A Foodie Morning in Queens Before the Tennis

The US Open is in Queens. This is the single biggest thing that separates it from the other three Grand Slams — not the stadium, not the night sessions, not the noise. The food situation around this tournament is genuinely world-class, and most people attending never leave the USTA grounds to find it.

Flushing's Golden Mall is the right starting point. The basement food court at 41-28 Main Street, about 15 minutes on foot from the tournament gates, is one of the most concentrated regional Chinese food environments in the United States. Hand-pulled noodles, Sichuan cold dishes, Shanghainese soup dumplings, Fujianese rice dishes — each stall run by people from a specific part of China cooking what they actually eat. The price point is $8 to $15 per dish. The atmosphere is not designed for tourists.

Jackson Heights is 20 minutes further on the 7 train, under the elevated tracks on Roosevelt Avenue. Within six blocks: Colombian bakeries, Tibetan momos, Nepali thali, Bangladeshi biryani, Mexican tacos from the food carts under the elevated line. The Arepa Lady — Gloria Campos, who sold arepas from a cart on this street for years before her sons opened a brick-and-mortar — is at 77-17 37th Avenue and worth the trip alone.

A private guide turns this from a navigation exercise into something easier. Eat Your World runs private food tours of both Flushing and Jackson Heights; Laura Siciliano-Rosen has guided Jackson Heights since 2008 and knows which stalls are worth visiting and which have turned over. Joe DiStefano (joedistefano.nyc) runs private Flushing tours with a focus on the food court vendors specifically — he's been writing about Queens food for 20 years and the tours reflect that depth.

The practical format: a morning or afternoon tour (3 to 4 hours, 8 to 10 stops, roughly $100 to $150 per person for a private group of 4 to 6) followed by a day session at the tournament. The grounds pass from 11am gives you outer court access for the afternoon; combine with a food tour from 8am and you have a full day without setting foot in a tourist restaurant.

The food inside the USTA grounds is not bad by tournament standards — more diverse than any other Slam because the catering reflects its location. But it charges tournament prices. The Golden Mall charges what the food is worth.