Eating In Translation

The Pizza King

Action painting on your pizza, sir?

Pizza del Barrio/Carousel Ice Cream

It's less of a one-stop shop than it used to be.

Mi Mexico Lindo

Mi Mexico Lindo is no beauty itself, but it offers towering wheeled racks and expansive windowside shelves filled with pastries like these bready puffs, plumped with stiff vanilla custard ($1).

La Marmite

New York's best thiebou djeun is back in the swim of things.

Sherman's BBQ

When the menu is limited to three mains and three sides, the odds are good that the pairings may be peculiar.

Mexican Independence Day Festival

The 116th St. Mexican Independence Day Festival can be thumpingly loud at both ends, but you can get your hands on some fine food in the middle.

Patsy's

Garnished with a few light shakes of pepper, a slice from the takeout counter ($1.50) is exquisitely light, with a simple topping of tomatoes and bright white, fresh mozzarella, a pliant, air-pocketed crust, and (hidden here) that beautiful charring from the vintage coal oven. (The oven is grandfathered at this, the original Patsy's location; newer branches must make do with ovens that don't run as hot but still turn out very good pies.)

Samba

Though crusty outside, this macaroon ($2) was soft at heart, with an almost puddinglike texture within. Also on offer: a passel of fruit tarts (about $3) and shortbread cookies, straight up or with almonds or chocolate chips (about $1).

Samba
165 East 106th St. (Lexington-Third Aves.)
212-722-8054

El Paso Taqueria

Sunny corner spot for a breakfast of huevos revueltos con nopales (scrambled eggs and cactus; $7) with rice, beans, and tortillas. Scraped clean of needles, diced, and cooked, the leaflike cactus "paddles" have less snap than bell peppers, and they're more sour. Pairs well with the cinnamon-scented rice drink called horchata (or-Chot-uh; $2).

El Paso Taqueria
1642 Lexington Ave. (at 104th St.)
(one of several locations)
212-831-9831

Sandy Restaurant

Sandy's draws a crowd of regulars, both in and out of uniform, not simply for a lengthy menu of Latin favorites but especially as a lechonera — a destination for platefuls of crisp-skinned roast suckling pig, or lechon asado (shown; $6). On a recent visit, my chaser was a jugo de ajonjoli (Hoo-go day ah-hone-Hoe-lee; about $3), a juice whose flavor eluded me till I put an English name to it: sesame.

On previous visits, the alcapurrias ($1), fried plantains top-loaded with beef, haven't always been very beefy, but the disc-shaped cod fritters called bacalaitos ($1), though oily, were quite tasty. The mofongo ($5), a softball-sized mound of mashed plantain studded with pork, with two pork chunks and salad fixings on the side, was good for sharing; a chuleta sandwich ($5) — pork chops sliced onto a hero, topped with a partly stripped bone waiting to be gnawed clean — is best kept on your side of the table.

Sandy Restaurant
2261 Second Ave. (at 116th St.)
212-348-8654

Little Mexico Meat Grocery

Good but unspectacular selection of veggies, meat, and groceries, weighted toward the sweets, such as this economy-size pack of hot and salty Pulparindo (twenty 14 g. candies; $2.99). Also available in extra hot, extra salty.

Little Mexico Meat Grocery
2119 Third Ave. (115th-116th Sts.)

Itzocan Bistro

Two centuries ago, French soldiers took up arms on Mexican soil; today, at Itzocan Bistro, the two cultures commingle peaceably in creations like this huitlacoche soufflé (special; $9), which raises the black fungus also called "corn smut" to uncommon heights. More down to earth, chicken braised in chardonnay (special; $18), with apples, celery, chipotle, and carrots, might have taken a few more chances with the chilis. For dessert, lemon semolina flan ($6), accompanied by apricot sauce and fresh blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries, was a grainy-textured take on the classic crème caramel.

Itzocan Bistro
1575 Lexington Ave. (at 101st St.)
(one of two locations)
212-423-0255

El Barrio Juice Bar

While they offer the customary bottles of Mirinda, Jarritos, and their Western counterparts, plus a freezer case of popsicles flavored with guava, lime, and almond, the fine folks at El Barrio Juice Bar specialize in customized coolers, both the traditional and the health-shake variety. Choose, for example, from a dozen flavors of the thin shakes called liquados; prepared with milk and sugar, a liquado de mamey (mah-May; $3.50) was reminiscent of cantaloupe and papaya.

El Barrio Juice Bar
308 East 116th St. (First-Second Aves.)
212-828-0403

Don Paco Lopez Panaderia

At a panaderia, customarily you help yourself to the pastries of your choice, using a tray and tongs; I plucked this still-warm jojo (80 cents) from a fresh batch.

Also called a "beso," it sealed together two sugar-dusted domes of yellow cake with a "kiss" of strawberry jam. (That well may be where the name comes from, but I wasn't comfortable asking the counterman any more about a kiss.)

On a return visit, my selections included the flaky pastry below (perhaps called a "tornillo"; $1) that was spiraled into the shape of a cone, then filled with an egg custard.

Don Paco Lopez Panaderia
2129 Third Ave. (116th-117th Sts.)

House of Seafood

The house version of scallops and chips ($7.50) have little to recommend them other than sheer volume. If you become irritated that a half-dozen customers who arrive later receive their orders earlier, that might also suggest eating elsewhere.

House of Seafood
2349 Frederick Douglas Blvd. (at 126th St.)
212-531-0405

A Taste of Seafood

A sandwich featuring three pieces of lightly fried whiting ($4) was especially enjoyable against the backdrop of Marcus Garvey Park. Service here could use a smile.

A Taste of Seafood
50 East 125th St. (at Madison Ave.)

Flavored with One Love

(This venue is closed.) A codfish cake (Friday-only special; $1.50) suggested that this Guyanese-leaning restaurant and caterer is worth another visit, though the dim decor makes takeout a more attractive option.

Flavored with One Love
1941 Madison Ave. (124th-125th Sts.)
212-426-4446

Bermudez Bakery

Are these two different kinds of cookies in this tray, I asked the counterman? No, he told me, some of them were just baked longer than others. That might have warned me away — most of the offerings were similarly indifferent — but I wanted something sweet, and I liked the look of the lighter-colored sugar cookies ($1). I probably would have fared better with a cookie that was less underdone.

Bermudez Bakery
1875 Lexington Ave. (116th-117th Sts.)

Zapotitlan Family Mexican Restaurant

Uninviting restaurant area; not much in the way of groceries, either; scattering of baked goods. Had a Jarritos (400 ml.; $1), this time in tamarind.

Zapotitlan Family Mexican Restaurant
118 East 116th St. (Park-Lexington Aves.)

Morrone Bakery

 

(This venue is closed.) A small black-olive loaf ($1.50) got an extra kick from anise seeds; I ate it at one go, pausing only occasionally to marvel at the springiness of its golden crust. I hear Morrone makes an excellent prosciutto loaf, too.

Morrone Bakery
324 East 116th St. (First-Second Aves.)
212-722-2972

La Lomita del Barrio

Attractive variety of produce outside, two-seat taco counter up front by the door. From the grocery section, I chose the sweet version of Mari's brand tamarind candy (3 oz.; $1.50) — the enchilada versions of Mexican sweets are generally too hot for me — but still I was surprised at how little of the fruit's characteristic sour flavor managed to push its way through. These candies are labeled tarugos, Spanish for "wooden plugs" — probably in reference to their appearance, though as it happens, their pulpy insides also carry a fair number of seeds as well as a few woody fibers.

La Lomita del Barrio
209 East 116th St. (Second-Third Aves.)
212-289-8138

Touba West African Market

 

(This venue is closed.) I've never been fond of the aggressive flavor in Latin versions I've tried, but in this "nourishing" beverage from Albani Breweries (330 ml.; $1), ginger trumps malt. Curious, I thought, on closer reading of the label, that it's brewed in Denmark.

Touba West African Market
102 East 116th St. (Park-Lexington Aves.)
212-828-4332

116 Cuchifritos

My bacalaito (codfish fritter; $1.10), served up at the streetside window hidden here, was moist, slightly oily, and tasted of fish without being fishy. A second, comparison bacalaito from nearby Sandy Restaurant ($1) had a decent flavor but was tough, perhaps after too long under under the light bulbs that serve as heat lamps.

116 Cuchifritos
168 East 116th St. (Lexington-Third Aves.)
212-876-4846

Mexico Lindo Grocery

Wider variety here of music, videos, and knickknacks than food, but there's a good selection of bargain sweets near the front counter. Pulparindo, sal y chile (14 g.; 35 cents) is a two-bite candy made from hot and salted tamarind pulp. Also available in extra hot.

2265 Second Ave. (116th-117th Sts.)
212-410-4728

Mi Pueblo Minimarket

Considering its size — I very nearly had to turn sideways to squeeze down the aisles — Mi Pueblo has an exceptional variety of bagged herbs and spices, an intriguing selection of canned goods (for example, at least three brands of nopalitos, or tender cactus), plus greens, meats, cheese, baked goods, and what have you.

My grocella paleta (currant popsicle; $1) might as well have been cherry, but it was good to see that it was manufactured by La Michoacana Paleteria, whose Sunset Park retail outlet apparently closed in the past year. Lots more flavors to try another time.

Mi Pueblo Minimarket
224 East 116th St. (Second-Third Aves.)