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Manhattanites tend to give lip service to the jubilee that is the Queens restaurant scene, and who can blame them? Schlepping out to Rego Park and trying to find 63rd Drive and 108th Street could drive anyone crazy. Hence the beauty of "The Cuisine of Queens and Beyond 2007," being held on the 22nd. The event features Aquavit chef Marcus Samuelsson, pushing his book on African cooking, but the real reason to go is to experience representative dishes from 47 different Queens restaurants which you might normally never get to. Some of our favorite places are there, and we strongly recommend them to you.

• JJ’s Grand Tofu, whose pot stickers are justly famous and should be making a cameo appearance.

• We’ve still never eaten at Island Restaurant, but we’ve always had a little crush on Josie from Top Chef, who runs the kitchen.
Related: Josie Malave Named ‘Executive Chef’

• Sac's Place rarely gets mentioned when the talk turns to New York's pantheon pizzas, but their coal oven is every bit as hot as those at Patsy’s or Grimaldi’s, and their pizza is every bit as good or better.

• Ammos Estiatorio. Despite its reputation, Astoria hasn’t really been home to the city’s best Greek restaurants for a while; most are actually pretty mediocre. Not so Ammos, whose sushi-class fish is on par with any of New York's top Greek seafood restaurants and is a hell of a lot cheaper.

Tickets are $50 if bought before Friday, and $60 at the door.
Astoria World Manor, 25-33 Astoria Blvd., nr. Crescent St., Astoria; 718-777-7918.