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(This venue is closed.) It looks like many a diner plate of meat and vegetables, but this one offers the charms of stewed, chewy lamb stomach ($9). Also attractive is the prospect of visiting Al-Sham Sweets & Pastries afterward.
Little Morocco
2439 Steinway St. (at 25th Ave.), Astoria, Queens
718-204-8118
Not a fusion of cuisines, let alone theologies — as noted in the Zabihah guide to halal restaurants and markets, the name was inspired by the Lutheran Medical Center, down the avenue.
Lutheran Halal Cafe
5121 Second Ave. (at 52nd St.), Sunset Park, Brooklyn
718-567-8244
While your cup is still full, it works as a handwarmer, too.
(This venue is closed. In December 2016 Gaskiya had been supplanted by African Home Restaurant, also featuring Ghanaian fare; I haven't tried it.) No utensils were requested, offered, or, for that matter, anywhere in sight at this Ghanaian restaurant. In addition to my chow, the tray passed over the counter held a metal basin of warm water; for washing up, pump soap and plentiful napkins were waiting at every table. I used fingerfuls of banku, a cooked dough of fermented corn (and in this case cassava, too, I believe) to help scoop up a spinach stew whose strongest seasoning, appearances to the contrary, was onion, and that was laden with hefty chunks of beef ($10). After a lunch like this there's no need for dinner.
My stew itself was less interesting than the behavior of several other customers. When I rose to return my empty tray — I, the only diner who couldn't possibly pass as Ghanaian — the counter crew were busy with a sudden rush of orders. A fellow sitting at one table and reading a newspaper arose, took my tray (perhaps he said, "Here"), quickly caught the eye of someone in the kitchen and handed over the tray, then returned to his seat and resumed reading. Not eating, just reading. I took him for a regular, acting as a bridge between newcomers and an overburdened staff without giving it a thought.
I also noticed two other diners, with meals much like mine, who had just sat down at adjoining tables, but positioned, apparently by chance, so that they were facing each other. Quickly they struck up a conversation that I couldn't fathom, apart from the good humor of their expressions. Need it be added that neither was fingering a mobile phone?
Gaskiya African Restaurant
57 East Tremont Ave. (Walton-Morris Aves.), Morris Heights, Bronx
347-597-7708
Reminded me, briefly, of those half-moon jelly candy slices.
It's a good ol' Southern dish, from the South of Vietnam.
With just the right amount of blueberries, perhaps the proprietor could prepare a blend in that same shimmering cerulean. As any squeegee man will tell you, however, this particular liquid is suited for cleaning windshields and not slaking thirst. (Display space may be at a premium, sure, but right next to the menu is an odd spot for wiper fluid.) I warmed up instead with a hot cup of ginger tea (small, $1) and also carried off a paper cone of gofio.
Mobil Snack Shop and Sqweeze Juice Bar
3740 Broadway (155th-156th Sts.), Manhattan
Leche cortada, the vendor called it. This was his shorthand for a walkup clientele who knew what's what, and who could see that almost all his wares, whether served in a cup or in cookie-like form, clearly fell into the category of "dulces" — "sweets." He didn't need to trouble with the full name, "dulce de leche cortada" — a "sweet of curdled milk."
The dulce de leche I once bought from a nearby bakery was, in retrospect, a more caramelized version that perhaps also relied more heavily on brown sugar. Raisins are typical; common flavorings include vanilla extract, lime peel (removed before serving), and cinnamon-like sticks of canella (one rested at the bottom of my cup). Invariably the recipes specify that as the milk cooks down, the resulting curds mustn't be broken up too finely; leche cortada should have a fudgy richness, but it ought to have some texture, too.
Dominican sweets table
Broadway near the southeast corner with 160th St., Manhattan
Hours very irregular
This illuminated sign, which originally stood atop the Pepsi bottling plant nearby, was built by the Artkraft Strauss Sign Corp. in 1938. When Artkraft Strauss refurbished the sign in 1994, the company reportedly "refabricated all the letters and the bottle, duplicating the original style and craftsmanship."
The duplication wasn't exact, however. The "swirl" bottle wasn't adopted by the Pepsi-Cola home company until 1958 (though a predecessor design, with a "wave" on the shoulder only, was patented in 1940). The bottle's logo is an even later vintage; this design was reportedly in use from 1970 to 1987. As for the serving size, it's difficult to date. Have you seen an 8-ounce Pepsi lately?
Pepsi-Cola
Surviving 1938 signage, refurbished 1994, relocated to this site 2008
Gantry Plaza, Long Island City, Queens
Corner 28 is no longer on the corner. The restaurant best-known for one-dollar Peking duck buns, sold from a streetside window, has moved a few doors away to a midblock location. The fellow shown here, standing beside the old, plywooded address, was steering customers to the new location with a placard and with an electronic assist: a small loudspeaker that played the restaurant's sales pitch in Mandarin. It may be lo-fi, but it saves a lot of lung power.
For a similar sales pitch delivered in both English and Spanish, see Merry Land.
Signboard man, audio man
At the corner of Main St. and 40th Rd., Flushing, Queens
Thank you!
