Eating In Translation

#EveryoneSpeaksFood: fideos

Hashtagged poster for Google Translate
Margarita Grocery, 3462 Broadway (141st-142nd Sts.), Manhattan
www.Twitter.com/hashtag /EveryoneSpeaksFood?src=hash

La Terraza Restaurant

(This venue is closed.) Inspired by a member of the kitchen staff who'd emerged for his lunch break, this was an instance of "I'll have what he's having": guineos topped with stewed eggplant. The only drama was in my decision to accept the counterwoman's offer of a little chicken gravy, gratis.

La Terraza Restaurant
3881 Broadway (161st-162nd Sts.), Manhattan
212-795-0615

Pique y Pase "Pepin"

From the udder to you: "Today we have the rich colostrum milk."

Tangra Masala

As "lollypops," inside steamed momos, or in stir-fries, chicken soars at this halal home of Chinese wok cooking with Indian flavors. Like most of the main courses, chilli chicken can be served wet, in gravy. Or it can be served dry (shown, $10.95), with minimal saucing that's spicy, garlicky, and — thanks to long cooking over a low fire — even a tad sweet. See more photos from this lunch on the EIT page on Facebook.

Also shown: thank-you banknotes from five continents and several island nations; Tangra and its neighbors.

Tangra Masala
87-09 Grand Ave. (Queens Blvd.-Van Loon St.; shown), Elmhurst, Queens
718-803-2298
Also in grander premises at 39-23 Queens Blvd. (39th-40th Sts.), Sunnyside, Queens
718-786-8008
www.Facebook.com/Tangra-Asian-Fusion-662792383732554

Preview Sandwich Shop

From across the way, this sign is totally hidden by the awning of Hello Deli; it's visible only from up close. Perhaps this older showbiz-themed business premiered sometime in the 1960s. Exactly when, and just how long a run it had before the lights went dark, is unclear.

H/T Jeremiah's Vanishing New York

Preview Sandwich Shop
213 West 53rd St. (Broadway-Eighth Ave.), Manhattan
212-489-7832

Nena La Rubia

(This venue is closed. Several other vendors still do business in the immediate vicinity; they sell the same items, in the same cups, at the same low prices. Recently I revisited the vendor on Nena La Rubia's old corner.) Though the proprietors speak little English, "It's our pleasure to serve you" say the cups, and the smiles.

Amid cries of "peso, peso, peso, peso" from vendors of household goods and sundries, this sidewalk stand quietly serves cupful after cupful of liquid Dominican dessert, also for a "peso," figuratively, one buck. The thick beverage called habichuelas con dulce (ah-bee-Cway-lahs con Dool-say, "beans with sweets") combines creamed red beans, coconut milk, and spices; milk crackers float on top, while whole beans or chunks of sweet potato sometimes await below (there's no telling). In the Dominican Republic, families traditionally prepare it at Christmastime and around Easter; in Washington Heights, this stand does a brisk business all year 'round.

Also shown below: a runny whole-kernel corn dessert, maiz con dulce, also known as chacá (chah-Cah); a firm corn pudding called majarete (mah-hah-Ray-tay); and the stand (in the middle distance), accompanied by orange thermal containers that hold reserves of the two more-liquid desserts.

Nena La Rubia
Stand on West 182nd St. near the southeast corner with St. Nicholas Ave., Manhattan
Early afternoon till about 9:00

Ali's Trinidad Roti Shop

"Ali," by all accounts, is a popular name in the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Multiple roti shops in New York go by this name. I don't know if any are under common ownership; all of them seem to run as separate operations.

This particular Ali is a genial fellow who serves generous portions; my salt fish roti ($8.50), shown partially unwrapped, was near full to bursting. You might burst, too, if you try to polish it off at one sitting.

Ali's Trinidad Roti Shop
4220 White Plains Rd. (East 233rd-East 234th Sts.), Wakefield, Bronx
718-655-2178

"No menus"

Try that five times fast, in five languages. From my photo archives.

"No menus"
Chelsea, Manhattan

Flour, hay, grain & feed

(As of March 2020, the first sign shown here has been largely obscured by graffiti.) Hay and feed would have been intended for working animals and livestock, a century or more ago; flour, for their owners; and grain perhaps for both man and beast. The current business at this location also sells grain for human consumption, though only in the form of potent potables.

That business — yes, the liquor store — moved to its current mid-block location several years ago. Its old digs, now the site of a deli, still display faded signage (shown below) for a grocer that also may be of century-old vintage. The word at the bottom, partly obscured by the awning, might be "feed"; at the top, partially cut away by a punched-through window, could be the word "hostler" — a stableman.

Flour, hay, grain & feed
Surviving signage, 303 West 128th St. (Frederick Douglass Blvd.-St. Nicholas Ave.), Manhattan

Arcade Bakery

(This venue is closed.) Caramel apple brioche.

Arcade Bakery
220 Church St. (Worth-Thomas Sts., toward the back of the lobby), Manhattan
212-227-7895
www.ArcadeBakery.com
Closed Saturday and Sunday