Eating In Translation

Queens: State of the Stomach

Queens embraces innumerable small neighborhoods within neighborhoods, and no single cuisine or family of cuisines holds sway in them all. The local favorites in food and drink, and the favorite ways to enjoy them, seem to change before our eyes every time we turn a corner.

A healthy day’s walk might carry us from a single savory slice of flaky Balkan burek, to a plateful of the lush Afghan dumplings called mantu, to the excess of a Brazilian steam-table feijoada, to the splendor of a Neapolitan delizia al limone, literally a “lemon delight.”

Or maybe, instead, we’ll begin with a fried oyster onigirazu, a jewel-like Japanese sandwich framed in sushi rice and nori; indulge in a Veracruz-style cóctel de camarón with a sporty crest of avocado; tuck away an order of flame-kissed tawa kaleji, chicken livers reanimated with chili powder and ginger, Punjabi style; and put our appetite to rest with all variety of empanadas – savory, for sure, but why not sweet empanadas, too? Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

Salty Lunch Lady’s Little Luncheonette: Big at Heart

It’s a common bond shared by children all across the United States: lining up for lunch at the school cafeteria.

Our own fond memories of these meals are few and far between, particularly when we think of the institutional food on the menu. We had better luck with lunches packed from home — in part because we could show off our TV-themed lunchboxes — but for many schoolchildren, then and now, this isn’t always an option.

Enter the lunch lady: a nostalgic, nurturing figure who presides over the cafeteria, and who ensures that the children get what they need.

This is Dria Atencio’s adopted persona at Salty Lunch Lady’s Little Luncheonette, in Ridgewood — someone, she explains, who’s “taking care of you in a simple, basic way.” Even nowadays, when we sit down to lunch, there's little that’s simpler or more satisfying than a good sandwich and a nice dessert. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

Round and Round: Finding the Best Bagels in Queens

In 1683, so the story goes, an Austrian Jewish baker wished to honor King Jan Sobieski of Poland for repelling an invading army. The king was renowned as a horseman, and so the baker shaped a ring of dough into the shape of a stirrup — a beugel.

That origin story might be impossible to verify, but the bagel is inextricably entwined with the culinary history of Eastern European Jews — and, thanks to immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the culinary history of New York City.

Today, of course, bagels are consumed not only within New York's Jewish communities but throughout the city — and the United States — as standard American breakfast fare. Commercially packaged and, typically, frozen, bagels are displayed and sold in the same chain stores that sell brand-name sliced bread. But while they might adhere to the basics — yeasted dough shaped into a ring, briefly boiled, then baked — these mass-market bagels are factory-made.

Small-batch bagels, however, are still in fashion in Queens. See a few that we've enjoyed on Culinary Backstreets.

Down to Earth Farmers Market: Deep Local Roots

"I've lived in Fresh Meadows all my life, and I never knew this was here.”

Kevin Sims has heard similar sentiments many times. He's the manager of the Down to Earth Farmers Market in Cunningham Park, which hosts some 20 vendors on Sunday morning and early afternoon, from April through December, at one edge of the park. Considering that Cunningham comprises 358 acres of athletic fields, hiking and biking trails and picnic grounds, and is just one part of a 2,800-acre corridor of greenspace in the wide-open spaces of eastern Queens, a once-a-week farmers market might easily be overlooked.

On our first visit, however — even before we enjoyed a blueberry scone, crisp samples of apple and watermelon radish, a pair of hearty empanadas, a vegan "brookie" and an essential morning cup of coffee — we quickly saw how the market has cultivated a relationship with the community. Or, at least, with those members of the community who know where and when to find it. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

Neighborhood to Visit: Woodside, Queens

"The elevated 7 train that takes us eastward from Manhattan to Jackson Heights, Corona and Flushing" also passes over Woodside, "a neighborhood that shouldn't be overlooked. True, Woodside is crisscrossed by Queens Boulevard and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), which corral many lanes of auto traffic at all hours, as well as the LIRR commuter rail. On paper, the neighborhood might seem like a patchwork, but in person — to our eyes — it's a crazy quilt of wonderful food and drink." Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

The Perfect Spring Day: Queens

Springtime in Queens can be overcast or sunny, drizzly or dry, blustery or breezy, chilly or temperate, often cycling between pleasant and inclement every two or three days. When we identify a day that’s too good to waste indoors, it’s time to take full advantage. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

Fuzi Pasta: From Nonna's Table

"I always wanted a place where I could go a couple of times a week and have a good plate of pasta," Franco Raicovich tells us.

From where we’re sitting — across the table from Franco at Fuzi Pasta, which he opened in Fresh Meadows, in eastern Queens, in the summer of 2023 — we might be at any number of casual Italian restaurants. Tables for two, singly or pushed together for larger parties, line a banquette. The walls are hung with charming portraits of diners, most of them attractive women or cute children, wrangling spaghetti. We hear Sinatra in the background, but also 1960s soul and 1970s pop and rock.

The menu seems largely Italian, too, except for a couple of items, most notably the namesake of Franco’s restaurant. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

Best Bites 2023: Queens

A roundup for Culinary Backstreets with Esneider Arevalo, CB's walk leader for Queens, of some recent favorites in the borough. Read more.

Kasbah Café: Algerian Rhapsody

Through confections like makroud and savory plats du jour like chekhchoukha (don't confuse it with shakshouka!), Amina and Halim Fekraoui offer a taste of Algerian cooking at Kasbah Café, in Sunnyside, Queens. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

In the Pocket: An Empanada Tour of Queens

In the Spanish-speaking neighborhoods of Queens, empanadas are everywhere. Here are a handful that we've enjoyed, indoors and out, while snacking our way through Queens for Culinary Backstreets.