Casa América

"La depensa Ecuatoriana" stocks all the staples, from a half-dozen bins of assorted grains to a freezer-shelf of the infamous guinea pig called cuy; it's especially crowded before Easter, when a line of folks looking for fanesca fixins stretches out onto the sidewalk. This rustic container was charming, but La Reina guava paste (250 g.; $2.49), from Ecuador, was exasperating to extricate. Guava paste is guava paste, pretty much, and this one wasn't worth the extra trouble.

Casa América
102-08 Roosevelt Ave., Corona, Queens
718-426-5920