Sidewalk sweets vendor

There's elotes, and esquites, and then there's majarete.

This thick corn pudding (mah-hah-Ray-tay; perhaps a pint; $3) is sweetened with coconut milk as well as sugar, and spiced with cinnamon. Majarete is popular in a number of Caribbean and South American countries, but on a street corner in Washington Heights, almost certainly it will be prepared from a Dominican recipe.

Most Dominican street vendors who offer majarete also serve habichuelas con dulce (ah-bee-Cway-lahs con Dool-say, or "beans with sweets"; usually $1 per cup), one of many wintertime drinks that make their appearance this time of year.

Sidewalk sweets vendor
St. Nicholas Ave. at 181st St., northeast corner