Eating In Translation

El Globo Restaurante

When the point-of-purchase display reads "chapulines $5," it's a good bet that the kitchen takes a homey approach, too. I don't know that Mexican grasshoppers make their way onto the menu of this rustic, virtually undecorated eatery (I was just passing through, on my way to dinner in Flushing), but I could see returning for a plate of albóndigas en chipotle (Monday and Friday only) and something sweet from the baked-goods bins.

El Globo Restaurante
42-13 102nd St., Corona, Queens
718-779-7898

Word of Mouth: No slices at The Pizza Place

Until recently this storefront sold pet supplies; renovations by a new tenant revealed stained glass from a soda fountain called Wetter's. Now the glass has been covered again, but only for a short time; The Pizza Place is a fictional setting (click for a better view, and note the 555 telephone exchange) for a new movie called "I Hate Valentine's Day." In the near future the building will house a second outlet of Slope Cellars, a wine and spirits store on Seventh Ave.; expect stained glass, but no slices.

The Pizza Place
216 Prospect Park West, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
Former home of Wetter's, future home of Slope Cellars

New York Hotdog & Coffee

The future home of the bulgogi hotdog — I photographed, then devoured, the one you see here at last October's Chusok Festival — is still some weeks from opening day. It's hard to be more specific; when I peered past the plywood, much of the light was supplied by an acetylene torch.

New York Hotdog & Coffee
245 Bleecker St. (at Leroy St.)

R&L Restaurant

After Meatpacking District pioneer Florent Morellet decided to shutter his namesake bistro rather than pay a huge hike in rent, his landlady found that she couldn't quickly rent the space to anyone else. On Wednesday at 8:00 a.m., she'll reopen it as R&L — the diner's former name, which continued to grace the storefront during the past 20-some years. Reportedly, the menu and the staff will be little changed, but that Florent vibe has vanished for good.

R&L Restaurant
69 Gansevoort St. (Washington-Greenwich Sts.)
212-989-3863

Roosevelt Food Court

This purpose-built venue may ultimately hold a half-dozen stalls, or perhaps more; I couldn't tell from the street. (The gentleman who stepped outside to talk to me (concerned, at first; how many passersby stop to read city buildings notices?) would say only that the owner wasn't there, and that the food court might be finished in another month, or maybe two.

Roosevelt Food Court
135-28 Roosevelt Ave. (Main-Prince Sts.), Flushing, Queens
Likely to open in mid to late summer 2008

Vendors along the Mekong River

Friday night lights.

Garifuna Star

(This venue is closed.) I'm fond of West African food, and I'm still getting to know Honduran, so I was very excited to try a restaurant that offered a hybrid of the two.

Long Line Restaurant

Perhaps the name seemed propitious from behind the register, but when I'm phoning in an order for Chinese takeout, "Hello, long line" isn't what I want to hear. Today, they're long gone.

Long Line Restaurant
501 Atlantic Ave. (Third Ave.-Nevins St.), Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Shakes-and-ices kiosk

(This venue is closed.) When I first saw this kiosk (and took this photo), in February 2007, I hoped against hope that it was shut up tight because of the season. No such luck, I saw over the course of a summer. This poor old thing is even more decrepit now, but it's still standing.

Shakes-and-ices kiosk
On the otherwise vacant lot at Metropolitan Ave. and Lorimer St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Louise's Country Kitchen

(This venue is closed.) Early in the afternoon, on a near-empty stomach, "country kitchen" sounded mighty fine. From a block away, I reckoned that the garage-like space at street level could hold two or three picnic tables, easy. You're way ahead of this story, though: Louise's is so long gone that neither the Mexican laborers on the ground floor, nor the office workers one flight up, could say when "soul food" had said goodbye.

Surviving signage for Louise's Country Kitchen
Near Bushwick Ave. (on McKibbin St.?), East Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Caribbean Rhythms

Sometimes you get a vibe. This visit was just a look-see, but the looks and aromas of the food behind the counter — curry, jerk, and brown stew chicken, plus oxtail, fish, goat, and all the other Jamaican favorites — have put this Jamaican joint on my list. The comfortable, shaded appeal of the dining room will be a bonus, come the summer. Perhaps I'll work up an appetite first at Gun Post Lanes, just down the road.

Caribbean Rhythms
1344 East Gun Hill Rd. (at Fish Ave.), Bronx
718-405-2603

Carmine's Italian Deli

The few times I've visited this Jersey City neighborhood, I haven't had room to take on the big food at Carmine's (the deli on Mallory, not the "pizza factory" on Brunswick). Just from walking in the door, though, I can tell you that the heft and satisfying appearance of the heros and hot entrees are matched by the heft and satisfied appearance of the patrons.

Do any readers have first-hand experience with this place?

Carmine's Italian Deli
165 Mallory Ave. (near Williams Aves.), Jersey City
201-434-5155

Kennedy Blvd. Luncheonette

I spotted signs of a chili dog from quite a long way away, but when I got up close this truck was shut up tight. Apparently it's a luncheonette in name only; I couldn't see any seats. Across the avenue, four ladies taking some sun told me that the truck had been in business for a couple of months but that the proprietors — who might be more comfortable in warmer weather, since the menu also includes curries and stewed chicken — hadn't been around for about a week. Putting the test to "the best chili hot dog in town" will wait for another day, though as one lady observed, in the meantime there's always Boulevard Drinks.

Kennedy Blvd. Luncheonette
Today, in a lot off West Side Ave. near Grant Ave., Jersey City

Rihana

The yellow traffic signs outside Rihana ask drivers to "share the road" with bike-riders. Inside, Italian and Middle Eastern share the kitchen, though they seem to keep to themselves; there's a delivery menu for pizza, pasta, and their extended family and a chalkboard menu in Arabic script. While it's good to see motorists and bicyclists stay safely in their lanes, I'd like to see a little crossover on my plate.

Rihana
333 West Side Ave. (Pollock-Culver Aves.), Jersey City
201-915-0054

Antojitos Chapines

By the plateful, Latin American food often comes on heavy, so you've got to love a menu that clears room for easy-going fare like pupusas (filled tortillas), pirujos (sandwiches), and the light bites known variously as antojitos and boquitas (can't say I understand the difference). I'm looking forward to the rellenitos, or plantain filled with sweet black beans, and the pirujo con chile relleno, a stuffed-jalapeño-pepper sandwich. This busy little eatery also serves corn- and plantain-based renditions of the hot beverages called atoles (ah-Toll-ays), but only in winter.

Antojitos Chapines
210 West Main St. (Ann St.-Rose Park), Stamford, Connecticut
(on the left; its sister bakery is on the right)
203-487-7431

Corelli's

Given the name, at first glance I took Correli's for one more suburban Italian, but a closer look revealed a menu that's about two-thirds Colombian, one-third Haitian. (The only Italian hangers-on seem to be chicken marsala, macaroni and cheese, and an appetizer that goes by the handle of "Sal Chipapa.") The Caribbean section of the menu has the more intriguing specials; on another Sunday morning, I'll leave room for the soupe joumou — Haitian pumpkin soup.

Correli's
166 Stillwater Ave. (at Finney Lane), Stamford, Connecticut
203-348-0686

Garlic Bob's Restaurant & Pizzeria

(This venue is closed.) Sure, it's easy enough to see now, when we're both sitting down. But the other day, when I walked up on this restaurant from the right, the word that came to mind was something I saw not long ago in a Chinatown market, among the specialty meats: a package labeled "ox pizzle." I never ate at Garlic Bob's, so no, I can't tell you if they served slices.

Garlic Bob's Restaurant & Pizzeria
508 Columbus Ave. (84th-85th Sts.)
212-769-2627

Ploy Thai

It sounds like a goofy school of martial arts or an episode of "I Spy," but a regular reader tells me that Ploy Thai prepares a very good rendition of the chopped-meat salad called larb. He's "definitely going back," and I hope to join him.

Ploy Thai
81-20 Broadway, Elmhurst, Queens
718-205-2128

Sarita's Bakery

This Colombian corner eatery lays out a decent spread, and it doesn't put on airs; at noon, the tables were filled with blue-collar types on their lunch hour. Looks like a good place to chow down, if you can beat the rush.

Sarita's Bakery
94-12 Corona Ave., Elmhurst, Queens
718-760-1034

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

El Arrayan

"Chilean myrtle" is another name for the arrayan, an evergreen that grows in the central Andes, but for me, the menu's aquatic entries are the standouts. They include seafood empanadas, as well as the typical beef and chicken varieties, and at least one Chilean entrée that's all about the abalone.

El Arrayan
91-06 43rd Ave., Elmhurst, Queens
718-478-6245

Bolivia Grocery

With the exception of the ladies sitting behind the counter, this tiny deli-grocery didn't seem very Bolivian; for a badly needed drink, the best I could manage was a Colombiana kola (12 fl. oz.; $1). None of the packaged goods were from Bolivia, and in the late afternoon the only food still on call from the cookstove was bacon and eggs, but a return visit earlier in the day might be rewarded with salchipapas, a jumble of french fries and sliced sausage doused with one or more sauces, or a salteña, the Bolivian variation on the empanada.

Bolivia Grocery
90-22 Corona Ave., Elmhurst, Queens

Pop Diner

The menu seems to round up the usual suspects plus a handful of international adventurers, but it's hard to be sure; you try reading small orange lettering against a glossy turquoise background. Pop Diner also sports an illuminated cabinet for mints and gum at the cash register and a tabletop jukebox at every booth, but the rotating display of pies and cakes is more techno than retro: The lowest level caters to the late-night crowd with cans of Red Bull and bottles of water.

Pop Diner
80-26 Queens Blvd. (at 51st Ave.), Elmhurst, Queens
718-426-2229
www.popdiner.com

Bahar

Apparently unaffiliated with the Bahar on Coney Island Ave., this Afghan restaurant has won praise for dishes like narlenge palow, "zafron colored rice [sic], topped w. orange peels, almonds, pistachios, and chunks of lamb kebab."

I'm not inspired to order item number 88, but it's interesting to note the sentiment behind the "Freedom Fries." Bahar's laissez-faire attitude toward orthography doesn't entirely exclude the French, however; asking for number 86 will secure you a side order of "Raisons & Carrots."

Bahar
82-19 Queens Blvd. (north side, near 51st Ave.), Elmhurst, Queens
718-426-5822

Sip-N-Dunk

Coffee ($1), no donuts. Despite the sign and the other lingering fixtures, like footrests on the stools at the lunch counter, the menu is almost exclusively Peruvian. Nothing stood out, except for the curious display of orange gelatin desserts in the display case by the door.

Sip-N-Dunk
147 Kearny Ave., Kearny, New Jersey
201-997-3994