Neighborhood Eats: A taste of the south in Astoria

ASTORIA, Queens (WABC) -- In this edition of Neighborhood Eats, we've got a taste of the south in Queens.

Astoria has long been a neighborhood of Greek restaurants, but more and more are opening with different cuisines.

And Burnside Biscuits -- located at 32-07 30th Avenue -- brings a bit of a country flair.

Euripides Pelekanos is the CEO of the successful Bareburger chain, and now, he's turning to biscuits.

"I'm always looking for a medium to serve good food and sandwiches," he said. "I always felt the biscuit was missing."

And so they are the featured item at the restaurant, located in what was the longstanding Athens Café. But there's no Greek food there, instead, it's southern comfort.

There's fried chicken, ribs and a salad here and there. But the biscuits are everywhere. There's a po boy biscuit and a catfish biscuit, and they're even fried and used for the pimento dip.

Chef Jonathan Lemon uses his grandmother Loraine's biscuit recipe after growing up spending summers with her in Charleston.

Flour, sugar, salt and baking powder are first mixed, then the shortening and melted butter are mixed in by hand. Buttermilk is added, and then it's all about the fold, which can even hold up to fried chicken with bacon.

There's even a biscuit made with duck fat, just to give a more savory option. It's all part of another way to entice New Yorkers to go for southern food.

Burnside Biscuits Recipe - Makes 6; These biscuits can be prepared and then rested overnight for baking the next day.

Ingredients:

--2 CUPS all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

--2 TABLESPOONS baking powder

--1 1/2 TABLESPOONS sugar

--1/4 TEASPOON salt

--3 TABLESPOONS unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

--3 TABLESPOONS duck fat (or shortening) chilled and cut into small chunks

--3/4 CUP buttermilk

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the 2 cups flour and other dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until combined.

3. Add the butter and shortening to the bowl and mix on low speed until the dough reaches a crumbly texture. The butter and shortening should be the size of peas.

4. Turn off the mixer and add the buttermilk to the bowl all at once. Mix very briefly on low speed until the dough just comes together (this should take less than 10 seconds).

5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and form it into a ball. Lightly knead the dough two or three times until combined.

6. You can bake the biscuits the next day. Dust a sheet pan and the top of the dough with flour and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, overnight. Then bring the dough back to room temperature.

7. Pat out the dough to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness. Shape the dough into a rectangle, making the sides high. Using a 2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut out 4 biscuits. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and dust with a sprinkling of flour. Gather the dough scraps and, using your hands, tuck in the bottom of the dough so there are no wrinkles, much like making a bread roll. Form the remaining dough into another rectangle with high sides and cut out 2 more biscuits.

8. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through. Halfway through the baking process, rotate the pan for even browning.