Eating In Translation

Kwality Ice Cream and Fruteria Monsalvo

Indian-American reminiscence of a visit to Mexico: chikoo ice cream, prepared from a fruit also known as chicozapote, which I've savored in Roma Sur. (And, after a fashion, also "by the scoop.") The flavor of the fruit mingles "brown sugar and pear," Margret Hefner notes in Frutas y Verduras, with some of a ripe pear's granularity; the ice cream captures it well.

Chikoo: Kwality Ice Cream
25803 Hillside Ave. (258th-259th Sts., inside Honest restaurant), Floral Park, Queens
718-675-4500
Also at 1734 Oak Tree Rd. (Meridian-Sugar Rds., inside the Oak Village shopping plaza), Edison, New Jersey
732-906-1941
www.KwalityFoods.com

Chicozapote: Fruteria Monsalvo
Mercado de Medellín, stall 151
Calle Campeche 101 (Medellín-Monterrey), Roma Sur, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City
+52 55 7030-8206
(From a March 2017 visit)

EggMania

Indian roadside stall meets Jersey diner: our Gujarati lachko, shredded green bell pepper cooked with cheese and running [sic] eggs, was paired with toasted white bread. White seems to be the default; we might have swapped it out for roti but not for rye.

Eggs, evidently, are much-loved in some parts of Gujarat, a state of western India better-known for its vegetarian cuisine. EggMania serves dozens of variations on its theme; online commentary identifies many of them with the coastal city of Surat.

Previously: A lasun fry (shown below) smothers two eggs, sunny-side up, in gravy laced with chopped chile peppers and the namesake lasun, or garlic. This, too, I mopped up with gusto.

Encore H/T Anne Noyes Saini, City Spoonful

EggMania (previously known as Eggomania)
14 Liberty Ave. (Newark-Van Winkle Aves.), Jersey City
201-630-4620
Also 1546 Oak Tree Rd. (at Plymouth Dr.), Iselin, New Jersey
732-379-4959
www.EggManiaUS.com

Amma's Kitchen

Podi idli — chunks of steamed rice-batter cakes lightly fried with curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin, and chiles — from a casual Kumbakonam lunch, featuring the South Indian flavors of Tamil Nadu. For more photos (note the near-uniform warmth of the colors), see the EIT page on Facebook.

Amma's Kitchen
1710 Oak Tree Road (at Sugar Rd., inside The Mall at Oak Tree Road), Edison, New Jersey
(one of several locations)
971-506-1575
www.AmmasKitchenUS.com

Papa Pancho

From a South Asian food crawl, an interlude only in form: Indian-style Schezwan [sic] paneer chilly, pav bhaji, and chicken korma pizza, mini-slices resliced from a bespoke "awesome threesome" presented on a broad pan. At this later stage of the crawl, our pace had begun to slow, and we needed a leftovers box — but not for the Indo-Chinese. Also shown, a further entry in the eyes-bigger-than-stomach department, hara dhaniya (coriander) garlic bread.

Papa Pancho
1670-C Oak Tree Rd. (Henry St.-Sugar Rd.), Edison, New Jersey
732-902-2248
www.PapaPanchoPizza.com
Closed Monday

Punjabi Kitchen

Sometimes the very contours of a restaurant sign tell a story about an earlier business. Shalimar, in San Francisco, serves no alcohol, but it's clear that for at least one previous tenant, cocktails were a specialty. Punjabi Kitchen's pole-mounted sign, though repainted, retains the leaflike shape once favored by a national chain and complements the barnlike double pitch of the roof. If only the restaurant served kulfi with a cherry dip!

Punjabi Kitchen (with Mama's Pan Center)
On the site of a former Dairy Queen, 1691 Oak Tree Rd. (at Minebrook Rd.), Edison, New Jersey
732-596-7907
www.Facebook.com/pg/PunjabiKitchenRestaurant

Outerbridge Liquors

That's a lot of text for a roadside ad. Usually such signs are much more terse, but this one can afford the verbiage because it's directed toward drivers and passengers in a stopped line of traffic. The bottle shape quickly frames the subject; the text, which emphasizes lower sales tax and no bottle deposits, also suggests that a two-minute drive from Staten Island might save you $8 to $10 on both beer and liquor. No telling if that's before, or after, the toll for the Outerbridge Crossing.

Fun fact: That cantilivered span across the Arthur Kill, shown below from a nearby vantage at low tide, was named for the Port Authority's first chairman, Eugenius H. Outerbridge.

Outerbridge Liquors
45 West Pond Rd., Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Sign posted at the corner of Ellis St. with Arthur Kill Rd., Tottenville, Staten Island

Potatopia

Even for dishes that don't have a swaggering name like the Comatoser, portions are universally big at Potatopia (Poe-tah-Toe-pee-ah). Many of my fellow customers fought the good fight but left some spuds behind. I hate to waste, as you can see, but my workout session later that day was conducted at reduced speed.

In a "signature" meal like the Comatoser ($7.75), the quantities of skin-on potato slices, multiple cheeses, various dressings, and whatnot have been figured in advance (though potatoes are cooked, and the dish is assembled, to order). My serving was too salty, probably due to lots of granular bacon bits, and heavy on the cilantro, too. Although the "build your own" options can seem bewildering, you're probably better off fine-tuning your dish just as at any salad bar. Talk over the ingredients with your dining buddy, and then ask for two forks.

Potatopia
378 Sixth Ave. (West 8th St.-Waverly-Pl.), Manhattan
212-260-4100
Also at 422 Menlo Park (in the Menlo Park Mall), Edison, New Jersey
732-549-7300
www.Potatopia.com

Desi Dhaba

Served from a small kitchen shared with two sister operations, Bombay Spice and Desi Wok, this Gujarati mini thali (lunch special, $5.99) offered good value if not the most elaborate preparation or accompaniments. Compare, for example, the pale yellow rice-and-lentil kichdi with the khichuri (one of many spellings) at Neerob, in the Bronx.

Also shown: a potato-heavy subzi, or vegetable curry; mixed pickles and raw onion; kadhi, a thin, sweet-and-sour buttermilk soup; raita; puri; and a reminder of a long-ago school lunch.

Desi Dhaba
Inside Desi Galaxy, 1396 Oak Tree Rd., Iselin, New Jersey
732-283-1097