Eating In Translation

Khanom pang ai tiim vendor

Several New York sightings of ice cream sandwiches — and several days of hot humid weather — reminded me of a vendor I once came across in Lumphini Park, in Bangkok. He offered a choice of flavors for his khanom pang ai tiim, which in its more elaborate renditions is sometimes translated as "sundae in a bun." All I know of this flavor is that it was flecked with green and popular with the Thai-speaking customers ahead of me. The seven small scoops sat high on the bread because they rested on a seam of sticky rice. Grand total: 10 baht, or about 28 cents at the time.

Khanom pang ai tiim vendor
Lumphini Park, Bangkok
(From a December 2006 visit)

Cuba Bakery

Perfect for a mid-morning café Cubano break: masa real de coco(nut) and rollo de guayaba (guava).

Cuba Bakery
1219 Summit Ave. (12th-13th Sts.), Union City, New Jersey
201-348-0815
www.CubanBakeryUC.com

Cevichochos vendor

"Cevichochos," like "brunch," is a portmanteau. For this Ecuadorian street food, the seasonings and accompaniments of ceviche are applied, not to fish, but to chochos — lupini beans — and hidden chunks of fried pork, too. The lady who served us, at a small makeshift stand where a young girl, presumably her daughter, was also eating cevichochos, prepares ceviche as well, but by 11:00 a.m. her entire batch had sold out. Five hours of street vending can do that.

Cevichochos vendor
Outside Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 104-11 37th Ave. (104th-105th Sts.), Corona, Queens
Sunday only, 6:00 a.m. till early afternoon

Fan Fried Rice Bar

(This post is based on a visit to the restaurant's previous, Bed-Stuy, location.) Everything-bagel seasoning, thick-cut bacon, scrambled egg (largely hidden), and a flourish of potato chips say "good morning" — or, perhaps, "morning after" — Taiwanese-American breakfast fried rice.

H/T Peter Cuce

Fan Fried Rice Bar
740 Driggs Ave. (at South 2nd St.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn
929-290-2197
www.FanFriedRiceBar.com
Closed Monday

"Montezuma's Rescue"

Nontraditional choking poster (the title is my invention) commissioned for La Lonchería
41 Wilson Ave. (George-Melrose Sts.), Bushwick, Brooklyn
212-729-4235
www.LaLoncheriaBK.com

Republic of Booza

Kashta, which evokes clotted cream, is the traditional flavor of the stretchy, chewy Middle Eastern ice cream called booza. The bounty of temperate lands, however, can also be transmuted into the same dense form. Shown: blackberry atop black walnut.

Republic of Booza
76 North 4th St. (Wythe Ave.-Berry St.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718-302-5000
www.Facebook.com/RepublicOfBooza

Caribbean Connection

Worth lingering over: Jamaican stew pork and accompaniments. Cause to return: a breakfast sandwich featuring ackee.

H/T Jackie (a recommendation made some time ago, over empty bowls of mohinga)

Caribbean Connection
3969 Laconia Ave. (at East 225th St.), Wakefield, Bronx
718-655-5155
www.Facebook.com/Caribbean-Connection-Catering-Services-Restaurant-116275081789529
Closed Sunday

Byggyz

(This venue is closed.) End-on, the Byggybeef is modest in appearance. It betrays little of its makings — among them, warm beef slow-braised in pomegranate juice, and a bespoke vegetable combo that includes pickled fennel, carrot, red cabbage, and currants — but fanciful culinary formulas, which decorate the dining area, hint at the underlying alchemy.

Byggyz
37-39 Clinton St. (Stanton-Rivington Sts.), Manhattan
212-475-0040

Madison African Caribbean Cuisine

(This venue is closed.) Yoke gari (Yoh-keh Gah-ree), an elaboration on the Ghanaian bean stew called red red, adopts color from both palm oil and tomatoes. The stew is dressed with gari, grains of grated and fried cassava that add body and contrasting texture (but don't compare, in depth of flavor, to Brazilian farofa). Black-eyed peas are typical, as is the accompanying heap of fried plantain; my plate also sported fried red snapper, wedges of lemon, and the purplish hot sauce known as shito.

Also shown, a thick unsweetened blend of fermented corn dough and canned milk: iced kenkey. It might grow on you — a heavy, quart-sized go-cup and a skinny straw make for slow going — even if iced kenkey is listed, unaccountably, on the short menu of desserts.

Madison African Caribbean Cuisine
23 E 108th St. (Madison-Fifth Aves.), Manhattan
646-869-0368
Closed Sunday

Szechuan Mountain House

Perhaps the rich coloration of the hóngshāo ròu inspired the menu's translation. "Braised pork with cherry" has no cherries — but grapes, it turns out, are a nice touch. For more photos, see the EIT page on Facebook.

Szechuan Mountain House
3916 Prince St. (Roosevelt-39th Aves., inside One Fulton Square, unit G03), Flushing, Queens
718-888-7893
Also at 23 St. Mark's Pl. (Second-Third Aves.), Manhattan
917-388-3866
www.SzechuanMountainHouse.com