Petey’s Burger/Astoria Park, Astoria, Queens, NY

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Continued from: Easter Egg Hunt, Central Park, NY

NYCity Mama and family made their way across the newly renamed Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, and over to Astoria, Queens (31st Street, which is the first exit).  They were hungry, and her boys were getting irritable due to feeling the same. Mama and her husband decided on burgers.  Mama loves burgers, but not just any burger.  Though there are some great burger joints in the city, they wanted to venture out for a bit to try other great places.  She refuses to pay a lot for a good burger (though she agrees that paying more than the cost of a McDonald’s burger is well worth the money) and hates it when the burger is turned into a fancy-shmancy inedible piece of meat.

This is never the case at Petey’s Burger, in Astoria, Queens. Burgers are, as burgers should be, inexpensive and quickly served, and out-of-this-world delicious!  They are located right off the train line (N, R), so an easy reach for anyone wanting to venture into Queens.

There are no high chairs, and the space is kinda small, but the staff is super nice, and the ambiance is really laid back.  Mama had the boys sit, while her husband placed their orders.  She was glad that the wait wasn’t long because things were looking a little serious!

Mama’s favorite is Petey’s Melt, where caramelized onions, secret sauce, and cheese, are perfection on a sourdough bun. The supplies of fries are endless, and though the milk shakes are extra, they are worth it.

The boys happily, and quietly ate their lunch, while the baseball game played on the flat screen T.V.  It was great to have them be still and not bothering each other cause it allowed for Mama to slowly savor every delicious bite of her meal.

When they  were done, Mama and Daddy decided to take the kids to the park to play around a bit and get a little tired. Right down the block on the corner of 30th St. is  the Athens Square Park, its name honoring and celebrating the Greek community which in large part makes up the area of Astoria, Queens.

They have some great sculptures of Greek philosophers as well.  This is something that Mama really appreciates about the NYC playgrounds.  Each playground has something that tries to educated and celebrate that of its surrounding community.  And it’s wonderful because when you travel to so many playgrounds, in all the different boroughs, as Mama tends to do, you also have the opportunity to point something different and new to your kids, something they can learn about and ways to embrace diversity and cultures.  It’s really a wonderful gift.

Unfortunately, the play area was being remodeled and was closed.  But now the boys were asking to play at the “wee“, so Mama thought of a great place to take them, a place that she herself spent many hours long before.  They made their way, a few blocks over, to Astoria Park.

The park, located alongside the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, is a beautiful place to spend sunny days and hot summer afternoons.  The pool, closed until late June, offers free swimming lessons like many of the public city pools do, and charges a small yearly membership fee, with children under 18 entering at no cost.  It has a wonderful picnic area, and so many other facilities, and is such a beautiful place to visit.

Adjacent to the pool is the Charybdis Playground (click on link for cool story about its name).  The boys ran to it, and despite the cloudy sky and extremely windy weather, they seemed to be completely content, and all three boys ran and tackled and played, while the adults tried to keep warm!

Eventually the temperature seemed to start dropping, and the wind got chillier and stronger.  Mama and Daddy each picked up a little boy on their shoulder and they made their way back to the car.  The boys thought Mama’s wind-disheveled hair was the funniest thing, and wouldn’t stop telling her so (boys!), but she posed for a few pictures despite it!

A long, fun-filled day.  Clouds, chill, wind, and all.

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