Eating In Translation

Strictly Vegetarian

(This venue is closed.) When the portion is so generous, sometimes the presentation suffers. To be sure, the Guyana-born owner deposited his kale greens into the top of the clamshell container, where they retained their brightness and snap; the bulk of the sampler (small, $8) was piled high in the bottom. It included a combo of rice, lentils, and peas; curry eggplant; okra and tofu; red kidney beans, and what the sidewalk menu board described off-handedly as "stew chunks" (also shown below) — ruddy-looking pieces of textured soy protein. Yes, a heap, but even for a meat lover like me, also a delight.

H/T Katie R

Strictly Vegetarian
2268 Church Ave. (Bedford-Flatbush Aves.), Flatbush, Brooklyn
718-284-2543

Samir Restaurant

(This venue is closed.) Shortly after our party had been seated but while we were still dithering over the bill of fare, a couple of fellows sauntered into Samir and took a two-top along the wall. They spoke briefly with the waiter; I don't recall that menus came into play. Soon afterward they were served a steaming round of non, the flat-in-the-middle, fluffy-at-the-brim Uzbek bread, which they applied to a pale brownish stew on a broad plate set between them. This was khalisa — or, as the waiter explained it to us using a more familiar name, haleem.

Unlike the Bukharan Uzbek restaurants of Rego Park, Samir is halal, not kosher, but the menu is much the same. Expect much lamb, though the meatless dishes look great, too; my favorite was the potato-and-mushroom combo shown here. And whether in a large group or at a table for two, expect to share. For more photos, see the EIT page on Facebook.

Samir Restaurant
696 Coney Island Ave. (Cortelyou Rd.-Ave. C), Kensington, Brooklyn
347-318-3010
www.Facebook.com/Samir-Restaurant-1047986011889916

The Ainsworth

My taste includes mac and cheese, and my taste includes burgers, but never before together. And yet ... Mac and cheese burger ($17).

The Ainsworth
45 East 33rd St. (Madison-Park Aves.), Manhattan
(one of several locations)
212-201-1228
www.TheAinsworth.com/midtown

Supermarket-circular bouquet

Slightly downslope from the Grand Concourse, Bronx

Nabaya Restaurant

Neither clear nor colorless, sauce claire (with rice, $10) readily suggests its principal ingredient, tomatoes. Perhaps the French name refers instead to the body of the sauce, which is much lighter than one thickened with, say, peanut or okra. In addition to superbly tender carrots, on this afternoon the stewpot offered up both beef and chicken. Four legs good, two legs good.

Except for the awning, the decor of Nabaya is virtually identical to that of its predecessor, Bate. The most evident changes are to the menu, prepared in repertory as at many West African restaurants. Bate served the cuisine of Mali; Nabaya's owner comes from Guinea, and she employs cooks from Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso. (An earlier version of this post stated that the "chef comes from Gambia"; apologies for my error.) Unlike large but landlocked Mali, Guinea has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean — just wide enough for the bill of fare to admit beignets crevettes. African shrimp fritters, see you this summer.

Nabaya Restaurant
860 Melrose Ave. (at East 160th St.), Melrose, Bronx
718-401-2283

Ruinas de Copán

At a Mexican restaurant, you'd call these tostadas. To order them at Ruinas de Copán — whose namesake was a Mayan kingdom of the 5th to 9th centuries, and whose ruins are today a Unesco World Heritage Site in Honduras — ask for enchiladas ($6). Apparently the fashion in Honduras and in neighboring El Salvador is to serve enchiladas open-faced rather than rolled, and lightly fried rather than supple. Also fashionable: an under-layer of freshly sautéed ground beef.

Perhaps the kitchen caught wind of a rare non-Honduran customer: These enchiladas had little chile punch until I added a few shakes of D'Olancho, a Honduran hot sauce prepared from barrel-aged peppers. The unlabeled bottle held something akin to a housemade Russian dressing; do with it as you will. But don't pass up the essential Honduran accompaniment, pickled onions.

Ruinas de Copán
483 Brook Ave. (East 146th-East 147th Sts.), Mott Haven, Bronx
718-585-6473

P.M. Ohmeis & Co.

German immigrant Peter Ohmeis was a New York restaurateur and beer merchant during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A typically exhaustive account by Walter Grutchfield observes that this small Bronx building "seems to have been used ... as a stable beginning around 1908."

On this day a bright green notice, one of many, cautioned against parking nearby; the TV series Gotham, which is set in a city with the dress and conveniences of modern-day New York but the gloom of Victorian London, would be filming elsewhere in the neighborhood. (Where, precisely? I'd place my bet on the interior of one particular restaurant.) For another production, however, imagine a horse-drawn beer wagon — that arched doorway is just wide enough to let it pass.

P.M. Ohmeis & Co.
Surviving signage, 254 East 134th St. (Third-Lincoln Aves.), Mott Haven, Bronx

Anton's Dumplings

These Siberian pelmeni, filled with a minced blend of beef and pork, were dressed with sour cream and dill. I wouldn't have held myself to a small order ($5) if I hadn't just come from dinner.

Anton's Dumplings
Itinerant cart, this evening on Sixth Ave. near the northeast corner of 3rd St., Manhattan
www.Facebook.com/AntonsDumplings

Mario's Pizza & Restaurant

For many Manhattan restaurants, a photo gallery of famous customers is a point of pride. At this Jackson Heights pizzeria, you'll find a few hand-drawn portraits, but the "wall of fame" doesn't focus on celebrity headshots and publicity stills — the center of attention is the pizza. The artists, as you've gathered, are also customers; they come from all over the neighborhood, particularly after school lets out across the way.

During my few minutes at Mario's, I noted that green — a color well-represented in my slice of spinach-and-mozzarella ($3.50) — doesn't figure strongly in the artworks currently on view. Next time, perhaps, I'll ask for a cup of crayons on the side.

Mario's Pizza & Restaurant
77-09 37th Ave. (77th-78th Sts.), Jackson Heights, Queens
718-446-8879

Jenny's Marketplace

The building, a block or so from the Javits Center, is an anonymous glass-and steel tower like many others on the far West Side of Manhattan. From a distance Jenny's is unremarkable, too. It seems to be just another sandwich and salad shop, except for the placard hanging beside the door. Jenny's employs a Trini counterman, and nearby construction projects employ many West Indian workers; bring them together, and lunchtime becomes roti time.

Given the line of customers that forms even before noon, however, the dhalpuri roti skins must be made long in advance, just like all the other fixings at the counter. At least the fillings are hot, though on the day of my visit, goat, lamb, and conch were not on offer. In lieu of chicken, I carried off a comparatively uncommon pork roti ($7.95).

Jenny's Marketplace
455 West 37th St. (at Tenth Ave.), Manhattan
212-784-0690