Eating In Translation

Dawa's

Pancakes and sausage are brunchtime standards; in New York, many diner-style restaurants serve them all day. But only at Dawa's, to my knowledge, does a daylong brunch afford the opportunity to order from twin menus and pair all-American pancakes with Tibetan gyuma ($6 and $7 respectively).

I'd mentioned to my server that one plate would suffice, lumberjack style, but the presentation and the accompaniments — maple syrup and butter for the pancakes, blistering hot sauce and flowering springs of cilantro for the housemade blood sausage — prompted two. My first mixed forkful confirmed that the pancakes and sausage, each lovely on its own, are best eaten that way.

Dawa's
51-18 Skillman Ave. (51st-52nd Sts.), Woodside, Queens
718-899-8629
www.DawasNYC.com
Closed Wednesday

La Dulce Bakery

Yes, you can get a cholado (first photo, about $5). It would be a rare Colombian snack shop, even one as small as this, where you couldn't procure that sugary load of shaved ice drenched in syrup and condensed milk, then freighted with fruit salad.

More basic, and (reportedly) more widely sold on the streets of Bogotá, is mango biche (Bee-chay, second photo, $4). At La Dulce Bakery it's prepared from a softball-size specimen of the unripe fruit, which is skinned, then clamped in a rotary peeler. Several diligent minutes of hand-cranking yield a cupful of what resembles spaghetti squash, but only at first glance — the golden strands are firmer, tart, receptive to salt and squeezes of lime. Mango biche, as a change-up from a cholado, is refreshing in its simplicity.

La Dulce Bakery
6710 Roosevelt Ave. (67th-68th Sts.), Woodside, Queens
718-205-5399

Chittagong Association of North America Mela

In the Bangladesh seaport of Chittagong and throughout South Asia, achars are prepared by pickling a variety of fruits and vegetables in the presence of salt, spices, and some sort of edible oil. Some years ago, at a different event in this same Brooklyn neighborhood, one stall offered pickled mango (a common candidate), olive, and jambolan. Produce from temperate climates is suitable, too; this apple-cherry achar might have thrived even under more-aggressive seasoning.

Also shown, from the same vendor, in order of increasing sweetness: falooda, cake, and fried pastry. Alas, most of the stalls at this mela, and at many similar events, do business only on rare festival days.

Chittagong Association of North America Mela
McDonald Ave. between Church Ave. and Ave. C, Kensington, Brooklyn
www.BangladeshCircle.com/event/pothomela-2016-chittagong-association-north-america
(The 2016 mela was held on July 10)

Mongols Naadam Celebration

In Mongolia, similar festivals celebrate the martial spirit through competitions in three sports: archery, horse racing, and wrestling.

Parlay

The kitchen, I'm told, is small, and so the handwritten menu at this family operation is devoted to classics with wide appeal and an emphasis on the personal touch: "hand cut" fries, "fresh made" chips and guac, a sandwich with "slow cooked" brisket, another with bacon, egg, and cheese. ("Runny yolk"? You got it.)

Guacamaya Cafe

(This venue is closed. Its successor, Guacamaya Taqueria, serves Mexican and not Venezuelan food.) Perico arepa (peh-Ree-co a-Ray-pah, $6), Venezuelan scrambled eggs overfilling a griddled white-corn patty. Though sometimes also prepared with meat, perico is distinguished by the bright combo of egg, tomato, and avocado that evoke the coloration of its namesake — a parakeet.

Guacamaya Cafe
1017 Cortelyou Rd. (Coney Island Ave.-Stratford Rd.), Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
347-715-6471

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

Like most deep-dish pizzas, the Malnati Chicago Classic is built backward compared with, say, a New York pie. After the dough is patted into the bottom of the pan and up the sides (eventually it will form what the restaurant brands its Buttercrust), the mozzarella is laid atop it, followed by any additional ingredients (for the Classic, this entails extra cheese plus lean sausage). Last in the pan is a superb, especially chunky tomato sauce. Not shown: knife and fork.

On my final evening in town, I upsold myself from a personal-size to a small ($14.95), ostensibly meant for two. So how well, you may ask, does deep-dish pizza hold up the next morning? Sorry, you should have asked me during dinner, before I ate the evidence!

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
439 North Wells St. (West Illinois-West Hubbard Sts.), Chicago
312-828-9800
(One of many locations)
www.LouMalnatis.com
(From a June 2016 visit)

Portillo's

Chicago dog ($2.99) with all the trimmings, all in their true-to-life colors — even that sweet pickle relish, in emerald green.

Also shown: the stand-alone restaurant, built expressly for Portillo's in the spring of 2016, and one of many retro signs that adorn the facade. To strengthen the impression that "we're old-timers in the neighborhood," nowadays many businesses employ deliberately distressed signage. The Coca-Cola sign goes further: Its placement suggests a faded ad that's hanging tough, even in the light of later construction.

Portillo's
520 West Taylor St. (at South Clinton St.), Chicago
312-667-4560
(One of many locations)
www.Portillos.com
(From a June 2016 visit)

Hoosier Mama Pie Company

Sugar pie, sugar cream pie, Indiana cream pie — "Hoosier pie" (slice, $5.50) sums it up perfectly.

Also shown: a table with a view (and the best light for a photo). Hoosier Mama's predecessor was a Mexican grocery and takeout, I was told, but once upon a time that elevated platform might have held a shop-window display.

Hoosier Mama Pie Company
1618 West Chicago Ave. (Ashland-North Marshfield Aves.), Chicago
312-243-4846
(One of two Chicagoland locations)
www.HoosierMamaPie.com
Closed Monday
(From a June 2016 visit)

Taqueria Los Gallos

Carne en su jugo (Hoo-go, $11.25), literally "beef in its own juices," is a consommé freighted with chopped steak (by definition), beans and bacon (typically), and onion, radish, and avocado (accompaniments usually added just before serving). An LTH Forum post, though a decade old, offers an exhaustive survey of variations in Chicago and also illuminates the cooking practices in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the soup's ancestral home. There's much to chew on.

In the vestibule of the restaurant, a handwritten sign advised, "También tenemos lonches de pierna de puerco con el auténtico birote salado estílo Guadalajara" — "We also have shredded-pork-leg sandwiches on the authentic, salty, Guadalajara-style loaves." This location of Los Gallos, one of several, is blessed by a companion bakery next door. At the time of my visit, I confess, the various breads attracted little of my attention; instead, shown below are empanadas with a dozen or so different sweet fillings. I walked off with a camote and a calabaza (sweet potato and pumpkin, 68 cents each).

Taqueria Los Gallos
4211 West 26th St. (South Tripp-South Keeler Aves.), Chicago
773-762-7452
(One of several locations)
www.TaqueriasLosGallos.com
(From a June 2016 visit)