Chestnut King

This dude needs a Twitter feed. Sometimes hard to locate, but always worth the hunt!
My family has a tradition of going to Flushing every Christmas day to get dim sum and 2 lbs of these roasted, slightly sweet nibbles. I could eat a whole pound of them in a couple of sittings while catching up on TV shows over winter break (those were the days!).
It’s hard to locate this cart because it changes locations — sometimes it’s under the bridge, sometimes between 41^st and 40^th, and other times, a block or so farther. It’s also easy to walk by without noticing him, given all the other food stalls and crazy crowds of people on Main. In either case, if you’re trying to find the cart, don’t give up! I recommend scoping out the area two or three blocks on either side of the bridge on Main St.
What’s special about these chestnuts is that they’re the smaller variety, not like the bigger ones you see in supermarkets. He roasts them right there in front of you and then dumps them into a cloth bag to cool. Unlike the supermarket variety, these chestnuts are ridiculously easy to peel! Pro tip: Bring ‘em home and warm them for a few seconds in a closed microwavable container before eating. It tastes better warm, and it’s much easier to peel.

Lovvveee this place… Everytime I come to Flushing I stop by the Chestnut stand on Main Street… Its a small little stall/​cart and all they sell are roasted Chestnuts. When you get them fresh they are warm and delectable — not sure how the coal does it, but they are very sweet… Mmm. I’m salivating just thinking about them now. On the expensive side @ $ 12/​lb but definitely worth it…

Nothing brings to mind holiday childhood memories and my mother than the scent of fresh roasted chestnuts. I had a business meeting in Flushing and I took it as an opportunity to walk down Main Street. When I passed by Chestnut King, they were roasting the chestnuts in a huge vat of what looked like bits of asphalt but could actually be coffee beans. A crowd of mostly women started to gather round, perhaps drawn either by the scent or the warmth on a cold, wintry day. For a minute, we all stood silent as the chestnuts were roasting and the warmth emanated from the vat, comforting the onlookers with the hope that soon, they’ll be popping those chestnuts, perhaps a bit of the asphalt too, in their mouths. :)
The lady handed me a small bag of chestnuts which sold for $ 12 a pound. She tried to warn me to wait until it’s cooled down before eating it, or at least, that’s what I thought she said. When I thanked them in Chinese, all the women laughed, not in derision but in appreciation, or at least that’s what I thought it meant. Perhaps it was the thought of my mom and her love for chestnuts that I wanted to capture. Or it could just be that noting captures the sweetness of chestnuts than roasting it. Either way, I’d be back at Chestnut King before the winter is over.