The digital guide will take visitors to the best culinary and cultural attractions in downtown Flushing and encourage customers to support struggling businesses.
“Downtown Flushing is one of my favorite places to go with my family,” said Jonathan Forgash, executive director of Queens Together, “and Joe has handpicked what are truly the best of the best places.”
The guide also spotlights Flushing’s role as the birthplace of religious freedom and the spiritual heart of the Hindu community in Queens.
DiStefano, a writer and tour guide, is the author of “111 Places in Queens That You Must Not Miss.”
“These are some of my very favorite places,” he said, “from newer ones like Joe’s Steam Rice Roll and Maxi’s Noodle to storied establishments like Helen You’s Tianjin Dumpling House and the Old Quaker Meeting House.”
Flushing’s Finest will be available online for $20 starting on Friday, September 25, at 10 a.m., just in time for National Dumpling Day, which is on Saturday.
The proceeds will go toward Queens Together, a restaurant advocacy group that launched in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to support local establishments and combat food insecurity.
Accompanying the launch of the online guide is an Instagram food photo contest. The participant who has the most Instagram photos using the hashtag #PYMWYMIQ will win a two-night stay for two at the Hyatt Place Hotel in One Fulton Square.
The second place winner will receive a food tour of downtown Flushing for two people with DiStefano. The third place finisher will receive a signed copy of his best-selling guidebook. The contest ends on Friday, October 2 at 10 p.m.