Elite Event: Return To Down Under at Thirsty Koala

AWESOME event in Astoria even though it was a rainy night. I need to venture out here more often.
Drinks were pouring non-​stop and the staff at Thirsty Koala were so warm and welcoming.
Never been to Australia, but I so glad their cusine is within walking distance from the train.
Bites on hand: Mozzarella, Meatballs, Octopus Tacos, Calamari, Caramel Bars were some of the tasty things I sampled.
Highlight of the night for me was the Calamari. So crispy and just the right texture when I have my drink in hand.
Will def. be returning after getting a 10% coupon on my next visit. The food is so good, I would came anyways even if they didn’t give the coupon out.
Thanks to Jando for a great event organized, and Ruggy for checking me in and the welcoming staff @ Thirsty Koala

I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m late to review yet another awesome YEE! But, like always, better late than never.
I love Queens events — they’re always fun and it’s nice to get out of Manhattan every once in a while — so, I was super excited when I heard about Return To Down Under at Thirsty Koala. I’m not going to lie, this was my last 2014 YEE, so my expectations were high — gotta go out with a bang, right? — and Thirsty Koala did not disappoint! In fact, they went above and beyond. I happily sipped the Koala cocktail (I cannot for the life of me remember what was in it, but de-​lish!) and snacked the night away with all my fellow Elites.
Dessert was easily my favorite course, though the calamari was good. I’m all about the chocolate balls and salted caramel bars. Salted caramel is probably one of my favorite things… like, ever, and those bars were Heaven. In all honesty, I devoured 3 – 4 — no worries, they said I could take seconds… and thirds.
The staff were wonderful. The servers just kept coming out with more and more food, and they did a great job circling the room so that everyone could try. And, the bartenders poured and mixed drinks like nobody’s business. As busy as it was, I never waited more than minute of two for a drink. The owner was also friendly and welcoming.
As for the vibe, it was definitely chill, and I appreciated the live music (always fun!)
Thank you Jando, Unilocal and Thirsty Koala for organizing such a great, end-​of-​year event!

Whoa. Before I say anything else, I’ve got to talk about those desserts — They. Were. AMAZING. Oh. My. God. I would live inside a house made of those cookie/​chocolate/​caramel goodness bars with that chocolate cookie ball as the roof.
For the sampling of the other food items that came out, I’d say the corn thing and the octopus tacos were the best. I didn’t particular find that skewer to be appealing, I ate it in one bite, but maybe you’re not supposed to? I don’t know that the texture and strong taste of feta work well with the octopus. The house drink was also delicious (as were the other svedka based drinks).
I had been hearing about Thirsty Koala a lot from friends and I’m so glad that there was this event to get me to finally check it out. It will definitely not be my last time going here.
I was amazed how relaxed and calm the entire event was. This was the first elite only event that I’ve ever been to and it leaves a great first impression. Everyone was so chill. And the owners and staff were all so kind.

I was mad as a meataxe over those koala chocolate balls! Dark chocolate, rich, melt in your mouth goodness. Wait, am I allowed to say that?
I’m definitely coming back no koalams about it! Especially when the restaurant is just a skip and «hop» away.
The staff was wonderful and made sure everyone was happy. There was so much scrumptious food going around that night, I’m glad I came prepared and wore stretchy pants. My favorite food from that night was you guessed it, the chocolate balls.
As far as appetizers, the gluten free calamari was the perfect texture, crispy (not chewy which is important) and seasoned well. I passed on a few other appetizers which had meat, but I could tell how good the food was from the other bright-​gleaming faces.
I was able to talk to the owner Christine and happy to report that they have vegan dishes and desserts!
The cocktails were delish. I particularly enjoyed «Gimme the Pash,» a delicious cocktail concoction, their take on a mojito, which was was deceitfully strong.
Thanks to Jando, The Koala Crew, and Svedka for the amazing holiday party. And last but never least, to fellow Unilocalers who made the night even better!
Happy Holidays y’all! Whoop whoop!

I’ve never written up a review for a Unilocal event before, but I thought this particular event warranted a review from me.
I was coerced into attending by my friend and roommate, Gloria H. I was hesitant about going because the weather was pretty crappy on this particular night, but I’m really glad I came out for this because it was honestly the best Unilocal event I’ve been to, Elite or not. The owner and chef had somehow found out I was a vegetarian, and they kept giving me specially made dishes (an awesome vegan lasagna and a vegan taco). I’ve never had that kind of attention paid towards me during a Unilocal event, so it was a very pleasant and welcome surprise. The staff were all super friendly and helpful, the food and drinks were good, and the crowd was quite nice.
Definitely coming back to the Thirsty Koala one day in the near future for brunch or dinner. I hope many good tidings will come towards this establishment in the near future.

My second Queens EE and I loved it!
I got there right around 9pm and there were still patrons at the restaurant. I felt bad for them since Unilocalers started mingling quickly and it got really loud inside the restaurant.
It was rainy and cold outside so it was nice to be able to grab a drink right away. And it was strong! At first, there was a waiter coming around taking everybody’s order. After awhile, they just asked us to order directly from the bar.
The food came out relatively fast and there was SO MUCH food. I couldn’t believe it. I really liked its meatballs. Before I knew it, the third-​round of meatballs was served right in front of me. I couldn’t say no. The staff did an excellent job of serving more than enough food to hungry Unilocalers and making sure we were enjoying ourselves. I think its staff Christine, in particular, was so kind to everyone (and me!) and she made sure we always had enough food with us.
I couldn’t stay until the end but I got to try a couple of rounds of apps and it definitely made my night! Thank you Jando and everybody else for putting together such an awesome event!

Environment: ⁵⁄₅
Employees: ⁵⁄₅
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Drinks: ³⁄₅
Cost: ⁵⁄₅
Accessibility: ⁵⁄₅
Total: ²⁷⁄₃₀
Synopsis: Joshua V. sent a group text to the 4-​gang and I was so excited! Thirsty Koala! YES! Count me in! The best part of all of this is that the Thirst Koala was the first place I experienced my NYC Unilocal Elite!!! So it was definitely meant to be. Furthermore, I was celebrating quitting Crunch and the beginning of my dream job, working from home! So everything is going MY WAY! Plan Awesome! The live music was amazing, the Koala drink was the only thing that should be in your hand, and my favorite finger food was the meatballs with the chocolate ball as a dessert!
Environment: It is almost a hole in the wall, with a rectangular space. When you first walk in, there are all tables and towards the back there is a bar with a draft beer stands. Everything is made with a beautiful wood finish, but the new smell wasn’t there anymore. Regardless, the restaurant gives you a classy romantic feel due to the dimmed lights and wooden structure. What is also awesome are the artifacts that are there and the paintings!
Employees: This is my favorite part. Everyone is super nice! And the woman who worked the first event, with the winged earrings, was serving drinks again. I forgot her name, but she was very attentive, always with a smile, and served those drinks like it was going out of style. ;). The chef and owner gave a warm welcome to our presence and feedback.
Food: Mozzarella — This is a nice appetizer. Very light and surrounded by interesting, but integrative flavors. ⁵⁄₅
Meatballs — This was by far my favorite. I do not recall what was in there, but the consistency was dead-​on. Add the sauce on the side and it made it that much better. ⁵⁄₅
Octopus Tacos — Cooking octopus is very difficult to accomplish because you can either overcook it to make it tough or make it into mush. Yikes! Neither makes it even worth consuming. But these little guys were so great. Yummy!!! ⁵⁄₅
Calamari — This wasn’t my favorite of the dishes. For some reason the calamari was missing flavors. More pepper? Salt? I am not sure what it is, but definitely had better elsewhere. ²⁄₅
Skewers — For some reason the octopus on these guys were not cooked as well as the others. To further complicate things, the flavor was little off. Or maybe I just got a bad piece. But I remember within my haze from all the alcohol I made a: O face! ¹⁄₅
Sausage with ketchup — Not note worthy. I felt the sausage component was also missing some flavors, but cannot point to what is. A little spice. I know, I said that about a lot of things, but seriously… ³⁄₅
Chocolate balls — One will knock you the f out! It is this good! Yum! Definitely can only eat one at a time, but I self-​induced hyperglycemia by eating two. Definitely not for those who cannot handle a lot of sugar with one lick. ⁵⁄₅
Salted Caramel Bars — This was a good compliment to the sugar balls. Not as over-​powering, but should have came out first. My pallet was overwhelmed already, but these little guys are awesome! Who makes a terrible salted caramel bar? ⁵⁄₅
Drinks
Koala Signature Gimme a Pash — Okay this… this was the fountain of youth during the evening. It tasted like water, seemless and it didn’t make your eye twitch with disgust. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… yea…it was that kind of night. ⁵⁄₅
Svedka Colada Vodka: Okay… no…absolutely not. I did it with Gingerale, and that probably wasn’t smart at all. :X ⁰⁄₅
Svedka Orange Cream Pop: I drank this with Sprite. yikes…better than the latter, but still um. Run for the hills. ¹⁄₅
Cayrum Rum: I did this bad boy straight up. If you didn’t know, I like my drinks like I like my men, straight up. Trust me, it brought me to a new level of fabulousness!!! ⁵⁄₅
Cost: For tip $ 5. Cheapo! Awesome
Accessibility: It isn’t even far from the N/​Q stop at Ditmars. Perfectly easy to get to.

Brighter, more spacious and even more full of life, Unilocal’s Return To Down Under at Thirsty Koala had the potential to ensure that the Koala was the only one who would be thirsty that night. Svedka Orange Creamsicle really tastes like Orange Creamsicle. I didn’t know what to do with that. So I sipped it and tried the other drinks, which were exactly as they were billed.
With drinks from amazing sponsors, whether one needed liquid courage or came prepared with courage of his or her own, there was no need to follow Dorothy up a yellow brick road in order to have the will to engage the new menu items. Some Aussie slayed an Octopus in order to provide Octopus tacos that let you know you were no longer in Kansas anymore. Screams of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie filled the room as guests snacked on fried calamari that was perfect. While the sliders never made an appearance this visit, the messy cheese with strawberries that you had to just eat without worrying about social conventions was a great substitute. That Burraa was pretty tasty. Ricotta and mozzarella make amazing lovers. Corn fritters had a kick you in your thirsty koala action to them. The Aussie sausage roll was substantial. Ginger ale held me down as I cleared my palate for an amazing caramel bar. They were the star of the night and worth the trip. My only regret was engaging in the social niceties that required me to refrain from filling my pockets and running out of the restaurant. Being African American, it seems self serving to recommend the chocolate balls, as it sounds like a sophomoric joke. That being said, you need some of these chocolate balls in your life.
Aussie. Aussie. Aussie. Not in that order.

My very first event! I felt like one of the cool kids lol.
Shoutout to everyone I met. I promise, I’m not anti-​social, just shy!
I’ve actually been eyeing this place for a little while because I’ve been craving kangaroo. Not really, but I’ve been wanting to try it for a while.
This night in particular was just a sampling of the new menu items, so no ‘roo. But I will be definitely be back to use that 10% off.
The staff was excellent! Loved hearing the owner’s authentic Aussie accent.
The items I tried were pretty good.
The bruschetta type dish was pretty good. Wouldn’t have though the cheese and strawberry would pair well, but it did.
That meatball with the yogurt sauce was amazing! The flavor was excellent and well seasoned even without the sauce.
The corn fritters were delicious. The calamari was great, the batter was good and it was not rubbery or chewy like some others that I’ve tried.
I wasn’t crazy about the octopus taco. It was a little too dry for me and lacked flavor. The skewer was decent but it wasn’t a favorite. The sausage roll was pretty tasty. Juicy and seasoned well like the meatball.
The highlight of my night were the Chocolate Koala Balls. I downed a few of those bad boys without shame in seconds! They were perfect! The other dessert option was good too. I enjoyed the bars a lot… but those were some decadent balls!
Definitely would make a trip back here and hopefully will be at the next Elite event!
Thanks Jando!

We had a Good Ol’ Time at the Thirsty Koala!
It was great to see such a fun group of QYE back in my hood. And it was my first trip to the Thirsty Koala which was mighty impressive!
All of the food was amazing! From the beef patties to the Octopus to the Chocolate Balls of Chocolate, everything was fantastic. And the owner was out serving us. I LOVE that! It’s amazing when the owners/​managers come out to connect with us.
The drinks were just right too! Everyone had a good time it seemed.
I will definitely be back to try dinner service here. I can’t believe I haven’t made it here before!
Thanks to the Unilocal Team, Jando and our visitors from the other boroughs. Queens is always bringing it! Cheers!

I wasn’t sure what to expect heading in, since I’ve never been to The Thirsty Koala before. I’d seen them many times before but never just went and tried a new cuisine. I’m so glad this event happened because now I can’t wait to go back.
The weather was not the best but the turnout was still pretty good. I arrived early to find the restaurant packed on a Tuesday night. They are clearly very popular.
As the few early birds stood in a corner, a very nice lady came up to us to explain that they would transition into the Unilocal event. She also offered us chairs and had a waitress come take our drink orders. I found out later on that this was the lovely owner, Christine.
The Koala signature cocktail is their loose interpretation on a mojito. It was the perfect compliment to the food and not overpowering. I tried to be adventurous and try another drink (but looking back, I should have just kept drinking the pash)
The staff was extremely friendly and more attentive than I expected. The waitress somehow noticed someone in my group was vegetarian, and offered her salad on the side. They also brought out special dishes just for her, a lasagna and a taco, both very delicious and not at all lacking flavor. The lasagna definitely didn’t taste vegetarian — I enjoy vegan food and usually I can taste when something is a substitution but this didn’t taste like tofu trying to be lasagna– it was just a vegetarian lasagna. (I kept debating if I should claim to be vegetarian to get special treatment too!)
There was plenty of food to go around, in fact there might have been too much. The highlights for me were the spicy corn fritters and the koala chocolate balls– I’m dying to bring the BF back to try these.
The Aussie sausage roll was pretty good as well, not too greasy. The meatballs were much more greasy, but definitely tasted like much more than just boring beef (in a good way). I was surprised when the waitress said it was beef.
The octopus tacos were an interesting choice, and I really liked the mini tortilla. The octopus on a skewer was probably my least favorite item of the night– it was much too salty for me.
The desserts were a lovely touch. I fell in love with the koala chocolate balls, even though I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate. It looks a lot heavier/​sweeter than it actually tastes, which made it one of my favorite things of the night. The caramel slices were a nice mixture of sweet and salty, but it was still a little too sweet (and salty) for me.
I was incredibly impressed with the quality of service and food here– it felt like everyone actually cared about the diners. That makes this place a hit in my book, and I can’t wait to come back to try their full menu.
Thanks to Jando and the Unilocal team again for another huge success. The turnout was great, and I ended up meeting a few new awesome Unilocalers.
What an great way to round out the year!

A hop, skip and a hangover later.
It was a dark and stormy Tuesday night
Walked in the Thirsty Koala.
Wet my lips with a gimme a pash or two or three or four?
Enjoyed the refreshing slice of strawberry atop the first fresh mozz bite.
The beefy meatballs were juicy and oniony.
The crispy cheesy jalapeño corn fritters were pleasing.
Appreciated the corniness of the tortilla on the octo-​tacos.
The affable owner and humble chef were much appreciated.
No Unilocaler was left hungry with the continuous flow of hot food
coming out the kitchen.
First nightcap with a taste of divinely decadent chocolate
balls in my mouth and…
another blurry memorable night with my Unilocal-​fam.
Cheers mates.
See you in 2015.

Last second decision after going to the gym. Do I want to sit on the train for a ridiculous amount of time for a spontaneous Unilocal Event in the far ends of the Earth Astoria with some bound to be delicious Aussie food? Uh, duh, hell yes. I had wanted to check this place out for a long time anyway and I was pretty impressed. Even though patrons were still dining in the restaurant when we first arrived, it really didn’t have any kind of effect. There was live music! I love basses. I only sampled two of the variety of cocktails: The orange creamsicle made with Svedka vodka, actually one of my favorite brands of vodka. It was alright.. .. maybe a little bit on the sweet side. Second drink was whatever their signature Koala cocktail was (Gimme a Pash): Rum, coconut juice, cucumber syrup, lime wedges and mint leaves and it packed a punch. Serious punch with a lemongrass hint of an aftertaste or maybe that was mint and I’m just crazy. Kind of really enjoyed it.
Food kept churning out to the points where I had to say ‘no, really, I’m starting to get so full, this is my sixth meatball’. Foods that I sampled before I had to jet back to my borough of Brooklyn: Thea’s Meatballs — Beef meatballs that tasted deep-​fried and soaked with amazing spices and served with a ranch yogurt thai basil sauce. SO GOOD. Dripping with juices and cooked perfectly so that it was moist for days. My favorite all night.
Fresh Burrata — Another one of my favorites of the night (so hard to pick) Surprisingly this cheesy mess went amazing with the fresh strawberry, melon, and pesto dappled on top of little mounds of ricotta and slabs of mozzarella. Cheese heaven.
The fried calamari — Was gluten free deep fried! Hey, we’re eating healthy. Cough. Really good and not chewy at all. Also came with the same white sauce that will make people take their clothes off over.
Corn and jalapeño fritters — An interesting appetizer that I thought I would hate but turned out loving. Little known fact — I am terrified of corn. But this was incorporated so well into the fritter that it almost tasted roasted and then you get to the cheese oozing out of it and a very tiny spice kick and then you taste more white sauce. Deep breathe.
Octopus boomerang taco was probably my least favorite dish of the night only because I’m not the biggest fan of octopus on its own. It was light and refreshing though and dressed with pico, cabbage, peppers, cilantro, and lemon vinaigrette. I missed the sausage rolls and desert as I had to run home. But I’m sure they were tasty as could be and I’m banking on probably being back to have my friends try the place. Also, I still haven’t ever had kangaroo meat and that is on my list of things to do!
I wanted to also thank how amazing the staff and the chef were at the event. The cook actually came out to ask how we liked the food and if they could have anything differently done. Such dedication to their food! They also accommodated vegetarians with making them personal vegetarian lasagnas. Thanks Jando for throwing together and popping out a last Queens event!

Return To Down Under at Thirsty Koala was my first Queens Elite event and it didn’t disappoint!
Pros:
* You can already tell how popular Thirsty Koala is because when I arrived at 9PM, there were still a lot of customers enjoying their meal
* Excellent service from the staff (Dana and others) who tirelessly fed us hungry and thirsty Unilocalers, Cathy the humble and down-​to-​earth head chef who came out and talked to us about her seasonal menu and welcomes all honest opinions, and Christine who made sure everyone was having a good time.
* The new dishes were absolutely delectable! The Corn and Jalapeño Fritters, gluten-​free Calamari, Meatballs, Sausage Rolls, Bruschetta with burrata, strawberry, melon, and pesto, ricotta and mozzarella) were super fresh and rich in flavors. Bruschetta and Sausage Rolls were my winners for savory dishes.
* Thirsty Koala’s signature cocktail Gimme a Pash (their take on the mojito with coconut juice, cucumber syrup, lime wedges and mint leaves) was refreshing and strong!
* The winning dessert was the Chocolate Balls — probably the BEST I’ve ever had in my life. The chocolate exterior was thick and bold, complimented by the smooth creamy filling!
Cons:
* Because the Bruschetta was served with topping and toast separately, I found it confusing and messy to eat– maybe it better to serve together?
* Found the Octopus Tacos a bit on the fishy side, and the taco itself was too thick and took away from the taste of the octopus.
* Meatball was full of flavor, but underdone.
Shout out to new Unilocal buddy Shannon, had so much fun with you! Thanks Jando and the lovely Thirsty Koala team for making my first Queens event an awesome one! Looking forward to checking out more Astoria establishments!

Ah, I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while. I had felt like all my friends had dined here already except for me!
And must I say, it was fantastic! The drinks and food were so good; I loved the cream soda cocktail, Coopers (an Aussie beer), calamari, the meatballs and the sausage rolls. The restaurant was so welcoming too, from the white Christmas tree to the band to the super down-​to-​earth owner and chef. Ugh, and mingling amongst some awesome elites (newly met and old ones)? Perfection.
It was a great event to end the year. To many more next year! :)

The Spot is the Sh***t no other way to put it. This is one of my Favs on Ditmars Blvd. Elite Event at the Thirsty Koala count me in!
Hot picks of the evening, the Spicy Corn Fritters (Perfect Amount Of Heat), Calamari, Burger Bites (Cooked & Seasoned Perfectly) & Koala Chocolate Balls were da highlight, of my taste buds of the night…
The Octopus Taco & Skewer, I personally didn’t like at all. It just didn’t work for me … What a bummer, a couple of Rum & Cokes made up 4 that…
From da décor to the ambience being at the Koala, makes me feel at home. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Christine Cool & Friendly who worked hard all night, to make sure we had a great night!
Say what Chef Cathy in da house, girl got skills in da kitchen! & she was rocking clogs, a plus in my book.
* 2 very Cool Ladiez *
It’s never just the food, it’s the people from the servers to the cooks to everyone else in-​between, that truly makes a restaurant successful… Thirsty Koala definitely has that down to a science! A BIG Thank You to the entire Thirsty Koala Family …
Special Shout Out to my man Jando always doing it BIG! & da Unilocal Squad 4 showing this Queenz Cat LuV … Good Food Great Company & Cold Drinks = A PERFECT KOALA NIGHT

We tend to rate all elite events 5 stars. I don’t know about you free but alcohol and free food plus an opportunity to interact with people I have so much in common with ( Unilocal-​a-​holics) is a 5 star experience to me. But Yesterdays Elite event at Thirsty Kola truly stood out as the single best Elite event I have attended thus far.
They started the night right buy immediately passing the booze around. At 9pm sharp trays of vodka and rum concoctions were floating around the restaurant. I had the «gimmie a pash» cocktail. It was so good I stuck with it all night. I couldn’t tell you one ingredient in that drink, they were handing them out and I was drinking them. All I know is that they were very tasty and surprisingly strong.
Apparently the purpose of this event was for the Thirsty Koala to try out a few new menu items on the Elite squad. I had no issue being a guinea pig last night. All of the food was severed appetizer style and passed around by the staff. The spread —
Mini burger patties — WOW. I don’t know what they did with these but the had great flavor. They were seasoned perfectly and more tasty than I expected a plain ground beef patty to be.
Octopus tacos. These were just alright. Not particularly flavorful. Not bad but not great.
Calamari– This was the main event. The calamari was excellent. Very fresh, not even slightly chewy (I despise chewy calamari) nothing complicated here, just fresh calamari done right. My favorite food item of the night.
Chocolate ball? — Wow again, this was decadent. Extremely rich and extremely chocolaty. This thing was a chocolate lovers dream. This is gormet chocolatier material here.
Salted chocolate and toffee? I don’t think it was toffee, I was 4 drinks in at this point but this desert was really good. The contrast between the sweet and salty flavors was really nice. This is another extremely rich item.
I think there were a couple items that I neglected to list, it was kind of hard to keep up, new dishes were coming out every 10 – 15 mins and they didn’t have labels on them so I’m going off memory and the pics I took. What I do know is I left this place full and satisfied. All in all, nothing was bad and most items were excellent. Compared to Elite events in recent memory this event offered the Best food and the Best drinks. Thirsty Koala Hit a home run.
More important to me than the food was the interaction with fellow elites. I really got an opportunity to meet a few Unilocalers I know from the site. It was probably a combination of the holiday spirit and free alcohol that had everyone in a great mood. Everyone was mingling, smiling drinking and being merry. I feel like this event was the a perfect close to 2015. Shout out the Unilocal officials that planned this and to the staff and ownership of Thirsty Koala for putting on a memorable event.

Rain, cold, wind, traffic, or last minute RSVP — nothing, absolutely nothing would keep our cheerful Elites from Queens events.
You know why???
Because you get bear hug from Jando, obviously!
…ok, that not the only reason…
Besides that, it is because if he say it will be a party, there will be a party!
Shiny decorated Christmas tree, live music, and mouth-​watering food — it was on!
I have not been to Thirsty Koala first time around, but I had it on my bookmark list for a while now. I loved the space, and hospitality of the owners and the chef, who came around and talked to all of us.
New seasonal menu is delish! My favorites were Burrata — even it was quite messy to eat, but you do know messy foods are the best, right?, and meatballs — which actually looked like little hamburgers minus bun. Those meatballs were amazeballz for real — out of this world — juicy, tasty, and sauce they were served with was perfect compliment.
Food did not stop coming all evening — calamari, mini tacos, little squid kebabs, sausage rolls, and more, and more, and more.
Drinks were good — their Signature take on Mojito definitely made Svedka shine, and vice versa.
Tipping my hat to awesome musicians — they were incredible, I loved it.
Cheers to friends old and new,
to Thirsty Koalas and to Unilocal crew!
Happy Holidays, and thank you all for a wonderful evening!
PS. No matter what you say, Nelson, dead camera battery suck. I used my iPhone for pictures — gasp!

Thirsty Koala, how I love you. I never miss a Queens elite event, but I definitely don’t miss one if it’s hosted here.
Thirsty Koala is a restaurant of the people, most definitely. They serve food using local ingredients where possible, make their own goat cheese, and cater to vegetarian/​vegan people as much as non-​veg people. It’s obvious they care about what patrons think and how they experience their food because Cathy, the head chef, will come out of the kitchen when possible and ask for your honest opinion on what you had. Not a bullshit please-​tell-​me-​it-​was-​good opinion, but a real if-​it-​sucked-​I-​need-​to-​know opinion. Luckily (and hopefully) the latter doesn’t happen to often because all the flavors of what I had tonight were on point and tasty as heck. Homemade Australian meatballs? Uh, yes. I don’t care if there was dang baby koalas or kangaroos in them, they were incredible.
Octopus tacos went from a «special» to a regular menu item for a reason — they’re awesome. The fried calamari couldn’t have been done better, expertly fried, not remotely chewy. The freakin’ chocolate dipped chocolate balls of chocolatey chocolate-​ness were awesome, too. One was definitely enough as they were rich as heck, but I definitely ate that without regret because it was so satisfying to my demanding sweet tooth.
Given that the event was to promote TK’s new seasonal menu, I’m absolutely going to make a point to swing by for lunch or dinner and check it out. What I sampled tonight was so awesome, there’s no excuse not to come back for it.
PS. WHOEVER ABANDONED THEIR CARAMEL BARS ON THE TABLE: You disgust me. If there were fewer people watching, I would have picked them off the plate and eaten them myself, but –apparently– social norms do not make this acceptable without looking like a crazy person.
Edit: Shout out to Matt. You’re a regular Unilocaler now. Hah.

After what seemed an interminable hiatus from Queens Elite events, our beloved leader (with the help of a Thirsty Koala) struck back with a vengeance. The holidays hath been good! The lovely and hospitable leading lady of the whole damn joint, Christine, welcomed AND recognized me from the previous event at this particular locación. NOTE: I am quite unforgettable if you’re not a stuck up **** (they know who they be) and exchange a few words with the one and only… previous statement aside, it was an unparalleled treat to meet and re-​meet (???) new and old Unilocalers, and it was quite the turnout.
Dana, our beloved bartendress, kept plenty good care of us. The booze was flowing, due in no small part to the lovely Dana channelling her inner Michael Jordan (circa 89−95… in the context of bartendress-​ing). From previous experience, I knew that «gimme a pash» was the way to go… Some less level heads were all too eager (unfortunately) to be «open minded» and try the rest of the drink offerings. Admirable… but ultimately a foolish notion. Gimme a pash is all you need to get (unless you want an overly sweet boozy concoction of sorts… power to yo palate, tasteless philistines).
Minor drink selection hiccups aside, the food offerings were plentiful and tasty. The highlights (for yours truly) were the «gluten free» fried calamari, the octo tacos, and the Aussie sausage roll. Plenty of other good eats were available, but my personal pickiness does tend to eff things up on the reg (damn you cheeses!)!
It was great to see all you great Unilocalers of NYC, BK, and Queens… and prodigal son Matt came back! It was a jarring delight to see him back as a mere mortal. Tip of the hat to Jando, X-​tine (with love), and the rest of the Koala clan… an absolute bomb of an event (not that I expected any less). Way to close out the year by raising the stakes… Queens… you’ve really outdone yourself. Aishteru… totemo aishteru yo.