meat. I was introduced to this place by a friend of mine who’s father is Argentinian, and while he bragged of the delciousness of their steaks, he challenged me to eat a whole one. He obviously didn’t know who he was dealing with. The truth is, the steaks are pretty large, but not “Man vs. Food” large. Just big enough to where if you’re a greedy bastard you’ll get your fill, and if you fill up on appetizers, you’ll leave hating yourself. Right up my alley! The two types of steak that they’re most known for are they “shell steak,” and the “skirt steak.” I prefer the skirt because its just a long slab of meat that often measures the length of my elbow to the tip of my fingers (and I’m about 6ft tall). It’s so long that they have to curl it under to fit on the plate.


But this place is no “1 trick pony,” oh no! Pretty much everything they make is beyond words. Their appetizers are to die for. They serve home made empenadas that will make you scoff at any empanada you’ve ever had. They serve a baked provalone plate, which is basically just provalone that is melted into a little puddle of Heaven that you cut with a steak knife, and serve in pieces. The bread is warmed up on the same grill as the steak, so you can imagine what that tastes like. The french fries would give McDonalds a run for it’s money. The broccoli is steamed in chicken broth. And I’m not even scratching the surface! What’s also amazing is their chimichurri sauce, which is a traditional sauce from Argentina, normally eaten with grilled meat. I’ve tasted it in other places, but here it’s just to die for.

The other thing that’s a must order here is their Sangria. Delicious and sweet, and filled with fruit, but doesn’t taste like fruit punch. It packs a nice punch and will get you drunk enough to eat your entire steak. Basically:

Leads to 2 of these:

Which leads to this:

(Notice the emptiness of the plates as well as the quality of the picture. Very adequate picture of what my vision was like at the time)

If you live in NYC, make sure you visit this beefy wonderland. If you visit New York, it’s worth a trip out to Queens. Make sure you ask for Javier. He’s the best waiter out there, and has been there for most of the restaraunts 30 or so years in existance. La Fusta, clogging our arteries with deliciousness, one gigantic steak at a time.