Eating In Translation

Hyderabadi

(This venue is closed.) It's squirreled away on a side street, across from a gas station, which hints at the sadly low level of foot traffic.

Rio Bonito

(This post is based on visits to the previous Astoria location, 32-86 47th St.) Like the Amazon basin, this Brazilian supermarket is home to many flavors just waiting to be discovered.

Lia's Ices

(This venue is closed.) For a frozen dessert, it's about as drab as they come, but if this peanut butter ice (small; $2) is any indication, sign me up for a tour of the menu.

Harlem Week Festival

Dessert was more satisfying than "dinner."

Udom's Thai and Indonesian Grocery

(This venue is closed.) Lagered in Laos, chilling in Chinatown.

Fruit vendor

The outdoor vendors near the southeast corner of Mulberry and Canal offer some of the best-looking exotic fruits in Manhattan; on a recent summer afternoon you could have lingered over mangosteen, guava, dragon fruit, star fruit, sugar apple, rambutan, lychee, and longan. But just around the corner was an even rarer sight.

White Horse Tavern

My tongue was practically hanging out, too.

Oppenheimer Meats

(This venue is closed.) From the outgoing message on the answering machine of this longtime neighborhood butcher: "Unfortunately, we will be suspending our operations at 2606 Broadway until we can find another location in the neighborhood."

Oppenheimer Meats
2606 Broadway (98th-99th Sts.)
212-662-0246
www.OppenheimerMeats.com

Vanishing Beijing

Between meals during my first and only visit to Beijing, in 2006, I spent many hours on unescorted walks far from the tourist attractions. Typically this was occasion to sample still more food, but it was also an opportunity to wander through many out-of-the-way neighborhoods before their charm and their grit was swept clean by urban redevelopment. Sadly, only my camera, and not my belly, had room for The Restaurant of Uygur (shown) on the day I passed by; by the looks of the surroundings, it's likely I missed my one opportunity. See a few more fleeting sights in this slideshow.

Word of Mouth: Will Wondees Never Cease?

(This venue is closed.) After opening a second and a third Wondee within several blocks of the original — the best of the three, by my lights, especially now that the owners have dimmed that laundromat glare — this Thai mini-chain is stepping out of Hell's Kitchen and opening a fourth location in Morningside Heights, just south of Columbia University.

Almost across the street from the well-regarded Thai Market, Wondee Siam IV will occupy a narrow but quite deep space formerly occupied by the B. Cohen hardware store. The owners plan a September opening, a staffer at the original Wondee said on Saturday — right on time for the returning Columbia crowd. That delivery man, from the Domino's next door, will be sharing his lonely "bike lane" very soon.

Wondee Siam IV
969 Amsterdam Ave. (107th-108th Sts.)
Scheduled to open September 2008