Eating In Translation

Stop & Deli

"Stop & Deli": Is that a noun and a noun? A verb and a noun? It can't be a verb and a verb, can it? I stopped long enough to snag a takeout menu, which on later review revealed a sandwich with roast pork, ham, swiss, and sliced pickle; it must be the toasted garlic hero that wins it the title of "Super Cubano." I would deli one of those, when the imperative mood doesn't compel me to hurry on to a lunch appointment elsewhere.

Stop & Deli
64-14 Woodside Ave. (64th-65th Sts.), Woodside, Queens
718-255-6488

Artisanal Creamery

(This venue is closed.) Emphasis on "cream."

EuroMarket

Thomas Kemper orange cream soda (12 fl. oz., $1.49), from Portland, Oregon, is sweetened with cane sugar and honey. The flavor isn't Creamsicle bright, though in fairness, my tastebuds had just been swatted at EuroMarket's long deli counter by a salty sample of pecenica, or smoked pork tenderloin. I spotted many more-attractive pairings for pecenica in the ranks of refrigerator cases at the back of the market, but those hoppy potent potables weren't street legal.

EuroMarket
30-42 31st St. (30th Ave.-30th Dr.), Astoria, Queens
718-545-5589

Lunch break haiku

Food-truck meat lasag
na might tempt me, but in swea
ter weather, not now.

Lunch break haiku
Elmhurst, Queens

Beata Delicatessen

(This venue is closed.) A sign for sore eyes.

Goldenrain seed pods

"Edible when roasted, but not commonly consumed" is the skinny on the ripe seeds of the goldenrain tree, Koelreuteria paniculata.

Bethel Church of Indonesia bazaar

Winner by a nose.

Dubai Finest Candy

(This venue is closed.) Another entry in the category "wishful thinking," both by the Yemeni proprietor, who enjoys visiting family in Dubai, and by your author, who's never tried any foodstuff from the Emirates. (See also Bahamas Deli Grocery.) This Greenpoint shop's shelves are bereft of products from the Arabian Peninsula; my sole purchase was an Atlanta-bottled soft drink flavored with cherry.

Dubai Finest Candy
680 Manhattan Ave. (Norman-Nassau Aves.), Greenpoint, Brooklyn
718-383-3323

Naya Bazzar

These don't represent the market's full run of products.

A-Wah

(This venue is closed.) My dining brief on this small Chinatown restaurant, and on the Hong Kong-style claypot rice called bo zai fan, appears in the July 21, 2010 edition of The New York Times. For additional photos (leave room for dessert!), see my slideshow.