Eating In Translation

Holiday Pancake & Steak House

On your special day, for the menu in the private banquet room, would you like that with pancakes, or without?

Holiday Pancake & Steak House
Surviving signage seen from Fort Hamilton Pkwy. at 51st St., Borough Park, Brooklyn

John's House of Weenies

Said the guy in the Yankees cap, I spend more on tolls from Staten Island than on the sandwich.

Faicco's Pork Store

Small appetites, step aside.

Rocco's Calamari

This old-school Italian eatery has Calabrian roots, according to Robert Sietsema (which makes it "practically paisan" to Sicilian, according to the younger Vito Corleone).

3 Guys from Brooklyn

"No samples" was a reasonable sign for the outdoor produce racks; "You eat, you pay" seemed a bit brusque. The loss-prevention vibe pervaded the rest of the market, too. Junasar brand dried golden cherry apples (10 oz.; $3.49) weren't worth the hassle.

3 Guys from Brooklyn
6502 Fort Hamilton Pkwy., Sunset Park, Brooklyn
718-748-8340

Gourmet Sweets

When sold from a sweets counter rather than prepared at home, the South Asian pudding called halwa usually is allowed to set, then is cut into squares. This moist trio ($2.50) takes traditional flavors from carrot (orange), squash (green), and apple (tan).

Gourmet Sweets
1107 Coney Island Ave., Borough Park, Brooklyn
718-421-4100

Shandar Sweets & Restaurant

Carrot halwa (50 cents) was crumbly and insufficiently carroty.

Shandar Sweets & Restaurant
679 Coney Island Ave., Borough Park, Brooklyn
718-703-4400

Lopez Grocery

Castipan fruit-flavored bocadillos (12 pieces; 400 g.; $1.99) came across like the tough city cousins of Chuckles: thicker, rougher cut, less yielding. The chunks of "lime" insinuate spearmint.

Lopez Grocery
4330 New Utrecht Ave., Borough Park, Brooklyn
718-435-2299

Bartek

"Polish-European-American" grocery with a meaty deli counter and, perhaps earlier in the day, a better assortment of typically heavy prepared foods.

Slathered on rye and lightly salted, Szafran brand smalec ze skwarkami (lard with diced pork bacon; 10.2 oz.; $2.59) quickly becomes tiresome on its own; pair it with a sturdy soup or a stiff drink.

Bartek
4610 New Utrecht Ave. Borough Park, Brooklyn
718-851-9171

Kek Duna

Small, pleasant enough, but unexceptional Hungarian grocery. Univer brand porkolt izesito (80 g.; $1.49) appears to be a squeezable pepper-onion-tomato condiment; I'll hold it in reserve until the coming BBQ season.

Kek Duna
5802 13th Ave., Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
718-436-4519

Lioni Latticini

Having passed by but not stopped in Dyker Heights, I've never had the privilege of a Lioni's hero. However, this mozzarella and prosciutto roll ($9.99 per pound) made the trek north to Manhattan and amply filled in as a late-night nosh. Must return the favor and take a trip myself.

Lioni Latticini
7819 15th Ave., Brooklyn
(purchased at Morton Williams Associated Supermarket)
718-232-7852