Vapor Trail: Steam Table Hopping in Queens

The steam table is an often misunderstood — even maligned — concept. For those unfortunate souls who know only a lackluster corner deli, it's a repository of "food that's been sitting around all day." A restaurant inspector might insist on stricter criteria — something to the effect, perhaps, of maintaining already-cooked foods at safe holding temperatures by displaying them in pans above a bath of hot water. For us, particularly in the case of a praiseworthy steam table, it's "a picture menu in three dimensions." A poetic definition, perhaps, but to us it rings true. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.