Eating In Translation

Astoria Halal Fridge

"Take what you need, leave what you can," "free food"
Messages in Arabic, English, and Spanish outside Saba Restaurant & Grill
2575 Steinway St. (25th-28th Aves.), Astoria, Queens

Koliba Restaurant

Treska might have been the tipping point. Dining alone, after polishing off an appetizer of the vinegary fish-and-mayo salad, I turned to a plate of halušky (ha-Loosh-key), potato spaetzle with salty sheep's cheese and, implicitly, bacon. It would have been wiser to finish only as much halušky as pictured below rather than clearing the plate of the entire, weighty, portion. A takeout container for leftovers also respects the chef and helps leave room for dessert.

Also shown at this Czechoslovak restaurant, from a special menu enjoyed with friends in a past year: venison meatloaf and goose pate; venison loin with garlic.

Koliba Restaurant
3111 23rd Ave. (31st-32nd Sts.), Astoria, Queens
718-626-0430
www.KolibaRestaurant.com
Closed Monday

Boishakhi: A Journey to Bangladesh, via Ozone Park

In New York, where many restaurants advertise an "Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi" menu and offer a bill of fare rooted in the north of India, customers not raised on Bangladeshi cuisine often conflate it with the food of its larger neighbor. As a hub for Eurasian traders for many centuries, however, Bangladesh has developed its own delicious combinations of cardamom and clove, coriander and chile pepper — and acquired a special love for river-going fish such as ilish, also known as hilsa (shown above).

Last autumn, Tozammel Tanzil and his longtime friend Khaled Khan (shown below) introduced Boishakhi, a Bangladeshi restaurant, to the southern Queens neighborhood of Ozone Park. Yet despite the temptations of ilish pulao — fatty fish and fluffy rice — opening a restaurant during the pandemic was a "big risk," says Khaled. "People don’t want to take chances on food they don’t know,” adds Tozammel. Get better acquainted on Culinary Backstreets.

Island Bakery

"Island," in the name of a New York City business, often attempts to evoke some faraway, warmer, land to the south. This bakery, on the other hand, has been rooted to the western end of its namesake island for more than 60 years; on a past visit, I found the silhouette of its home on a bag of bread crumbs. Also shown, from a recent visit: German butter cake.

Island Bakery (above, in 2010; below, in 2020)
42-17 Broadway (42nd-43rd Sts.), Astoria, Queens
718-278-1958

Nneji: The Nigerian Connection

"We've tried our best to return to deeper ways of cooking,” says Beatrice Ajaero. "Beatrice and her mother have wanted to share West African culinary culture with their friends and neighbors for many years," and in June her grocery and takeaway restaurant Nneji (nn-Nay-jee) "brought the rare and tempting prospect of Nigerian food" to Astoria, Queens. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

Mi Espiguita

At the moment, this Mexican taqueria can't offer seats — as illustrated by a customer's impromptu sketch, which still hangs on the back wall — but the counter is still a fine place to stage photos. Eventually my tostadas con pata de cerdo accompanied me outside. Although picking around lots of little bones was a distinct possibility, the chunks of pig's feet on these crispy tortillas were, with one minor exception, bone-free.

Mi Espiguita
3244 31st St. (34th Ave.-Broadway), Astoria, Queens
718-777-5648

Elliniki Agora Fruit & Vegetables

I don't recall ever seeing Long Island fresh sweet "mush melons" for sale. The much more common name for the species, which includes many cultivars, is "muskmelon," owing to the aroma of the mature fruit; "mush," by many accounts, is an old corruption. This particular cultivar, considered in cross-section, you'd probably call a cantaloupe.

Elliniki Agora Fruit & Vegetables
3212 30th Ave. (31st-32nd Sts.), Astoria, Queens
718-728-0751

Point Brazil

There's nothing dainty about an acarajé (ah-cah-rah-zhay; Saturday only; comped). This overstuffed black-eyed-pea fritter partakes generously of palm oil, a culinary connection to its West African heritage. You should've seen my fingers after.

See also my profile of Point Brazil on Culinary Backstreets, the accompanying photo album (from the days of indoor dining, someday to return, one hopes), and my review in The New York Times.

Point Brazil
3801 31st Ave. (at 38th St.), Astoria, Queens
718-278-1934
www.PointBrazilRestaurant.com

Nonnas 1977

A thin-crust "Roxanne" slice (meat sauce, ricotta, fresh mozzarella, pecorino, Parmigiano Reggiano, arugula; comped), at a table on the shadier side of the corner. Also shown: "Astoria strong, in this together," window art hand-painted by the ubiquitous Berchman Sydney Augustine, or "Berch."

Nonnas 1977
41-02 Astoria Blvd. South (at 41st St.), Astoria, Queens
718-406-9779
www.Nonnas1977.com

Nneji

Nigerian finger food: egusi (squash-seed sauce with spinach, tomato, chile pepper, and palm oil) paired with garri (fermented, slightly sour cassava). The first is scooped up with a pinch of the second. Mealtime entertainment, nearby: Bangladeshi blacktop cricket.

H/T The New York Times via Kim, @garsleat

Nneji (nn-Nay-jee)
3220 34th Ave. (32nd-33rd Sts.), Astoria, Queens
917-832-7338
www.Instagram.com/Nneji_Astoria
Closed Sunday