Eating In Translation

Chef White's 5 Star Grill

Five stars, five items on the brief regular menu, about five square feet of grill — so far, everything fits. A hot dog was $1.25, but for a quarter more I upsized to a sausage, and another 50 cents won me a heaping tablespoon of beefy chili. Asked about specials, Chef White mentioned only rice and beans; the crabcake on his regular menu might also do in a pinch.

Chef White's 5 Star Grill
Frederick Douglas Blvd. at 117th St., southwest corner
Afternoons, "every day but Sunday," presumably in warm weather only

Darou Salam Market

Botanically, "pomme de cajou," or cashew apple, is not a fruit at all; it's merely the swollen stalk of Anacardium occidentale, whose true fruit is what's better known as the cashew nut. Click on this photo of Zena pomme de cajou confiture (450 g.; $4.99), from Senegal, and you can take a closer look at how the knobby nuts perch on the end of the red or yellow cashew apples (whether the colors indicate different cultivars or varying degrees of ripeness, I don't know.) And the taste? Zena's confiture has some of the lusciousness of figs, but with a brighter flavor and a trace of tartness.

Darou Salam doesn't have a very large selection, but this friendly West African market does stock several other Zena varieties, including mango and papaya.

Darou Salam Market
235 West 116th St. (Frederick Douglas-Adam Clayton Powell Blvds.)
212-222-2658

Word of Mouth: A last shout-out from the "soul food diner"

Writes a longtime employee of M&G: "I am sorry to say that now it is officially over the diner has been sold we left for vacation on june 29 2008 we will not be back. We are very sorry about the inconvenience to the loyal customers who stuck by us over the years and to all newcomers, onetimers, tourist, walkins just everybody who has ever eaten there, all the young people who made M&G's the late nite place to be back when we were 24hrs. WE WILL TRULY MISS YOU ALL"

M&G Diner
383 West 125th St. (near St. Nicholas Ave.)
212-864-7326

Florence's Restaurant

(This venue is closed. A gentleman standing in front of the closed security gates said that the premises are for rent but that another restaurant, under the same ownership but likely a different name, is (or will soon be) open at 135th and Frederick Douglas.)

The doors are open to all, but the cuisine makes few concessions to non-African palates.

La Pregunta

Rest stop for inquiring minds.

Las Americas Bakery

Bagged myself a snack.

The Basement Pizza Coffee House

There's no basement (at least not for customers), let alone a pot of coffee or spirited coffeehousing.

South Beach

I didn't expect anything more than a couple of interesting exterior shots; it's nervy, I thought, to display a mural of great African-Americans with the subtitle "Dining Heritage." (The mural is a holdover from a previous tenant, I believe.) But after a gander at the juice bar to the right, a peek in the café at left revealed a West African menu, including dibi, soupe kandja, thiebou djen, and my top choice when I have room for a meal: potato leaf sauce with okra and lamb.

South Beach
277 Lenox Ave. (123rd-124th Sts.)
212-222-1995

M&G Diner

(This venue is closed.) The interior of this "soul food diner" was plain, functional, but still bright even on a dreary, drizzly day.

Les Ambassades

The peanut sauce for this vegetarian mafe (Mah-fay; $10) was too sweet and too thin, and for a Senegalese restaurant, the assortment of peas, carrots, and lima beans, plus potatoes and perhaps broccoli, seemed very much like succotash.

Africa Kine

Sometimes, suppa kandja (Soo-pah Con-dyah; $9) is a stew that stands up on rice, but given the consistency of the okra-and-palm-oil sauce, this restaurant's version was fairly described by my waitress as "okra soup."

Margie's Red Rose Diner

The very good fried chicken ($8), today with string beans and buttered biscuits, had a thin skin that was more crunchy than crisp; for the dark meat, it sealed in the juices especially well. Fresh lemonade ($1) was also very good and not overly tart. The gentleman sitting out front when I entered, and when I left, had high praise for the pancakes, too.

Margie's Red Rose Diner
275 West 144th St. (Frederick Douglas-Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvds.)
212-491-3665

Floridita

This aging café-restaurant was recently joined by a polished-looking tapas operation next door. From the takeout counter, mango ice cream was stiff, but a bargain at just $1.

Floridita
3219 Broadway (at 129th St.)
212-662-0090

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

I wish this cavernous chow palace showed more consistency; still, it's a favorite with many folks who have ready access to the Henry Hudson. The "Tres Hombres" (barbecue pork, sliced Texas beef brisket, and barbecue ribs; $16.95) is a fair sampler of fair-to-middling BBQ; ordered individually, those amigos fare just about the same. Below, that's the beef brisket sandwich ($9.95), with beans and butter-licked Syracuse-style salt potatoes. Chicken is good; haven't tried the Elgin sausage.

My favorite appetizer, Creole-style deviled eggs (six for $6.95), easily aces out the (not so) crispy fried green tomatoes (three for $5.95). Of the sides (generally, two accompany every entrée), best are the beans, the potatoes, and the simmered greens.

Dessert may overwhelm you if you don't leave room; either the chocolate custard "icebox pie" or its peanut butter-Oreo counterpart ($5 each) are very rich, and good to share. But if you like the sound of sweet potato pecan pie ($5), that's one you can handle on your own.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
646 West 131st St. (at 12th Ave.)
212-694-1777

Watermelon vendor

Sitting under a substantial umbrella, with his pickup truck supplying the tunes, this Southern-born gentleman was well-equipped for a long afternoon — good thing, since his short season lasts a few months at most. In addition to whole melons, slices, and chunks (like this $2 container), he's got boiled peanuts, too.

Watermelon vendor
Northeast corner of Lenox and 132nd (depending on pickup-truck parking)
Summertime only

JRose Catering

The chef at the Cotton Club has little opportunity to bake for the nighttime crowd, the lady at this table tells me, but he does prepare sweets for this twice-a-week outdoor market. Although I gave a good, hard look at a radiant slice of sweet potato pie ($3), ultimately I gave the nod to the apple raisin cake ($2.50): extremely moist, with lots of fruit flavor and an over-the-top butter frosting.

JRose Catering
At the Grass Roots Farmers Market
145th St. near Edgecombe Ave.
July-November, Tuesday and Saturday, 9:00-4:00

Oklahoma Smoke BBQ

(This venue is closed.) Smoked shrimp wasn't my thought going in — Oklahoma Smoke takes evident pride in its Southwestern heritage, and I'd stopped by just days after the soft opening (sit-down service, and longer hours, are scheduled for mid-August) — but I'm glad, very glad, that I took their suggestion. Good to know, too, that they peel 'em, you just eat 'em.

In addition to a can of iced tea, my shrimp ($8) included a side of firm collard greens flavored with smoked meat; an additional side, rice and beans, soaked up the remaining broth. Love to try the mac 'n' cheese and candied yams, mains like the brisket and the pork jerk ribs, and halfway measures like a baked potato, smoked and then stuffed with a choice of BBQ chicken, beef, or pork. Also some more of that smoked shrimp.

Oklahoma Smoke BBQ
231 West 145th St. (Frederick Douglas-Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvds.)
212-862-5335

One Stop Patty Shop

Perhaps a half-dozen varieties of Jamaican patties are ready to go at any given moment. Jerk chicken was absent when I stopped by, but curry chicken stood in ($1.50).

One Stop Patty Shop
1708 Amsterdam Ave. (144th-145th Sts.)
212-491-7485

Ale!!! Silly Goose

 

(This venue is closed.) Silly name, solid jerk chicken (large; $9). And though I arrived after official breakfast hours, the chef/owner kindly cooked up a taste of her salt cod and ackee. Worth a return visit for that alone; at dinnertime, I might go for the curry goat, or shrimp.

Ale!!! Silly Goose
242 Bradhurst Ave. (154th-155th Sts.)
(one of two locations)
212-690-2336

Lee Lee's Baked Goods

Nice cinnamon danish ($1.75); looking forward to trying the (occasionally available) apricot rugelach.

Lee Lee's Baked Goods
283 West 118th St. (near Frederick Douglas Blvd.)
917-493-6633

Make My Cake

Sunny corner bakery and café with a cupcake-heavy display case. This red velvet number ($2.75), though not quite as moist as a typical slice of the full-size version, was a welcome companion on an evening walk.

Make My Cake
121 St. Nicholas Ave. (at 116th St.)
212-932-0833

Café Amrita

Free Wi-Fi plus the beverage of your choice (caffeinated, alcoholic) near the Northwest Passage out of Central Park. Late-evening desserts were limited to cookies from an apothecary jar, such as this chocolate-chip peanut butter number (about $2).

Café Amrita (formerly Saurin Park Café)
301 West 110th St. (near Frederick Douglas Blvd.)
212-222-0683

Café 2115

Flip past the omelettes, sandwiches, and uptown favorites like grits with fish to the back page of the menu, which looks to West Africa for this lamb special ($9) that was bolstered by half a hardboiled egg and a dome of especially flavorful, tidbit-laced rice. The soupe kandia still simmering on the stovetop was one of many such dishes generally available only at lunch.

Café 2115
2115 Frederick Douglas Blvd. (114th-115th Sts.)
212-280-0553

Amy Ruth's

If you have your mind set on Sunday brunch at Amy Ruth's, arrive before noon or wear comfortable waiting-line shoes. Worth waiting for: fried chicken with two scrambled and grits ($8.50), joined by a plate-sized, syrup-doused waffle (about $5). If you have any thoughts about the peach cobbler, take a pass on the waffle.

Amy Ruth's
113 West 116th St. (Lenox-Seventh Aves.)
212-280-8779

El Aventurero

(This venue is closed.) I wasn't merely the first customer here this evening, my server told me, I was the first customer ever. In truth, I'd thought this sparingly decorated pan-Mexican restaurant had opened at least a few day earlier; tonight the menu was limited, and an appetizer of hongos Oaxaqueños (baked mushrooms stuffed with shrimp in chipotle crème fraiche!) was not yet available.

Instead I skipped straight to my entrée, carnitas Michoacanas ($10), baked pork marinated in beer and citrus, with rice and beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, and corn tortillas. Pretty-enough presentation for pork chunks; even the (somewhat small) plate of rice and beans was topped with a little grated queso blanco. On the kitchen's first night, I'm willing to pardon meat that was just a bit dry and less than piping hot; the pico de gallo certainly had plenty of kick. Through some miscommunication, I also seemed to have ordered a cup of hot tea; interesting, how a little Lipton took the edge off that spice. Have to try it again on my next visit.

El Aventurero
545 W. 125th St. (Broadway-Amsterdam Ave.)
212-316-2698