30th Ave between 35th and 36th Sts, Astoria, Queens

Astoria Music

1 "We're the third-oldest business in Astoria," says former NASA engineer George Phillips, who bought the 1922-vintage Astoria Music (35-19 30th Ave, 718-204-0400) from the original owner's grandson in 1982. Nowadays, aspiring instrumentalists swing in to buy the pear-shaped stringed Greek instrument known as the bouzouki (starting at $900) and take lessons ($50 per hour). But in the '30s and '40s, it was less about amateurs: The shop contained a vinyl recording studio. "We had musicians like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Tony Bennett—who is from Astoria," Phillips says.

2 Years before it installed an armada of green-felted tables, the underground Astoria Billiards (35-21 30th Ave, 718-545-8100) was a pin-crashing bowling alley. Today, it offers six Coronas for $20 and a buy-one-hour-get-one-free deal on pool before 5pm.

3 Avenue Café (35-27 30th Ave, 718-278-6967) is a sprawling, Euro-flashy spot where soccer games dash across flat-screen TVs and Astoria's young sip icy frappés and smoke cigarettes at sidewalk tables. "We're a stress-relief place," explains co-owner Chris Chrysos. These days, he says, business has dwindled—customers rarely spend more than $20, making do with inexpensive crêpes, a pita burger or coffee. The café's finest mood-enhancer is the 32-ounce Avenue Mai Tai ($16), a rum-crammed concoction that's set aflame. "We recommend people share," Chrysos laughs.

4 For more than 50 years, Dave & Tony Salumeria (35-18 30th Ave, 718-728-4850) has anchored 30th Avenue, selling pasta, imported Italian oils and sauces, and each Wednesday, creamy formaggio fresca. Joe, who's worked there 23 years (and didn't want to give his last name), says the handmade sausages attract customers from as far away as Long Island. The sweet style is a top seller, but liver is worth a taste and available until early April. Business is healthy: "Instead of spending money at restaurants, people come here to spend $20 on pasta and cheese for dinner," Joe says. On a sad note: The eponymous Tony died in late February.

5 Fifty years ago, customers slurped fountain drinks at Rudy's Confectionery. Twenty-five years later, tired of the daily grind, the owners transformed the luncheonette into Rudy's Hobby & Art and Religious Items (35-16 30th Ave, 718-545-8280). Much of the old equipment—including the soda fountain—sits in the basement. "Rudy was my father-in-law," says owner Marvin Cochran, who's "pushing 72." He sells toy trains, Matchbox racers and model planes, and runs an informal flea market outside his shop. Cochran has lived upstairs ("can't beat the commute") for 50 years, in the same building where his wife was born. "It used to be, I'd stand outside and get tired of saying hello to people," Cochran laments. "Now I don't know anyone."

Terrizzi Pastry Shop

6 Frank Terrizzi owned Terrizzi Pastry Shop (35-14 30th Ave, 718-726-9698) for 45 years, selling it in 2005. This past December, Frank's son, Mike, repurchased the bakery. Although he's technically retired, Frank still treks there several times a week to make his legendary marzipan, a neighborhood favorite. After hand-molding lifelike cherries, tangerines, tomatoes, corn and strawberries ($17.95 a pound), he painstakingly paints the candy before installing the stems.

7 Francine Amendola and her partner David Guimac run computer and printer repair shop Active Business Systems (35-04 30th Ave, 718-278-1000), hidden in the rear of a frame store. Amendola's husband started the firm as a typewriter-repair spot in 1965 (they still fix about ten old clunkers a month), but the bulk of their business is restoring the printers at HSBC branches and JFK's new JetBlue terminal.

8 "I was their first customer," boasts Amendola of the Chicken Shack (35-02 30th Ave, 718-721-3035), which opened on March 18. She recommends the char-grilled chicken ($4.29 for a quarter to $8.99 for a whole), but the "steak and ribs are pretty good too" ($5.49 for a quarter to $16.49 for a whole). —Joshua M. Bernstein

Block buzz

Look above the awning at Ocean 1 Fish Market (35-08 30th Ave, 718-721-2391), and you'll notice broken bits of a statue. It was once a swordfish.

Gaze up at the First Central Savings Bank (35-01 30th Ave, 718-204-7444): Owl statues are perched on windowsills to scare off pigeons.

Every October, the Federation of Italian American Organizations of Queens hosts the Columbus Day Parade, which snakes down 30th Avenue from Steinway Street to 33rd Street. This year marks the 30th procession, and will feature the usual folk dancers, vintage cars, and stand-ins for Christopher Columbus and his financial backer, Queen Isabella of Spain.

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