718
WORDS BY CLAIRE L. .::. PIZZA PHOTOS BY DAN DICKINSON .::. Your Queens correspondent lived for a spell in Paris, and during her last two weeks there, she discovered an amazing restaurant chain called Flam's. Specializing in Flammenküche, a pizzalike Alsatian specialty, Flam's had a rather un-Parisian policy: It was all you-can-eat. Though other all-you-can-eat restaurants do exist in Paris, the only people I ever saw going into them were shady busloads of confused tourists, and they were darkly lit buffets, not unlike New York City's weird Midtown delis full of steamer tables.
The classic Flammenküche, also known as tarte flambée, has a thin crust topped with fromage blanc, lardons, and onions. Like any good chain, Flam's offers a bunch of salty and sweet variations as well. At Flam's you can order Flammenküche individually or you can pay a set price and have as many savory and sweet pies as you want. It was awesome.
Anyway. I was unable to remember the name of this amazing food after I ate it ("flukeykook" was as close as I came to recalling it) and sadly moped around New York upon my return, occasionally muttering about this amazing pizzalike food. After I posted about this mystery food on the Martha Stewart cooking bulletin boards, a representative from the French Culinary Institute kindly posted André Soltner's very own recipe with helpful hints for tarte flambée. (Click through the jump for recipes, including the Lutèce variation.) But still. I’m lazy, and though I was grateful for Mr. Soltner's recipe, I wanted a Flam's of my own in New York!
I never did find a Flam's (and sadly, Lutèce closed its doors before I had a chance to celebrate there à la Chloe Sevigny in The Last Days of Disco), but I did find 718.
Located in the awesome borough of Queens, 718 offers a number of different types of tartes flambée. [The one pictured above is a tuna tarte flambée. The photos I took of the classic tarte flambée were too dark, so I used Mr. Dickinson's photo. You get the general idea. Claire L. did not try this kind; she prefers the classic version. —Ed.] Though it does not have the all-you-can-eat menu of Flam's (boo), the classic tarte flambée is quite good. It's a tad heavy on the lardons for my taste, but overall, mighty delicious. Their tarte is pretty big, so you might want to consider sharing it as well as another appetizer. Unfortunately, they don’t offer any of the sweet variations that Flam’s does, but it’s still worth a visit. 718 is owned by a native Alsatian, Raphaël Sutter, so he would probably be horrified to hear his restaurant compared to Flam's. Like if we compared a real pizzeria to Domino's. But hey, what are you gonna do?
718 also has fancier aspirations than a lot of the neighborhood's surrounding restaurants, with mood lighting, nicely upholstered banquettes, and dramatically sculpted plates. That doesn’t mean the restaurant has not succumbed to a wacky Astorian tradition though—belly-dancing during dinner.
718
Location: 35-01 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria NY
Phone: 718-204-5553
Website: 718restaurant.com
