Heaven behind the Bus Stop -Kebab Cafe

Seven years later and I'm still on a mission of discovery in Western Queens. After leaving the CellPhone 25 Theater on 37th St in Astoria, Claire and I went searching for one of our faves, Bistro 33. As fine a bistro that Central Casting could whip up with some fine surprising performances - especially if you should show up there on a night when they're serving raw fish. Let the fireworks begin. Alas, dear readers, it's gone. But, fret not. We called Wayne and he told us just how to eat well: where to, what for and how much it would cost.

Kebab Cafe is not easy to find, even though it's on Steinway in the middle of a burgeoning Middle Eastern neighborhood. If you don't know that there's no light on the street, that it's hidden, small as it is, behind the bus stop, you're unlikely to find it at this dark end of the Astoria main line.

But search and find wonder. The owner/chef is honest and charming. He smiles and invites you in to sit at one of five or six tables. He knows everybody there, how long they're going to stay, hugs them when they leave. But you know you're up next and you'll not stay an outsider for long.

The desire, as Wayne warned, is to order far too much beyond your belly and wallet. The menu looks unassuming, combination app plate of all the usual suspects is a mere tener. Salads low as 6 or 7. We had one of each. The falafel and the pepper sauce were first and second place. The sauteed beet salad rich with herbal flavors and soft, ripe apples, though the temperature of the beets throughout was sketchy.

The decor is like eating in your Middle Eastern grandmother's basement. (You've got one of those, right?) It's no bigger than a bodega. The art is hung high, causing us to crane our necks at the photos from the old country and the collages from the new.

The specials are the way to go. They sound simple enough. But, when he speaks- rich and syrupy, grasping his hands together in front of him in measured delight, you know you're in for a real treat.

Claire had the scallops and I had the mishmish chicken. I used to hate scallops. Now, I hate scallops, but if you order them at Kebab Cafe, I'll have a small bite. Plated with a rich sauce over couscous and roasted vegetables, served up in front of you, it's fun and tasty from the git-go.

You might ask, 'You ordered the chicken?' Yes, I ordered the chicken. And the next time I go back, I'm ordering the chicken again. Anyone who can do that to scallops can turn a mother out of a chicken.

Kebab Cafe, Steinway Street between 25th and 26th Aves. on the west side of the street, behind the bus stop. Look closer.