(This venue is closed.) On weekends, when the jukebox kicks in, the Honduran specialties at La Orquidea are headlined by sopa de caracoles ("snail soup").
The rubbery, bright orange slices of conch, or maybe whelk, are accompanied by a variety of Caribbean tubers — likely including guineo, yuca, and boniato, though when they've been swimming in a coconut-milk base that could almost pass for sweet-potato puree, it's hard to tell — and a plate of white rice. The larger size ($12) is fairly substantial, even if below the conch and vegetables are propped up by my spoon.
For an everyday handheld snack, there's the baleada, a griddled tortilla folded around cream, mild cheese, and mashed fried beans, and filled with egg, meat, avocado (shown), or all three ($2 to $4 each).
La Orquidea
500 East 149th St. (Bergen-Brook Aves.), Bronx
718-585-1488
Closed Monday
