Eating In Translation

Malaysian Food

The proprietor of this street cart with a straightforward name, emblazoned in both English and Chinese, tells me she comes from Johor Bahru, the shortest of train rides north from Singapore. My curry cheong fun was actually a combination of menu items — curry chicken, fish balls, pig skin, and broad, thick, often tightly wrapped rice noodles — in imitation of the fellow who ordered before me. We perched on neighboring plastic stools in the shade of the side street. Previously, the onion-laced sambal and coconutty rice of her nasi lemak (shown below) were particularly good.

Malaysian Food
Cart on 58th St. near the southeast corner with Eighth Ave., Sunset Park, Brooklyn
929-339-2814

Han Shi Bao Zi

Ring bell for service: a socially distant ramp-and-basket bao delivery system. Inevitably these fluffy steamed buns flatten when you take a bite. Mine was filled with vegetables — presaged, on top, by a tiny curl of carrot.

Han Shi Bao Zi
4002 Bowne St. (Roosevelt-41st Aves.), Flushing, Queens
917-687-1789

Red White & Que Smokehouse

"Barbecue," in this neck of New Jersey, often summons the image of a Portuguese- or Brazilian-style churrasqueira, where meats are sizzled over a grill or on a rotisserie. At Red White & Que, which I first visited several years ago, not long after it opened on a tree-lined, otherwise residential block behind a high school, the bill of fare focuses on "American Southern barbecue" — a phrase I heard repeated to numerous first-time visitors, less for clarification than as a rallying cry.

In such company, pastrami is a relatively recent addition to the menu. My fat sandwich was very good with the addition of spicy and mustard sauces — but, for first-timers, it would be very hard to pass up Texas brisket with a fresh-cracked black pepper rub (below). Also shown, from a road-show appearance at the annual Hamilton Park BBQ Festival in Jersey City: a whole hog sandwich dressed with sweet and vinegar sauces.

Red White & Que Smokehouse
266 Davis Ave. (King St.-Quincy Ave.), Kearny, New Jersey
201-998-2271
www.RedWhiteAndQueSmokehouse.com

Cock's Bajan Restaurant and Bakery

"Bajan" (Bay-zhun) is a synonym for "Barbadian"; the chef, and his sugar cakes, hail from the Caribbean island of Barbados. The "cakes" are really drop cookies, and the colors are only for color's sake, but "sugar" is spot-on.

Cock's Bajan Restaurant and Bakery
806 Nostrand Ave. (St. John's Pl.-Lincoln Pl.), Crown Heights, Brooklyn
718-771-8933
Closed on Sunday, and lately during the beginning of the week, too

Khiladi

Pappu is the name, in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, for a glorified dal. "Mom's way of making it," says the menu, might involve tomato or mango; for my palakura pappu, split yellow lentils were brightened by spinach. Also shown: my tabletop decoration. I'll bet Mom could make something of this, too.

H/T LauHound, who pointed out the podi idli

Khiladi
175 Ave. B (at East 11th St.), Manhattan
646-791-0351
www.KhiladiNYC.com

Camotes Puebla

Outdoor desserts for autumn: roasted sweet potatoes and ripe plantains from Camotes Puebla, whose carts visit all five New York City boroughs. (On this afternoon I found these fellows on Fordham Rd., in the Bronx.) Most of the condensed milk seeped between the slices of my sweet potato; would you believe the skin was the best part?

H/T Esneider Arevalo, Culinary Backstreets tour leader for Queens

Camotes Puebla
Various locations
347-753-2073
www.Facebook.com/CamotesPueblaNYC
Generally Thursday through Sunday, late afternoon

Food stand outside Iglesia la Luz del Mundo

Pupusas are a specialty at this church food stand — the congregation includes many Salvadorans — but a recent visit uncovered mixiotes, too. The name mixiote (Me-she-OH-tay) denotes both the dish and a parchment-like membrane obtained from the leaves of maguey. This membrane, or, nowadays, more often simply parchment, is wrapped around long-marinated meat. The individual bundles are then pit-roasted or steamed — the latter, I imagine, for my mixiote de puerco, prepared in a Brooklyn church kitchen.

Food stand outside Iglesia la Luz del Mundo
5313 Fourth Ave. (53rd-54th Sts.), Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Sunday only, early afternoon

Agua de barranca stand

For your refreshment, in frothy freeze-frame: Zacatelco agua de barranca. Literally "canyon water," this chilled Mexican beverage is also known by its Nahuatl name, cacahuatole, "cocoa water." Following the traditional practice in Zacatelco, a city in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala, the vendor vigorously whisked the cocoa by hand, then scooped it out with a jicara, a hand-decorated half-gourd. The jicara is the customary drinking vessel, too, but it's a pain to clean.

Agua de barranca stand
West side of Fifth Ave. near 50th St., Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Sunday only, and surely only in temperate weather

Vote Nov 3

What must be the most food-friendly design for Visualize the Vote 2020, "coordinated by NYC Votes and LinkNYC to spread awareness and build anticipation for the 2020 election."

Vote Nov 3
Mona Monahan, 2020
Displayed on an electronic kiosk in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Santillo's Brick Oven Pizza

I ordered this "1964 style" pizza — "our standard pie, garnished with extra virgin olive oil and parmesan" — without toppings, the better to savor the terrific crust. Also shown: the pizzeria, from years back, featuring signage that has since been replaced; a Mercury Comet parked nearby. I think that's a '65.

Santillo's Brick Oven Pizza
639 South Broad St. (Bayway Ave.-Rtes. 1 and 9), Elizabeth, New Jersey
908-354-1887
www.SantilloPizza.com
Closed Monday and Tuesday