Eating In Translation

Las Alcapurrias

True, "alcapurrias dos veces frito" doesn't have the ring of "twice-fried fries." But you get the idea: First they're deep-fried at a relatively low temperature to cook them through, then on higher heat to create that crisp shell. (French fries, whose preparation is often the subject of exhaustive analysis, may be a slightly different story, since they're all-potato and much thinner.)

As at the yearly Festival Cultural de la Calle 152, the two operations are performed simultaneously, side by side, to satisfy a continual demand for the ground-beef-filled frituras. The bright color of this alcapurria (ahl-cah-Poor-ree-ah, $1.50 each) comes from an unusually generous ration of annatto.

Also shown: a sandwich de pernil ($6); the cut edges of the loaf seemed to have been wiped with garlic. Ensalada de pulpo, pinchos de pollo, bacalaitos, pastellitos, pasteles en hoja, and morcilla were also on offer; a rotisserie was not in action this day.

Las Alcapurrias
Outdoor stall in the used-car and auto-repair lot at the corner of Cooper and Wyckoff Aves., Ridgewood, Queens
Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00-8:00
(Via a tip from an EIT reader and devoted bicycle rider; thanks, Mark!)

Mamak cart

In most parts of the Malaysian peninsula, Singapore included, this dish would be called "Indian rojak." As served by Tamil street-food vendors, typically it includes a mixture ("rojak," in Malay) of vegetables, tofu, and various fried things as innocuous as fried dough and as adventurous as lung and spleen. A crucial component is a warm, tangy sweet-potato-based gravy.

The name "pasembur" ($8), however, provides a very broad hint that the proprietor's first home was in the north of the country — Penang, to be precise. Even in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, which has no shortage of good chow, Penang is considered a culinary touchstone. This street-cart pasembur contains no meat, let alone offal, but the gravy maintains a good balance between sweet and spicy, and the bowl is ample.

Also shown: a boneless short-rib beef rendang ($13), moderately sweet and sufficiently tender but not complex. Hence the fixings: sambal-tinged onions and hardboiled egg; the tart salad called achat, heavy on the pineapple; and jasmine rice scented with coconut and pandan. A ramshackle papadum canopy has been removed to give a better look at the other ingredients, but the second photo doesn't capture the size of the order. The rendang is as broad and deep as the pasembur, but heftier.

Mamak cart
Weekday lunchtime: Hanover Sq. near Water St., Manhattan
Most days, dinner through late night: North 5th St. near Bedford Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
www.Twitter.com/LoveMamak

Khao Man Gai NY

Some of the most successful street vendors in Southeast Asia make their name from a single dish. That's literally true for this husband-and-wife startup, who serve the Thai chicken-and-rice combo called khao man gai (Cow mon Guy). As in the Sukhumvit district of Bangkok — and as with khao man gai's forebear, Hainanese chicken rice — at first the dish seems simplicity itself. Poach a whole chicken with ginger and garlic. Use the resulting broth to cook the rice, and as the foundation for a light soup to refresh the palate between bites; slice some cucumber as an additional palate freshener. Serve with tangy sauce on the side.

Here the execution was splendid: The chicken was tender, the rice was fluffy and fragrant. This khao man gai really hit the mark, however, with a pungent-sweet-spicy dipping sauce that combined fermented soybeans, garlic and ginger once again, simple syrup, vinegar, and Thai chilis. (Ultimately the dipping sauce became a pour-over-the-rice sauce.) In lieu of a basic order ($8), it's wise to ask for an order phi seht (Pea-Set, or "special"; $10), the upsized version that adds more chicken, more rice, and a second serving of the sauce.

Also shown: a modest addition to the one-vendor, one-dish formula for success, a homemade hibiscus drink ($3).

Khao Man Gai NY
At the Hester Street Fair, Essex St. at Hester St., Manhattan
Saturdays, late April through October
Also at the Hester Night Market, 851 Sixth Ave. (entrance at 29th St.)
Thursday evenings, May through September
www.Facebook.com/KhaoManGaiNY

Dominican sweets table

In New York, the typical Venezuelan arepas and the most celebrated Colombian arepas bear little resemblance to each other. They're practically twins, however, when compared with Dominican arepas (first photo, $1 each), which suggest slices of a baked, firmed-up majarete. Dominican arepa recipes variously employ some combination of coconut milk or coconut cream, cinnamon sticks, raisins, and brown sugar; this particular version was very dense but, perhaps, not quite as sweet as intended.

Much gooier and sweeter: dulces de cocopina ($1 each). Also available in all-coconut, no pineapple.

Dominican sweets table
Broadway near the southwest corner with 170th St., Manhattan

Food vendors at the Ecuadorian election polling site

Nearly 70,000 Ecuadorian-Americans who live in New York and New Jersey are eligible to vote in their home country's elections. While reading that this year's local polling place would be in Long Island City, I was reminded of a chance encounter with the election site four years ago.

Patacon Pisao

It's excellent against the cool night air.

Woza

This husband-and-wife team, for the time being a pop-up-only operation, relies on renditions of South African chow that are easy to prepare in a stripped-down kitchen, and easy to carry off. In a permanent setting I might have been able to accessorize my spicy minced-meat bobotie ($7) with an assortment of chutneys or sambals; these often brandish seasonings native to Indonesia and Malaysia, and spread by a common Dutch colonial heritage. (Think, too, of the "Dutch baby pancakes" at the Singaporean-influenced restaurant Masak.) Also shown: Malva pudding ($4), an island of sponge cake in a pool of thin custard.

Back when, notes Woza's website, the husband cooked at his father's cafe near Pretoria, where he prepared a fried chicken dish I'd like to try: "walkie talkies." No white meat, no dark meat; figure for yourself what chicken parts are in play.

Woza
For the time being, at various pop-up locations
949-230-4418
www.WozaNYC.com

Dominican snacks table

Side-by-side with a produce stand and an orange-juice press (forlorn in freezing weather), this table was crowded mostly with homemade sweets. I quickly recognized the handheld confections and a pair of pale yellowish puddings but couldn't make out the items at front and center, in the round containers, which were filled with something dark and sticky. "Naranja," said the proprietor — slices of orange, in syrup.

These might have been wonderful, eaten as is or employed in some elaborate recipe, but I didn't trust the plastic tub in my backpack. (My camera case, which typically sits at the bottom of the pack, bears all sorts of interesting stains.) A dulce de mani ($1), or peanut sweet, hit the spot without muss or fuss.

Dominican snacks table
Broadway near the southwest corner with 144th St., Manhattan

GastroPod

The "Mo' Better Burger" (6 oz., $8) was more tender than most, surely thanks to short rib that's blended with sirloin. Pickles, housemade; mayo, spicy.

GastroPod
Truck parked this evening at the Miami Beach Food Truck & Music Fest
Vicinity of the North Beach Bandshell, Collins Ave. at 73rd St., Miami Beach
www.GastroPodMiami.com
(From an autumn 2012 visit)

Max Yoly Cafeteria

Is it "Max Yoly" or "Mac Yoly"? Signs point to a proprietor of two minds. Consistently, however, the first letter is bent into a golden double arch, typography that some might argue has been spoken for. Perhaps this suggests a reason for the choice of parking space, abutting Garcia Signs, where the truck's own placards blend into the background.

Max Yoly Cafeteria
This day (and, perhaps, most days) in front of Garcia Signs
5572 West Flagler St. (S.W. 55th-56th Aves.), Miami
(From an autumn 2012 visit)

The Fish Box

Mahi-mahi, also known as dorado and dolphinfish, is fast-growing, quickly maturing, and abundant worldwide. Though widespread even in temperate waters, the mahi-mahi favors a warmer environment; in the southwest Atlantic Ocean, it's pursued by humans for sport as well as food. Mature males display a distinctive squarish profile, the result of a bony crest that, one imagines, would not affect the flavor of your grilled filet.

My mahi-mahi sandwich ($12) was a shorty, but the chunks of fish were much fatter than this overhead shot reveals. In this view, it's even harder to tell that the cole slaw was laced with pineapple.

The Fish Box
Truck parked this evening at the Miami Beach Food Truck & Music Fest
Vicinity of the North Beach Bandshell, Collins Ave. at 73rd St., Miami Beach
www.Twitter.com/LaCamaronera
(From an autumn 2012 visit)

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.

Carthage Halal Food

The name of a city that was burned and razed more than 2,000 years ago is not one I ever expected to see on a going concern. The food, which at a glance seemed no different from that of many other halal carts, is not specific to the proprietor's homeland, he confirmed. (I didn't try it; not oversalted, let's hope.)

"Carthage," the cart man explained, is an homage to the ancient city, which in his home country (You've named it, yes?) is still a point of pride. Indeed, a dining buddy informed me, a suburb of the current capital shares the name. The styling of that capital "C" evokes the flag that flies above it.

Carthage Halal Food
Guy R. Brewer Blvd. near Liberty Ave., Jamaica, Queens

Sidewalk snack stand

This now-and-again neighbor of Miss Linda's Kitchen has a very informal setup. The colander suggests that these sweet potato fritters (three for $2), filled with red bean paste, were carried out to the street after being deep-fried nearby — not long before, judging by their oily warmth. The hit of the afternoon, said my fellow food crawlers.

Sidewalk snack stand
Eighth Ave. near the southeast corner with 57th St., Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Hours unknown; afternoons and weekends would be promising

The Chipper Truck

This potato pancake actually resembles a pancake.

Ochoa cart

I coulda had a V8...

Fair warning

"Notice," warns this street-fair placard, the likes of which you won't see in New York, "the food being sold at this booth has not been prepared in a commercial kitchen. The wholesomeness is solely that of the vendor," it continues, in a positive but unverified vein. The final word, that "hands must be washed before handling food," is a good practice for all concerned. Now just try finding somewhere to freshen up!

Fair warning
Carnaval Latino
Elizabeth, New Jersey
(The 2012 festival was held in September)

El Tamal Mexican Fast Food

The bubblegum-bright color is typical of tamales dulces — sweet tamales — to readily distinguish them from their savory counterparts. More-elaborate versions can be filled with fruits or nuts. The masa in this basic sweet tamal ($1) might have been combined with the ready-mix for a Mexican dessert. I thought I detected a faint strawberry flavor, but maybe that was just the pink talking to me.

El Tamal Mexican Fast Food
East 18th St. near the southeast corner with Church Ave., Prospect Park South, Brooklyn
Weekdays, early morning till lunchtime; weekends, "all day"

Esquites cart

Corn off the cob: esquites (ess-Key-taze, small, $2), dressed with the customary margarine, grated cheese, lime juice, and, since I gave the nod to "Picante?", a shake of chili powder.

Esquites cart
Vicinity of Roosevelt Ave. and 82nd St., Elmhurst, Queens
Afternoon through early evening
(location and hours subject to change)

"I Love My Hood" shaved-ice mural

Interesting choice by the artist, Dister Rondon, who expresses love for his hood throughout Washington Heights. It's rare, on the street, to see a woman wielding the raspado. Unlike many of Rondon's works, the lifespan of this one will be short: It's painted on a construction barrier outside a shuttered shore that's awaiting a new tenant.

"I Love My Hood" shaved-ice mural
Outside 186 Dyckman St. (Sherman Ave.-Broadway), Manhattan