Queens Openings: Heritage Kulfi, Five Iron Golf

QUEENS OPENINGS QUEENS OPENINGS Heritage Kulfi expands market to NYC

By Stephanie Meditz news@queensledger.com

Heritage Kulfi, a family-owned business with a unique spin on the popular South Asian dessert, continues to spread to markets around the country. Born in Manhattan to Pakistani parents, Mansoor Ahmed founded Heritage Kulfi in 2020.

After years of experience in the frozen dessert industry, he was inspired to bring his South Asian heritage to a wider audience.

“In 2020, with the onset of COVID and how everything was being impacted, I just had to take a step back and try to create something that was entirely mine and something new and innovative in which I could be creative,” he said.

“It also speaks to my own identity, the foods I grew up with, and something that’s new to the world of frozen desserts.”

Kulfi is a creamy, dense, South Asian frozen dessert that is traditionally served in popsicle form.

By making kulfi into an ice creamlike texture, Ahmed brings something new to the table while still honoring his roots.

He also incorporates ingredients and flavors commonly found in South Asian cuisine, including cardamom chai, rosewater and saffron.

“Our flavors that we offer, you won’t find anywhere else,” Ahmed said. “That’s keeping in line with traditionally what kulfi is, but also being innovative in using these ingredients in a particular way.”

Ahmed ensures that the ice cream is made with authentic ingredients every step of the way.

He sources Alphonso mangoes directly from India to use in his products.

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Five Iron Golf opens in LIC

By Alicia Venter aventer@queensledger.com

As temperatures continue to plummet, avid golf players — as well as interested novices — no longer need to bundle up to enjoy the fun of the course. Instead, they can head to Five Iron Golf in Long Island City, the newest addition to a continually growing neighborhood.

Five Iron Golf, located a block from MoMA PS1 at 24-22 Jackson Ave, features seven custom-built TrackMan golf simulators. This technology can track the movement on the ball and where it would go in a real-life course. The projectors display an animated graphic of the ball traveling, capturing back spin, side spin and more.

For the intense golfer, TrackMan provides analytics to help improve their game: the distance the ball traveled in yards, the angle the club was facing on contact and more. There are also trainers who provide lessons.

“We are a new space that can provide a lot for the neighborhood, and we want to be there for the neighborhood,” Jonathan Cruz, the general manager of Five Iron Golf Long Island City, said in an interview. “We want to be the place where businesses can entertain clients or host public events, or the birthday party that the family has been trying to figure out where to set it up. Now you have this space.”

“A fan from a distance,” Cruz is a Brooklyn native who has managed events across the city, from the “Stranger Things Experience” to New York Fashion Week. This is his first experience as part of the Five Iron Golf corporation, and he looks forward to bringing his expertise to Long Island City.

“I quickly learned how much of a community Long Island City is. Every day, new folks stop by asking us questions and telling us they live right down the block,” Cruz said. “They are supportive. They are intrigued. There is this sense of community that you can’t just find anywhere.”

The location has league nights, where a team can take on other groups in “friendly competitions.” Those who do not have a team can enter as free agents to be chosen by groups.

The location also features a bar, a restaurant and shuffleboard. Cruz explained that Five Iron Golf is not exclusively catered towards golfers, and will happily “watch a sitcom” with customers at the bar.

Simulators can be booked hourly, with weekday off-peak hours (from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) priced at $70. After 4:00 p.m. on weekdays and on the weekends, a simulator can be booked for $85 an hour.

To visit Five Iron Golf, take the subway to the Court Square subway station, as the venue sits adjacent to the station.

Tickets and more information can be found at www.fiveirongolf.com/ lic/

“We want this to be the place where you take the risk and try golf,” said Cruz. “You never know until you try it.”