Eating In Translation

Queens Bazaar Food

These dried aluche (about $5 per pound) are a sort of sour plum, for flavoring stews and other long-cooked dishes. (Mind the pits.) The bin identified their origin as Samarkand; might they also be used in the manufacture of tkemali sauce? The counterman, whose first home seemed to be nearer the Middle East than Central Asia, couldn't say.

Among its virtues, this tidy and well-stocked shop carries noklod chi and many other sweets from Tabrizi Bakery of Watertown, Massachusetts, delivered each week. Thursday, I think.

Queens Bazaar Food
94-02 63rd Dr. (at Booth St.), Rego Park, Queens
718-459-5536

Rego Park Jewish Center

The Hungarian-born artist A. Raymond Katz (1895-1974) was well-known for his designs, in many media, in synagogues throughout the United States. This mosaic — fabricated by the V. Foscato factory of Long Island City and shown here in detail and even tighter closeup — depicts an etrog, a variety of citron that figures in the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

If you know your etrog, you also know that its function is more ceremonial than culinary. But note: Tuesday night is bingo night at this conservative synagogue. Since outside food is not permitted, a concession offers kosher foods including hot dogs, salami, and hush puppies from Ben's Best.

Rego Park Jewish Center
Mosaic designed by A. Raymond Katz, fabricated by the V. Foscato factory, 1948
97-30 Queens Blvd. (64th-65th Rds.), Rego Park, Queens
718-459-1000
www.RPJC.com

Ben's Best

Hot pastrami sandwich ($11.99).

Ben's Best
96-40 Queens Blvd. (63rd Dr.-64th Rd.), Rego Park, Queens
718-897-1700
www.BensBest.com

Pizza Palace Cafe

A sufganiyah (plural: sufganiyot) is a jelly donut, prepared in Israel and in Jewish communities abroad, especially during the Hanukkah season. The fried dough of this blueberry sufganiyah ($1.50) was exceptionally light, but the donut also recalled a childhood lamentation: Some donuts have less jelly than others.

Pizza Palace Cafe
63-60 108th St. (63rd Dr.-64th Ave.), Forest Hills, Queens
718-997-7492
www.PizzaPalaceCafe.com

Arzu

Go for the throat.

Knish Nosh

It's firm enough to cut with a knife.

Andre's

Triple treat.

La Tavernetta Europa

Hero in the making.

Aigner Chocolates

Also available in cacao-free.

Wafa's

(This venue is closed.) Your best bet at this Lebanese storefront: whatever's cooking on the stovetop, just beyond the tiny display case. Here's an okra stew ($5) with garlic (plenty), cilantro, tomato, onion, olive oil (probably), and pomegranate juice; I was ready (even if the okra wasn't) when I opened the door and got a whiff.

Wafa's
96-08 72nd Ave. (near Metropolitan Ave.), Forest Hills, Queens
718-263-2757

T-Bone Diner

The neon, I liked; the burger, not so much.

Cheburechnaya

The kebabs are capable, but I go for the dough.

Sunflower International

Haphazardly arranged, even cluttered repository for sweets and savories, but not unpleasantly so; at the register, I pried a seed from a pomegranate sliced open for sampling. Most items seem to hail from Europe and the Middle East, like this plain-label red tkemali sauce (9.5 oz.; $1.39) from Georgia. In addition to the namesake wild plums, flavorings include coriander, dill, garlic, red pepper, and fenugreek; compared with green tkemali sauce, it's less sour, more tart.

Sunflower International
97-22 Queens Blvd. (south side, near 63rd Dr.), Rego Park, Queens
718-275-3800
Closed Friday evening and Saturday

Piu Bello Gelato

Many of the choices at Piu Bello dazzled at first sight; bilberry (one scoop; $3.25) had the mild-mannered looks of its cousin, the blueberry, but a little more tartness, too.

Oh, yes: Piu Bello also does the panini/wrap/soup/salad thing.

Piu Bello Gelato
70-09 Austin St., Forest Hills, Queens
718-268-4400

Bonelle Pastry Shop

A prune hamentash ($2.50) boasted rich, buttery dough, but it was on the small side, and the filling was just OK.

Bonelle Pastry Shop
108-30 Ascan Ave., Forest Hills, Queens
718-575-1792

Oishii's

(this venue is closed.) The clerk's bright blue hair was a hint: A scanty selection of foodstuffs took second billing to shelves filled with Japanese videos. UCC coffee with milk (11.3 fl. oz.; 99 cents) comes from "the pioneer maker of the canned liquid coffee in Japan." Wouldn't be half-bad if not for the tinny overtones.

Oishii's
109-09 71st Rd. (at Queens Boulevard), Forest Hills, Queens
718-544-8877