Photos: Queens Night Market Makes Triumphant Return To Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

Over its first five summers, starting in 2015, the Queens Night Market welcomed more than a million visitors to Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, there to sample an astonishing variety of food from all over the planet. Like just about everything else, the Market had to sit out last year's COVID-plagued season, but now with restrictions lifted and people eager to party, its first weekend back welcomed a big crowd. In fact, all advance, timed-entry tickets were sold out for the grand re-opening last Saturday, and thousands lined up to feast from the fires of more than 40 different vendors.

Right before the gates opened at 4 p.m., Queens Night Market founder John Wang could be seen running around the grounds trying to make sure everything was ready. "There are still a few kinks to work out," he took a second to tell Gothamist. "But we've been gone for 20 months and I think I forgot how to do everything. If you give me two or three hours to catch my breath I'll be weepy with happiness that we're back, but right now there's still things that need to be done, trash cans that need to be taken out, that kind of stuff, so..." And off he went.

Read More: Building An Experience Into NYC: John Wang On The Future Of Queens Night Market

Wang needn't have worried. Saturday's reopening was a huge success, with long lines at nearly every booth, people drinking and dancing and picnicking on the lawns, a palpable, and increasingly familiar, sense of excitement and relief in the air. Politicians showed up in election-year numbers, including Council Members Brad Lander and Jimmy Van Bramer, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. Nearly twenty art vendors offered some variety to the scene, music was in the air, and movies filled the big outdoor screen after dark.

Most important, the food was as varied and delicious as always, a long list of choices that included Korean Jajangmyeon, Ecuadorian Quimbolitos, Sudanese Kofta, Portuguese Pastéis de Nata, Indian Tandoori BBQ; Oaxacan Chivo and Lengua Tacos; Romanian-Hungarian Kürtőskalács, Belizean Conch Fritters; Senegalese Grilled Suya and Jollof Rice, Jamaican jerk chicken, Antiguan Black Pudding, Tibetan Tsel Bhakleb and Tsmathuk, and Japanese Dango.

I loved the Indonesian Ote Ote I got from the Warung Jancook booth, a trio of crisp-fried vegetable fritters covered in mayo, sambal sauce, dried shrimp, and, if you want (and you should want), some no-joke hot sauce. An outfit called Sea Monster was hawking some good Maysian Skate Wings and some good-looking skewers of Large Shrimp. There was a long line at the Chick'n Rotunda booth, where five bucks got you two Filipino-style sliders, like my pairing of the Pork Belly Liempo and the Spicy Lechon Manok.

At the brand-new Taste of Palestine booth, owner Tala Mansi gave me a boat of Makloubeh which, she explained, is "Palestine's national dish, and literally means 'upside down,' with layers of rice and eggplant and potatoes and chicken and cauliflower. It's pure comfort food." Mansi only got into the food game during the pandemic, she said. "I just started a business called Baba's Olives, and it's really a homage to Palestinian cuisine and culture. Olives deeply represent our identity, our rootedness to the land, and represent peace, so I want to bring this to the market to introduce people to Palestinian identity and culture and history."

Over at the always-excellent Afghan spot Nansense, the vegan Shor Nakhod, or Hot n' Sour Chickpeas, was as rich and lively as I remember. But the best thing I ate all night had to be Mo Rahmati's new, and quite extraordinary, Nansense Burger, a chapli kabab-style smash burger with melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and green chutney aioli. Rahmati told me his goal was to make nothing short of "the best burger in the city," and, really, he's pretty close to doing just that.

Nigel Sielegar's inimitable dessert shop Moon Man was in its usual spot by the entrance, serving excellent Indonesian Coconut Pancakes, Pandan Steamed Cakes, and Baked Cassava Cakes. "It's very exciting to be back," said Sielegar, "and nerve-wracking at the same time because we haven't done this in over a year." And Janie Deegan brought a full lineup of her amazing Pie Crust Cookies to market, as well as a couple of "regular" cookies and, my choice, a wonderfully gooey Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. More good cookie news: a brick and mortar Janie's will be opening soon on the Upper West Side, on 80th Street near Broadway, so we can get her treats any day of the week.

But more than just a place to eat a whole bunch of great food, the Queens Night Market has also always been about fostering community, and celebrating the incredible diversity of the city's most worldly borough. As Queens BP Richards said, upon the issuance of a Proclamation that June 19th, 2021, will forever be known as Queens Night Market Day, "I want to thank John Wang for bringing us all together."

[Updated July 16, 2021] The Queens Night Market is located at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, and will be open every Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight through October 30th, with a three-week break for the US Open. Timed-entry tickets are no longer needed.