Eating In Translation

Olive's Mobile Cart

Olive's oxtail stew ($6), with carrots and potatoes, features extraordinarily tender meat.

Chef White's 5 Star Grill

The crab sandwich ($4) is very crabby.

Brucha Caterer

(Brucha is still a going concern, but lately, the truck hasn't been seen 'round these parts.) They come from B&H.

Tanghulu vendor

Some are sweeter than others, I imagine.

B 45 Chinese Express

At first, this simple peanut soup ($1.50) resembled the namesake dish at Xiamen, China's Huang He Ze Peanut Soup Shop, but it wasn't as sweet or as heavily populated. (There's a dense version on offer at Deluxe Food Market, but in a different style.)

I'd had my eye on a steamed bun, too, but by midafternoon this snack shop was out of the bamboo shoot cake, so I became a fellow who eats peanuts and leaves.

B 45 Chinese Express (a.k.a. May June May; neither name is visible on the premises)
88 East Broadway, basement
212-431-3555
Also at 55-06 Eighth Ave., Sunset Park, Brooklyn (as 777 China)
718-871-2777

New Sam Kee Jan

Purely for the photo op, I snapped this twosome of boiling peanuts and bok choy, wondering how those Georgia jumbos had found their way to a Chinatown market and where they were headed.

New Sam Kee Jan
24 Catherine St. (at Henry St.)
212-233-6252

Georgia grocery and produce truck

Subtly salty.

Checking In: Green Apple BBQ

Late last October The New York Times published my guide to world food along the route of the New York City Marathon. The guide featured an interactive map of 26.2 stops (26 restaurants and one truck) with many of my photos.

Diligent readers will note that one venue, Cambodian Cuisine, formerly on Third Ave. near 93rd St., has closed. As a not-too-distant replacement, consider Green Apple BBQ, the subject of my dining brief in the October 28, 2009 edition of The New York Times. True, this tiny BBQ joint does overlap with one of my previous marathon selections, though not in the way you might imagine: East Harlem's Itzocan Bistro applies French technique to Mexican ingredients, while Green Apple gives a Veracruz twist to cooking from the American South.

Green Apple BBQ is open Tuesday through Sunday, noon till 9:00. On your marks...

Update: As of 2011, Green Apple BBQ is closed, as is Itzocan Bistro.

Charles' Country Pan Fried Chicken

(This location is closed, but Charles Gabriel's chicken is available at his restaurant a mile to the south.) Headed for Yankee Stadium? You can walk from the buffet to Babe Ruth Plaza in less than 20 minutes.

Hamilton Food

A little overcooked, just the way it's meant to be.