Eating In Translation

Staying Alive: Queens Restaurants Navigate the Pandemic

The pandemic that swept into Queens exacted a terrible toll on many families, compounded by the mandated closure of houses of worship and other centers of community support, and by the shutdown of all but essential services. Under strict guidelines that only lately have begun to loosen, restaurants, bakeries, and other food businesses have been permitted to remain open. How are they faring? Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

One Stop Patty Shop

Curry chicken was my first taste of Singapore three decades ago, at a bakery in my good friend Bill's apartment building. So I have a soft spot for wet curry in flaky pastry, whatever the island — in this case Jamaica, via Manhattan.

One Stop Patty Shop
1708 Amsterdam Ave. (144th-145th Sts.), Manhattan
212-491-7485

Corner Slice

Mushroom pizza al fresco; dining area, and photo background, provided by the hood of an off-duty NYC yellow cab.

Corner Slice
600 Eleventh Ave. (at West 45th St., inside Gotham West Market), Manhattan
212-956-9339
www.CornerSliceNYC.com

The Underground Gourmet

From WNYC radio, 1969: Milton Glaser, who died this week at the age of 91, and Jerome Snyder talk about "their new book on eating adventurously and cheaply in New York City. The two also write a regular feature for [New York] magazine called The Underground Gourmet."

www.WNYC.org/story/the-underground-gourmet

H/T Peter Cherches

Banh Mi So 1

After several hours of grazing, I was glad that I had room in my backpack for this bánh mì đặc biệt, the house-special Vietnamese sandwich — and a pocket knife to cut it in two.

Banh Mi So 1
6799 Wilson Blvd., Units 3 and 4, Eden Center, Falls Church, Virginia
703-534-1950
www.Facebook.com/pages/Banh-Mi-So-1/116603365069006
(From a visit in late winter)

Bánh Cuốn Sàigòn

Bún riêu ốc, Vietnamese snail and crab meat noodle soup, and accompaniments. Also shown: snail meat, close up; my bowl, shortly after.

Bánh Cuốn Sàigòn
6795 Wilson Blvd., Unit 54, Eden Center, Falls Church, Virginia
703-534-4482
www.Facebook.com/BanhCuonSaigonEden
(From a visit in late winter)

Chả Ốc Gia Huy

Breakfast roll: chả ốc lá chuối, pounded pork and chopped periwinkle steamed in banana leaf.

Chả Ốc Gia Huy
6757 Wilson Blvd., Unit 9, Eden Center, Falls Church, Virginia
703-988-1993
www.Facebook.com/ChaOcGiaHuy
(From a visit in late winter)

Thanh Son Tofu

Chè bà ba, a coconut-based sweet soup with cassava, sweet potato, and (hidden) taro. Also: U.S. and South Vietnamese flags; an homage to Chợ Bến Thành, a market in the center of the former Saigon.

Thanh Son Tofu
6793 Wilson Blvd., Eden Center, Falls Church, Virginia
703-534-1202
www.EdenCenter.com/stores/thanh-son-tofu
(From a visit in late winter)

Banh Cuon Thanh Long

Bánh cuốn, namesake of this restaurant and featured on my house combo plate, are made from a lightly fermented rice batter. Steamed on a cloth stretched over a pot of boiling water, the batter sets quickly. The resulting gossamer-thin sheet is rolled onto a dowel, unrolled onto a prep surface, filled with the likes of chopped mushrooms and ground pork, and rolled up once more. Mine were particularly supple.

Also shown, video entertainment: Billie Eilish, captioned in Vietnamese as well as English. The translation for "duh" was comically long.

Banh Cuon Thanh Long
6757 Wilson Blvd., Unit 22, Eden Center, Falls Church, Virginia
703-534-1746
https://BCTLV.webs.com
(From a visit in late winter)

"Open"

(Conditions apply.) Shown in the doorway of Kape't Torta
8313 Queens Blvd. (51st-Van Loon Sts.), Elmhurst, Queens
718-899-0240
www.Facebook.com/KapeTorta/