PHILIPPINES 🇵ðŸ‡
When the ugly new building on the corner of Queens Blvd and Van Loon Street opened in late 2016 it took a while to fill up with commercial tenants. Queens Blvd from this point west was always pretty sparse with business as foot traffic is minimal after Broadway and cars are traveling so fast they never see anything interesting. Eventually as tenants took hold a florist moved into this spot and a pizza parlor tried to take the corner, but neither survived.
Now the building has taken somewhat of a Filipino flavor, with popular Lahi opening on the corner in spring of 2018 and a brand new Filipino bakery taking over here. Kape't Torta keeps it simple inside and out, their name translating to something like "coffee and cake."
For the first part of the name, it was exciting to see Filipino Kapeng Barako beans advertised and available freshly brewed everyday. This coffee comes from the more southerly and hilly parts of Luzon island, the Philippines' largest. It is highly regarded around the country, which is even hinted it by its name. Barako means "stud," and this is indeed strong coffee.
To finish an enjoyable sit down and follow through with everything in the name, a torta cebuana ($2, below) is recommended. This slightly sweet and very dense cake hails from the island province of Cebu and was the perfect counterpoint to the bitter coffee. The edges crumble off easily while the center is more strong, the whole thing hints of anise.
It is said that these tortas are better after waiting a day, and indeed this was confirmed after eating a cold one straight from the fridge for breakfast the next day. It may not be meant to be refrigerated, but the inner portions of dense cake were still moist and really lovely eaten cold.
Other cakes are made daily and some less Filipino-specific offerings are available, or you can try their halo halo ($6, below), advertised as "special" on the sandwich board outside. It is packed so full of shaved ice that mixing its content is impossible until you eat off quite a bit of it, but once the syrups and jellies from the bottom are mixed the whole concoction is quite enjoyable.
Ube and vanilla ice creams are joined on top with another kind of torta and some corn flakes, all of which make their way to the table or your lap at some point, as the cup is stacked over maximum capacity.
If you try some of their other sweets and find them noteworthy, please tell everyone about them in the comments below.
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Try the suman next time. It's the roll of bamboo leave wrapped sticky rice with coconut for $2.
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