Queens' Little Guyana

    A relatively obscure country sandwiched between Brazil and Venezuela, Guyana gained Indians, Africans, Portuguese and Chinese through slavery and indentured labor during the 19th century.  The modern Guyanan is some combination of one of the above.  Fittingly, in the restaurants that dot Liberty Avenue, Roti curry sandwiches (typical of nearby Trinidad & Tobago) share the menu with Chinese BBQ and Bengali sweets.

    The chicken curry was spicy and savory and the bread sopped up the juices nicely but, similar to my experience with Trini cuisine, I can't figure out how to eat the stuff without making a huge mess.  This is no small problem considering the fountain of class that I am.  Ethiopian food is the same way.  By the end of the meal I feel like a fucking slob.

    Physically speaking, Richmond Hill is not a very intriguing neighborhood.  This appears to be the case with much of Queens.  The residential architecture is awkward and often bordering on suburban, but the wealth of ethnic enclaves is unmatched anywhere in the world.  Many districts share space with 2 or 3 seemingly incompatible ethnicities: Greeks/Brazilians/Egyptians in Astoria, Bengalis/Columbians/Filipinos in Jackson Heights, Chinese/Korean/Pakistanis in Flushing.  Similarly, Richmond Hill is the Guyanan quarter of greater Jamaica, Queens, which is also home to large Arab and Carribean  populations.  A staff writer for Not For Tourists recently wrote, "If Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, is Queens the new Brooklyn?"