The

Homestead Gourmet Shop in Kew Gardens looks like a Disney vision of the Old World, with its whimsical scrub sign and cheerful strudle-filled display case. Its employees, dressed in white and in old-fashioned paper hats, resemble a drinks shop from the 1950s. It feels like a relic in a forgotten corner of the city.


In fact, German dishes like those served here have become something of a relic on today's American culinary scene, as changing tastes led to the closure of dozens of historic German restaurants across the country. However, in Homestead this type of food is alive and well, thanks to a Polish immigrant very similar to Queens who went from working behind the counter to the

owner of the place.