Eating In Translation

Rugoris imparidecussatus

If you consume sliced bread or know someone who does, you know occlupanids. "These small objects are everywhere," observe the scientists at the Holotypic Occlupanid Research Group (HORG), "dotting supermarket aisles and sidewalks with an impressive array of form and color." Though you're most likely to encounter one in a parasitic or symbiotic relationship with a plastic bag containing foodstuffs, occlunapids are not unknown at hardware stores and similar commercial establishments.

This specimen — collected by your correspondent, who shares with the researchers at HORG a fascination with small inanimate things — was determined to be "an as-yet undescribed species. The name given to it is Rugoris imparidecussatus," referring to "the unequally-distributed X-like shape of its oral groove." The evident scuffing suggests that this specimen, encountered on the sidewalk outside a Morningside Heights food market, may have been feral, and in search of a fresh plastic-bag host, when collected.

Rugoris imparidecussatus
www.HORG.com/horg/?page_id=1244

Eskimo pie?

Igloo as pizza oven
Sign outside Uni Cafe, 2937 Broadway (at West 115th St.), Manhattan
212-662-1000

Las Palomas

The most notable element of my torta de cecina (dried beef, $7) wasn't between the bread, it was the bread itself.

Supermarket flyer

Ink, paper, snowmelt, and footborne grit on stone
College Walk, Columbia University, Manhattan

"New": The chicken speaks for itself

Outside a former Latin American lunch counter, this was the only sign of things to come. The owners, in announcing their plans for the storefront, relied almost entirely on an image.

"New": The chicken speaks for itself
An otherwise wordless sign for a rotisserie restaurant-to-be
Morningside Heights, Manhattan

Legend Upper West to replace the former Rack & Soul

The BBQ restaurant that served up Barack & Soul '08 T-shirts didn't survive to see the President's second inauguration. In its place will be a new administration — a Chinese import, it so happens, though from no farther away than Chelsea — who were installing new signs this afternoon. In the photo below, I believe the workers had just come to the realization that this particular legend — in particular, the words "Upper West" — would be easier to read on the other side of the sign.

Legend Upper West
Scheduled to open December 1 on the site of the former Rack & Soul
258 West 109th St. (Broadway-Amsterdam Ave.), Manhattan
www.LegendRestaurant88.com

Massawa

The painted sign at the restaurant's far left and the neon in the window are both in Columbia blue, befitting a business that's served the university neighborhood for a quarter-century. Massawa's weekend brunch menu includes lesser-seen East African dishes such as kinche ($8), steamed cracked wheat cooked here with tomatoes, rosemary, and a considerable amount of clarified butter. A second brunch-only item, kitchan — "spicy homemade unleavened bread," akin to chechebsa — has been on my radar but off the menu on multiple recent visits.

Massawa
1239 Amsterdam Ave. (at 121st St.), Manhattan
212-863-0505
www.MassawaNYC.com

Northwestern Famous

This Flushing-based enterprise might not turn so many heads near its home base, but it attracts considerable interest in the Chinese-food-poor Columbia University neighborhood.

Ichie

Watermelon and apple offer color and drama, but the most distinctive ingredients in this Japanese dessert are rather pale. What look like mini-marshmallows are shiratama, "cakes" of glutinous rice. Hidden, and hard to photograph, are translucent, gelatinous kuzukiri, noodle-like strips traditionally prepared from the powdered root of the kudzu vine. Since kuzukiri and shiratama ($6.50) don't have much flavor themselves, a dish of dark syrup was offered on the side for dipping or, eventually, pouring on top.

Ichie
53 West 106th St. (Columbus Ave.-Central Park West), Manhattan
212-865-4888
Closed Monday

Nussbaum & Wu

Many folks prefer cupcake-textured black-and-white cookies, but I have a soft spot for the fondant-draped "hardshell" style ($2.75). In addition to holiday-themed color combos, Nussbaum & Wu also makes mocha-and-blacks, mocha-and-whites, and all-blacks. I prefer my sugar hit in all-white; the vanilla pairs up nicely with the thin lemony cakelike base.

Nussbaum & Wu
2897 Broadway (at 113th St.), Manhattan
212-280-5344
www.NussbaumWu.com

Itizy

Stracciatella, the soup, features wisps of egg suspended in broth. The namesake frozen confection breaks down chocolate chips into more granular form and incorporates them in a vanilla base; this street truck adds an aromatic note. Mint stracciatella ice cream (small, $4.25).

Itizy
Truck parked, this evening, on Broadway near 112th St., Manhattan
www.Itizy.com

Koronet Pizza

An assessment of Koronet's jumbo slice ($3.75) must take into account not just the sprawl — that silvery dot is my 25 cents change — but also the heft. Even at this size, a slice is sturdy enough from lip to tip that you can fold it and eat it with one hand, though you'll also appreciate a place to rest your elbow.

Koronet Pizza
2848 Broadway (110th-111th Sts.), Manhattan (shown)
212-222-1566
Also at 4087 Broadway (172nd-173rd Sts.)
646-559-5566

Jin

Tonkatsu ramen, traditionally associated with the Hakata district of the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka, takes its rich flavor from long-cooked pork bones. This spicy tonkotsu ramen ($12) gets a kick from mayu, or garlic paste. Note especially the very tender slices of pork, at left.

See also this tribute, by Rameniac, to the yatai food carts of Fukuoka city.

Jin
3183 Broadway (Tiemann Pl.-West 125th St.), Manhattan
646-559-2862
www.JinRamen.com

La Toulousaine

Near the Columbia campus: daily French lessons in Pastry Appreciation 101.

Ecuadorian cart

Shown: the traditional Ecuadorian wrapper, atop a traditional New York wrapper.

Quick & Quality Sandwich

Only by examining the menu or the finished products, and not by eyeballing the storefront from any distance, would you discover that the sandwiches in question are banh mi.

Shahi Biryani & Grill

The seating area of this new Pakistani-owned corner eatery extends down the side street as far as that stretch limo. Regular patrons, a co-owner noted, are more likely to be turning their yellow cabs onto this stretch of upper Columbus Ave.

Shahi will soon fill a small showcase with South Asian sweets, made elsewhere, to complement the extensive display of savory fare. The restaurant does prepare one dessert in-house, which I was given to sample: sawayan, a milk-based vermicelli pudding with almonds and pistachios. It's served cold or hot, as you please.

Shahi Biryani & Grill
71 West 109th St. (at Columbus Ave.), Manhattan
212-222-8820

"Bridging the Gap"

American-born Peter Woytuk's bronzes, cast at his foundry in Thailand, often feature animals in some whimsical pose. Woytuk's current Manhattan installation, 17 sculptures distributed along five miles of the Broadway mall, also incorporates the odd bit of hardware and the occasional piece of fruit. "Bridging the Gap" squeezes in an apple and a pear, as well as a kiwi — the bird, that is.

"Bridging the Gap"
Peter Woytuk, 2006
Broadway at 114th St., Manhattan
October 2011 through April 2012
www.BroadwayMall.org/our-programs/public-art/current

Flavors of Peru, Recast

My roundup of three Peruvian restaurants appears in the January 4, 2012 edition of The New York Times. For photos, see my slideshows of dishes at Lima Limon, Coney Island Taste, and Warique.

Freda's

The jerk chicken was every bit as hot as promised.