Offshoot of Indie Food & Wine, located in the Lincoln Center, Indie Lic is a cool casual place in Long Island City where the owner lives. Yes, there is definitely this cool vibe in this medium sized space that is filled with light, thanks to its large windows and its communal table in the center for people who do not mind eating with their neighbor. I would not go there for a full meal but more for small bites for breakfast, lunch or dinner, the choices being quite diverse between vegetarian and non-vegetarian, salad or sandwiches. For breakfast, I recommend their steel cut oatmeal that is cooked with cinnamon and milk, topped with sliced banana (a good amount), almonds (for some crunch) and maple syrup. Salads are also quite good, whether you go for the arugula one, composed of arugula (!), quinoa, shaved fennel, roasted beets, orange and fresh herbs, or for the Little Gem Salad, made of little gem lettuce, lentils that are apparently French (oh la la!), spiced walnuts and sprouts. But my favorite was their roast chicken sandwich that is made with delicious pieces of rotisserie chicken squeezed in a very soft focaccia bread, and accompanied by pickled peppers, arugula (not too much fortunately), and a basil pesto. I believe that they put some of the chicken juice there: in fact it is so juicy that it will be dripping on your fingers for much of your delight. I could have this sandwich everyday!

For lunch they are also proposing a soup and sandwich combo that is nice to get a complete meal, but I admit that I was hungry after, the sandwich being small. The soup is the soup of the day (it was a tomato and basil pesto when I went) and for the sandwich, I tried their griddled cheese as well as the camembert panini that was my favorite of the two, the latter being composed of camembert, fig spread and watercress on ciabatta.

So, overall, Indie LIC is a nice place, relaxed with a nice casual menu that is a big pricey, but I guess it is the price to pay for quality ingredients…

Enjoy (I did)!

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Indie LIC - 43-10 Crescent St, Long Island City, NY 11101

Indie LIC in Long Island City, Queens

Jean-Philippe Gerbi