Eating In Translation

Ecuadorian cart

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

Sunrise Grill

A cookup, in the Caribbean, is an umbrella term for any number of one-pot concoctions. Cookup saltfish (about $4.50) is traditionally prepared with cod, though in light of the recent scarcity of that species, another white-fleshed fish is often substituted. (I didn't get the specifics.) A side order of some sort of carbohydrate is standard, both to get your day off to an energetic start — this is a breakfast dish — and to sop up cooking oils infiltrated with fishy essence.

At this Jamaican truck, the dumplings (50 cents each) serve admirably. They're simply fried dough, without filling, like oversized unsugared donut holes. I've enjoyed them straight up, too.

Sunrise Grill
Truck parked on Broadway between 166th and 167th Sts., Manhattan
Reportedly open weekdays only, early morning till late afternoon

"Gilled breakfast"

No fish tale here except, perhaps, about the one that got away. Brought to you by the letter "R".

"Gilled breakfast"
Midtown Manhattan

The Boston Speed Dog

Call it a five-napkin dog. Just under a foot in length, it's marinated in apple cider and brown sugar, charcoal-grilled, split, and dressed with chopped onions plus housemade BBQ sauce, relish, and beanless chili ($8). Perhaps mustard, too. Overall, sweet, toppings more than dog.

Speed's, parked at the edge of a warehouse district populated by food wholesalers, primarily serves a drive-up clientele. That SUV, which held three substantial fellows on a golf expedition to Connecticut and Pennsylvania, was supplanted several minutes later by a concrete mixer, whose drum continued to rotate while the driver paused to refuel.

The Boston Speed Dog
42 Newmarket Sq., Boston
617-839-0102
www.BostonSpeedDog.com
Monday through Saturday, lunchtime only
(From a September 2011 visit)

Souvlaki cart

Carbs included.

Carnitas stand

What kind of carnitas? Depends on who's stirring the pot.

Pastelillo cart

Especially when filled in advance but deep-fried on the spot, pastelillos can get their filling all stuck up in one side; that's just the nature of the beast and not cause for complaint. Get 'em while they're hot.

The tomato-and-pepper-sauced shrimp pastelillo ($2) is available Saturday only; beef, chicken, and cheese, a buck each, are the standards. On the day of my visit, two soups were also on offer, one of them heavily burdened with assorted tubers.

Pastelillo cart
Frederick Douglass Boulevard near 129th St., Manhattan
Wednesday through Saturday afternoons

Kimchee Taco

Kim-cheesesteak was not an option; late in the afternoon, the truck had run out of bread. Chicken, pork, and beef tacos (left to right, $7 total) were juicy, to a fault: A little liquid pooled at the bottom of the container, though I don't recall any condiments within reach of customers. Some gochujang would have been just the thing.

Kimchee Taco
Truck parked, this day, on Astor Pl. near Lafayette St., Manhattan
www.KimchiTacoTruck.com

Taqueria Cha-Ro-La

I still prefer my iced desserts more finely textured.

Pipirin

After-services social.

Chiefo's Kitchen

Scotch eggs ($3) may have been introduced to Nigeria with the creation of the Royal Niger Company, in the late 1800s. They've long been naturalized in that West African country; as adapted by Chiefo Chukwudebe, the sausage-meat layer contains flecks of spicy red and green pepper. These might not fly in the British Isles, but they were more than fine with me.

Chiefo's Kitchen
2948 Folsom St. (25th-26th Sts.), San Francisco
510-689-6096
www.ChiefosKitchen.com
At the San Francisco Street Food Festival
(From an August 2011 visit)

Skillet Street Food and Diner

Fennel chicken sandwich ($8). A better-posed photo would have captured not only the seed-strewn surface but also the juicy white-meat interior.

Skillet Street Food and Diner
1400 East Union St. (at 14th Ave.), Seattle
206-420-7297
At the San Francisco Street Food Festival
(From an August 2011 visit)

Big-Ass Sandwiches

This food truck's basic big-ass sandwich features roast beef (or turkey, or, yes, ham) with hand-cut fries, onions grilled beside the meat, and bechamel sauce.

The Peached Tortilla

Southeast meets Southwest: banh mi and pad thai tacos ($3 each). To me, banh mi and baguette are inseparable; the pad thai taco, on the right, better fused its two cuisines.

The Peached Tortilla
Austin, Texas
512-222-8781
www.ThePeachedTortilla.com
At the San Francisco Street Food Festival
(From an August 2011 visit)

Tamales Mexicanos Casa Mia

This tamal Oaxaquena ($2) is freighted with dark-meat chicken; here, my fork has exposed a single fat chunk, though it's hard to see against the backdrop of chile-tinted masa. John Birdsall, a food writer for the East Bay Express whose writings steered me to good eats in Oakland and points north, previously noted the curtido, the condiment scattered atop my tamal. This spicy slaw, characteristic not of Mexico but of Central America, is a marker for a new wave of immigrants in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood, notes Birdsall.

Tamales Mexicanos Casa Mia
Fruitvale Ave. at International Blvd., Oakland
Mornings after 7:00 a.m.
(From an August 2011 visit)

Champurrado cart

Though this street vendor sets up in the early morning, not far from the Fruitvale BART, it's not purely with breakfast in mind. Pre-made tortas were wrapped to go, and takeaway, I now believe, is also the intent for champurrado (about a pint, $1.50), the chocolate version of the cornmeal-based drinks called atoles. I started on mine immediately, despite the server's caution, but had to give it a rest; here it's served very, very hot.

Champurrado cart
Fruitvale Ave. between East 16th and East 17th Sts., Oakland
(From an August 2011 visit)

Roli Roti

My rosemary roasted potatoes were sprinkled, from an auspicious height, with sea salt (small, $3).

Chicken also served here, and in many other Bay Area locations, where this fleet of food trucks can roll its rotisseries.

Roli Roti
510-780-0300
www.RoliRoti.com
At the Old Oakland Farmers' Market, vicinity of 9th St. and Broadway, Oakland
Friday, 8:00-2:00
(From an August 2011 visit)

Senor Sisig

Sisig is a sizzling dish of pork parts from the Philippines, seasoned with citrus and chili peppers. This food truck, you may have gathered, dresses Filipino ingredients in Mexican garb, such as a burrito ($8) filled with tosilog: sweet pork, adobo garlic rice, and a fried egg. (See Purple Yam for a more traditional, unwrapped tosilog and an explaination of the etymology.)

Slicing in two is not the usual approach to eating a burrito; peeling as you eat leads to less spillage. This clean cut offered a better photo op, however, and, so close to the Tenderloin, made it easier to share with someone who needed a half-burrito much more than me.

Senor Sisig
Truck parked, this day, at United Nations Plaza, Market St. near Leavenworth St., San Francisco
www.SenorSisig.com
(From an August 2011 visit)

El Carrito de la 99 St.

At its busiest this little cart is very busy.

Limber lady

It's not called "limber" for the way it jumps out at you.