At Leticias in Corona, Queens, "the menu is rich with traditional Ecuadorian fare such as encebollado, a fish stew bolstered by cassava, and a pork-heavy platter of fritada, hornado and chorizo dubbed 'tres chanchitos,' loosely, 'three little piggies.' We've particularly enjoyed the tripa mishqui, grilled pork intestines that are popular street food in Ecuador and in Corona Plaza, where at least two vendors specialize in this dish.
"Thanks to Fernando's laborious cleaning and marination of the offal, the flavor is not at all funky. In fact, it's 'mishqui' — 'delicious,' in the Quechua language still spoken by many Indigenous people in Ecuador. (A mini-glossary on the back of the menu taught us what little we know.)
"We did not, however, try the standard version of tripa mishqui — we enjoyed it in a trio of tacos. Corona is 'half-Mexican, half Ecuadorian,' Fernando explains. To celebrate the mingling of cultures in the neighborhood where he grew up, Fernando offers many dishes both in their classic form and cradled in tortillas from nearby Tortilleria Nixtamal. ..." Explore more of these cross-cultural connections on Culinary Backstreets.
