Eating In Translation

Indonesian food bazaar this Sunday

Sunday, July 20, 10:00-4:00
Outside the Al-Hikmah Mosque, 48-01 31st Ave., Queens; free admission
"The food is authentic, the vendors mostly sell the food at their home or special order only," writes the Eating In Translation fan who sent me news of this event. "I was there last year & will recommend the satay corner," she adds, the "peanut dressing is home made & excellent. The dessert (es cendol & es teler) is also a favorite...I love the fermented black rice & cassava."

San Antonio Bakery

Adore avocado? Ask for a "completo."

Kabab Café

Tight quarters, good food.

Laziza Sweets

Laziza serves several takes on the "shredded wheat" sweets called kanafa.

Rio Bonito

Despite the broad spectrum of packaged goods, this "supermercado Brasileiro" doesn't seem filled out, and in back, the prepared-food counter and café were unenticing, though granted, I stopped by in late afternoon. I did discover Reserva de Minas brand doce de abóbora com coco (680 g.; $5.69), pumpkin puree laced with small shards of coconut. I never would have put those two together on my own, but I've been spreading them on toast, muffins, and anything else handy ever since.

Rio Bonito
32-86 47th St., Astoria, Queens
718-728-4300

Poodam's

"Fried rice" isn't usually my go-to section of the menu, but how could you not want to test your tongue on "spicy sweet chili paste fried rice"? (The winner for best menu name, however, must go to the pig's offal soup (bovine-free, I also note) called tom loud moo.) Crabmeat fried rice and Nam sausage fried rice, and their (unfried) rice-dish relative, pig leg with special sauce, will also deserve a try when I can round up a few companions to enjoy dinner and a sunset show.

Poodam's
44-19 Broadway, Astoria, Queens
718-278-3010

Stamatis

Like the awning, the matter-of-fact black-and-white takeout menu suggests a capable and confident Greek restaurant. From the most common appetizers and entrées, every item is explained, but few are overexplained. One of the more elaborate descriptions, for ortykia scharas, says only "marinated quails brushed with olive oil, lemon and herbs." If you're going to get the brush, that's a good way to go.

Stamatis
31-14 Broadway, Astoria, Queens
718-204-8968

Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden

The vast beer garden behind Bohemian Hall is a fine place to rest your elbows with a pitcher or two.

Sabry's Seafood Restaurant

The lemony sauce and herbal adornment of the tender grilled squid (appetizer; $8.95) are characteristic of many dishes at this Eqyptian seafood café.

Ipanema Girl

Plucked from the counter display of this "mini Mercado Brasileiro," Paraibuna brand bananinha cremosas (36 g.; 50 cents) were firm and pasty rather than creamy, delivering a mini-hit of sugared, slightly burnt banana. For a Brazilian take on the crunch bar, try a Nestle Galak (160 g.; $2), which lavishs white chocolate on a handful of corn flakes.

Ipanema Girl
26-19 Steinway St., Astoria, Queens
718-545-2277

Mediterranean Foods

The olives, cheeses, sausages, and other deli items are predominantly Greek, but Mediterranean Foods also offers savories and sweets from the Middle East and Near East as well as Southern and Eastern Europe. A little expensive, but well-kept and freshly stocked, even to the open tins of fish on the counter, and worthy of repeated exploration.

Soutzioukkos (shown; 500 g.; $5.99) — a traditional sweet from Cyprus that also appears in various forms from the Levant to the Black Sea — congeals sweetened grape juice around a string (literally) of almonds. Even a single six-inch "log" might prove tedious for any one person: the flavor, though pleasant, tastes far more of grape than almond, and the rubbery texture is very resilient.

On a previous visit: The chimneysweep and other illustrations on my bag of Pionir brand Negro Odzacar Gala (100 g.; 99 cents) suggested filled, licorice-flavored hard candies; they proved copper-sulfate blue, with more of a menthol taste.

Mediterranean Foods
30-12 34th St. (30th-31st Aves.), Queens
(one of two locations)
718-728-6166

Astoria Bakers

Girdled by a thick, gnarled crust, this "homestyle" spinach pie (slice; $3.50) delivered a satisfying supply of feta, but onion was disappointingly absent.

Astoria Bakers
33-14 30th Ave., Astoria, Queeens
718-267-0416

Zlata Praha

A short shlep from midtown, Zlata Praha offers an exceptionally filling, exceptionally cheap Tuesday-through-Friday lunch special ($6.95): bread, a cup of soup (I fancy the tripe; above), one of 15 entrees (below, beef brisket in a rich fresh dill sauce, accompanied by those large bready "dumplings"), plus dessert and coffee or tea. On my most recent midday excursion, dessert was limited to a palacinka, a thin crepe filled that day with apricot preserves, but if you venture to Astoria for dinner, try the fruit-and-cottage-cheese dumplings. Just don't try to finish them by yourself.

I've never managed to dine in Zlata Praha's small backyard garden, but each October they manage to export a surprisingly large portion of their menu (and the appropriate kitchen facilities) to the Czech Street Festival on East 83rd. Garlic fry bread and grilled kielbasa, I've found, simply taste better outdoors.

Zlata Praha
28-48 31st St. (30th Ave.-Newtown Ave.), Queens
718-721-6422

Janata Grocery

This friendly grocery and convenience store has the feel of a neighborhood Bangladeshi hangout. Asiatic Sea Products brand chira laddu (16 pieces; $1.99) are balls of rice flakes (chira) held together by just a little molasses, plus "edible oil" and spices. "Good for human consumption," the package insists.

The clerk told me that the package should be heated in a microwave for 20 to 30 seconds; despite the insistence of my co-workers Vishal and Jay that they prefer their chira laddu cold, heating them was the only way to soften them up sufficiently. Even then, not really a dessert, as Jay noted. (Suddenly I have a taste for Rice Krispies squares.)

Janata Grocery
29-28 30th Avenue (28th-29th Sts.), Queens
718-274-1609

O Fournos

Affiliated with Opa Tony's Souvlaki next door, this bakery offers many of those honey-laden Greek desserts that can't easily be eaten on the go, as well as a rack of out-of-place cannolis. Instead, for a nosh I picked up a sesame bagel (75 cents) with a hole so large you could use it for ring toss. Airy; little sesame flavor despite all the seeds.

O Fournos
28-44 31st St. (29th-30th Aves.), Queens
718-728-3638