53-02 Roosevelt Ave, underneath the 52nd St. subway
* cash only *

When I think of charming cafes on narrow streets, my mind does not immediately wander to Woodside. However, La Flor consistently proves me wrong.

La Flor is where I take houseguests who don't believe in the power of Queens. A few sunny Sunday hours at a round marble table, snacking on delectable shrimp quesadillas — two thick, homemade, white corn tortillas stuffed with grilled shrimp, white crumbly cheese, and roasted red peppers — and molten huevos rancheros with tomatillo salsa, and they all come out Queens converts.

This Mexican-fusion dream is the brainchild of Viko Ortega, a Manhattan pastry chef by day who opened his own restaurant in his own borough. Ortega's genius justly comes out in his desserts, notably the generously creamy flan and the caramel-incrusted bread pudding.

For dinner La Flor serves what I think of as "real food" — of the grilled snapper with julienned vegetables variety — alongside traditional Mexican specialties such as a pair of perfectly cocoa-infused mole enchiladas. On Saturday evenings you might even catch a glimpse of Viko himself, dressed in a chef's toque, touring the handful of tables in a pleasingly proprietary fashion. I took one of my closest friends to La Flor in an attempt to convince her to move to New York. Reader, she did.

Most shockingly, La Flor has what most Queens locales don't even dream of obtaining: charm. Bundles of it. Wide, sun-filled windows and round cappucino cups of it. What a find.