BLACK OWNED - Communitea

Communitea 

11-18 46th Rd, Long Island City, Queens NY 11101

Communitea is a spacious coffee & tea house located on 46th Road in Long Island City (Queens) New York. It’s black-owned, founded by Kafia Saxe and Lloyd Canning 15 years ago and is now my favorite tea spot in LIC. 

If you are outside of the Long Island City area (and driving is not an option) you can easily get here by taking the E, F, or 7 train (it’s closest to Court Square). If you are driving, parking is a little difficult on the block of Communitea but if you drive a block or so away you’ll find a spot.  

At the top of my review, I mentioned that this is a coffee and tea house but you can get so much more here. They serve Buddha bowls, grilled cheese sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, artisanal ice cream (tea flavored), freshly baked cookies/brownies/banana bread, beer, wine and even salads. 

When you walk in you are immediately greeted by a warm staff member and let me tell you the long list of teas on the board can be overwhelming but just ask a few questions and the staff will get you to where you need to be tea/coffee and even food wise. Communitea has lots of Vegan options and can substitute milk per your request. 

On my visit here, I ordered the following: 

• A soy cappuccino (because cappuccinos are my jam), 

• A Rooibos chai latte with soy milk (THIS WAS MY FAVORITE),  

• The BoB breakfast sandwich (pictured above) which was on a parker bun with bacon and cream cheese, 

• The croissant breakfast sandwich which is bacon egg and cheese on a croissant. 

The eggs on both sandwiches were so perfect and fluffy and the cheese was placed inside of the eggs so you got a good gush of cheese when you bite down. Honestly, I’m still thinking about these sandwiches days later. I have to return here to try the other sandwiches on the menu. 

Price-wise the lattes are about $5-$6 each and the breakfast sandwiches are around $9. 

Communitea also has a gift shop/section where you can buy loose teas, mugs, aprons and masks. 

Due to COVID-19, in-door dining is prohibited here but they have a nice sized out-door patio and are available for pick-up orders and delivery using Grubhub, Postmates, and DoorDash.

BLACK OWNED - Soup Junkies

Address: 87-17 Lefferts Blvd, South Ozone Park, NY 11420

Menu: Soup Junkies

Soup Junkies has been around for a few years servicing traditional Trinidian soups and cuisine in the Richmond Hills area of Queens. 

For those who are not familiar. Trinidad is a country in the Caribbean, it’s the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. 

Trinidad is highly known for their popular yearly carnival and for the food. Like lot’s of other islands in the Caribbean the food (to me) is so impressive the way it perfectly blends Indian and African culture. Trinidad is one of the most influential islands when it comes to Caribbean cuisine. 

Growing up I ate a lot of soups. My Caribbean grandmother Maureen would make the best hearty soups. Filled with beans, peas, dumplings and various meats (chicken, beef, goat). So one day while picking up pizza with bae I stopped by Soup Junkies and took a look at the menu and was pleasantly surprised by the variety of soups (oxtail soup, corn soup, dhal soup and even cow heel soup). All things I grew up eating though my grandma was not from Trinidad these soups were still popular amongst Caribbean people. 

So last year when I was feeling a bit homesick I decided to give Soup Junkies a try. I ordered the curry chicken and large corn soup. When I tell you I was hooked. I ordered food from here 2 more times that week. 

I’m within walking distance of this location however if you are traveling within Queens it’s totally accessible by driving, taking either the J, M, or Z train or the Q10 bus. 

Obviously from the name, this place is popular for it’s soups but if I were you I would get a soup (I LOVE the corn soup and the oxtail soup) and try a platter. The curry chicken (pictured) with cabbage and rice or the jerk chicken platter (also pictured). I have to warn some of you. Jerk chicken is spicy, it’s meant to be spicy and the jerk here at Soup Junkies will set your mouth on fire (in a good way). The curry chicken is seasoned very well. The jerk is very saucy (heads up) to those who like their jerk chicken dry.

Discuss general prices for soups range from $5-$10 (depending on veggie soup or soup with a protein) and the entrees range from $10-$14. 

If you visit Soup Junkies, the woman working the front is so friendly and willing to help with any questions you may have about the menu. 

The location is small, it’s a grab a quick bite for 2-3 people type of place (I believe there are only about 4 seats in the location), so this place gets a lot of foot traffic for customers picking up large orders to go. 

If you are in the neighborhood and looking for some good Caribbean food be sure to stop by Soup Junkies and tell him Tameeka Eats sent you.