Eating In Translation

Holy Cross Armenian Church food festival and bazaar

"We only get this once a year," said the fellow at the next table, playing the part of a favorite uncle at a family dinner.

Xochimilco

Among the wares at this Pueblan shop are camotes de Santa Clara, dulces de tamarindo nearly the size of a spaldeen, and canned pulque (I didn't catch the brand) that might also be served in the adjoining restaurant. The assortment of frutas cristalizadas isn't as broad as some, but the proprietors did stock October-appropriate wedges of pumpkin (about a pound, $4). This one was dyed crimson, while others, uncolored, were a washed-out-orange; the flavor and the sugar high are identical.

Xochimilco
321-323 61st St. (Palisade Ave.-Monroe Pl.), West New York, New Jersey
201-868-3155

Former home of Economy Foam

Though the familiar sign is still in place, this storefront was vacated in 2008, perhaps earlier, when the longtime Lower East Side business moved to Greenwich Village. At least one dining establishment has been proposed for the location; it's likely this was meant as an illustration of congenial things to come, to help smooth the way with the locals. Details still sketchy.

Former home of Economy Foam
173 East Houston St. (Allen-Orchard Sts.), Manhattan

Pomona

The Roman goddess of fruit is usually shown with fuller flesh. Perhaps this depiction of Pomona means to suggest moderation, in diet and in the gentle way she waters a vine. Too much water, or wind, or any of the elements isn't good for growing things.

Pomona
Depicted on the seal of the former Erasmus Hall Academy
Outside the Erasmus Hall campus, Bedford Ave. at Erasmus St., Flatbush, Brooklyn

Schnitz

This "sweet onion" chicken schnitzel sandwich ($10) was felicitously furnished with Tom Cat pretzel bread, roasted beet tzatziki sauce, pickled red cabbage, jicama, radish, and cilantro. The fried cutlet itself, thanks to thorough breading with panko and sweet onion flakes, was moist as well as thick.

Schnitz
Shown at the Grub Street Food Festival, near Hester and Essex Sts., Manhattan
(The 2012 festival was held October 21)
Also at Smorgasburg, in Williamsburg (Saturdays) and Dumbo (Sundays), Brooklyn
www.SchnitzNYC.com

Qurbani orders

In Islamic tradition, the Festival of the Sacrifice called Eid al-Adha commemorates the willingness of the prophet Abraham to sacrifice a son in submission to God, after which God intervened by providing a ram to be sacrificed instead. Today, it is incumbent upon affluent Muslims to perform qurbani — to sacrifice a livestock animal for the festival.

Though it is preferable that the owner of the animal slaughter it himself, in the five boroughs of New York and elsewhere, often this is impractical. Hence, many halal meat markets accept qurbani orders from their customers, slaughtering a animal, usually a goat or sheep, on their behalf. One traditional guideline recommends that one-third of the sacrificed animal be retained for personal consumption, one-third given to family and friends, and one-third offered as charity to the poor.

Qurbani orders
Signs in Jackson Heights and Flushing, Queens, and elsewhere throughout the city
The three-day, two-night celebration of Eid al-Adha begins in the evening of Thursday, October 25, 2012 (by the solar, Gregorian calendar), 10 Dhu al-Hijjah (by the lunar, Islamic calendar)

Viña del Mar

In many parts of Central America, casamiento — the word is Spanish for "marriage" — also denotes a combo of rice and beans that have been fried together. At this tiny, gracious Salvadoran restaurant, it's the backstop of an all-day breakfast platter ($8.50) filled out with plantain, scrambled eggs, crema, and firm chunks of salty cheese.

Casamiento, some say, is one of those homespun dishes for which there are as many recipes as there are cooks. Whether this rendition is a casamiento de conveniencia, or a casamiento por amor, is a matter you must take up for yourself.

Viña del Mar
89-52 146th St. (Jamaica-89th Ave.), Jamaica, Queens
718-206-9535

Table for one

Installed near, but disclaimed by, a fast-food joint on the Lower East Side, Manhattan

Northwestern Famous

This Flushing-based enterprise might not turn so many heads near its home base, but it attracts considerable interest in the Chinese-food-poor Columbia University neighborhood.

Empty pizza box

East Village, Manhattan