Friday

• "Elwood Bunn's Country Jubilee" - Country Music Barn Dance at Flushing Town Hall

• QMA's Passport Fridays - Morocco

• Fresh Air Flicks: Bee Movie at Queensbridge Park

• BR and Timebomb with Sound Frontier at Forest Park Bandshell

• Latino Cultural Festival at Queens Theatre in the Park

• 30th Annual Thunderbird American Indian Mid-Summer Pow Wow at Queens Farm Museum - July 25, 26, and 27 - Top Event

Saturday

• Third Annual Southern Queens Gospelfest at Baisley Pond Park - Top Event

• Warm Up at PS 1 - Saturdays through September 6

Read more...

From a new pet boutique to music and movie events, Astoria and LIC have it going on this weekend.

Check out Summer Restaurant Week in Queens at high-end Water's Edge Restaurant (4-01 44th Dr, LIC, 718-482-0033). They're fussy and you need to put your credit card down for a reservation but the place guarantees an evening to remember (or at least a view).

Kafene (23-08 Hoyt Ave South, Astoria, 718-274-6525) is also a fun spot on the weekends. They offer delicious appetizers and drinks for a fair price, and the ambiance is fabulous. If you go for brunch, you can walk over to Astoria Park after, just a few blocks away.

If you have a pet or want to meet one of the cutest bulldogs named Oscar, visit The Jumping Bulldog (28-10 23rd Ave, Astoria) pet boutique on 23rd Avenue. Tanja the owner is lovely and welcoming, offering a friendly atmosphere, useful pet products, and even some adorable outfits for your four-legged friends.

Come on by to Astoria Park's The Great Lawn (Ditmars and 19th St)for the first annual Astoria Music Now festival. The event is free and will feature various music acts such as Little Creatures, Bliminal, Pop Mafia, I Am Darien, and more. This is a full day event, so come prepared to party from noon to 9 p.m.

Every Tuesday until August 26, enjoy Queens' finest artists and performers at the Live at the Gantries event series at Gantry Plaza State Park (50-50 2nd St, LIC, 718-786-6385). Next week features a concert from a student jazz ensemble from York College.

And don't forget to check out the free screening of We Need Girlfriends at LIC Bar (45-58 Vernon Blvd, LIC. 718-786-5400). Watch some of the episodes and even mingle with the talent on-site. Thursday, July 24, from 8 p.m.

• Previously on Joey in Astoria
• Neighborhood Profile - Astoria, Queens

A Reader Writes

I've got a restaurant in Queens that I've become a fan of to recommend to you. It's a Bosnian restaurant on 30th Avenue near 42nd Street in Astoria, Ukus (42-08 30th Ave, Astoria, 718-267-8587). They describe themselves on their business cards as a Balkan Pie and Grill (Cebabdzinica-Buregdzinica), so primarily focused on grilled meats and bureks.

I found it from a Village Voice review by food critic Robert Sietsema: A Pair of Bosnian Cafés Compete on a Queens Corner.

I'm sure that these places are particularly appreciated by meat-eaters, so as a vegetarian, my five-plus experiences enjoying Ukus aren't completely representative. The three things I've loved there are the amazing unique bread they bake (comes with the meat dishes I think), the fantastic huge chopped salad (tomato, cucumber, feta, onion, and romaine I think – all amazingly fresh with a zesty delicious dressing), and especially the baked-to-order spinach and feta burek.

Ukus is also always fun to go to, comfortable and friendly, a small restaurant usually filled with Bosnian families and young people. There's a lady who is ALWAYS working in the kitchen in her hairnet who looks like she's direct from the recently war-torn old country. I hope her life is better here. She runs a great kitchen.

- Mark Misrok

• NY Mag's Eat Cheap 2008 is out and recommends a few in Queens

• Rising Thai
  Dee Thai Restaurant (46-17 Queens Blvd, Sunnyside, 718-786-3137), Pa'Oun (53-21 Roosevelt Ave, Woodside, 718-205-6063), and Poodam's (44-19 Broadway, Astoria, 718-278-3010) all receive laurels and get named the "new-Queens-Thai tour."

• Arepas and Empanadas
  Cilantro-garlic is the word and the sauce at Venezuelan Arepas Cafe (33-07 36th Ave, Astoria, 718-937-3835).

• Beggars Can Be Choosers
  The Xinjiang Lamb Skewer cart in Flushing Chinatown (41st Ave, east of Main St) is the "Critics' Pick" for best cheap meat on a stick in the city: "Meatier, smokier, and spicier, this skewer dominates."

• Word of Mouth: Best Indonesian in the city [Eating Translation]
  Upi Jaya (76-04 Woodside Ave, Elmhurst, 718-458-1807) was the crowd consensus, at last weekend's Indonesian food bazaar, for the best Indonesian food in Queens (or NYC, I'll add). If you've never been, it's a nice place, and accommodating to newcomers to the cuisine.

• More - Restaurants in Queens
• And - Previously on Queens Eats
• Got Tips? - Email recommendations, openings, and closings to queens.guide@about.com

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