Eating In Translation

Teranga

Fonio is versatile. A small-grained, slightly nutty variety of millet, fonio (Phone-yo) is a staple at several of New York's West African steam tables, often as a humble stand-in for white rice.

Fonio can also be transformed by the kitchen. At chef Pierre Thiam's new restaurant Teranga, my vegetarian plate included jollof fonio (lower left), cooked in spiced tomato broth. Beside it were a black-eyed pea salad (upper left); yassa, a caramelized onion sauce (center); and ndambe, a stew of sweet potatoes and black-eyed peas (lower right). The best and most boldly colored dish (upper right) paired the sub-Saharan grain with a root vegetable more accustomed to cooler climes: beet and fonio salad.

Also shown: the amply stocked shelves of The Africa Center's reading room.

Teranga
1280 Fifth Ave. (at 110th St., inside The Africa Center), Manhattan
www.ItsTeranga.com
Closed Monday

SVG Caribbean Bakery & Restaurant

Moist and meaty, the exceptional peleau — more commonly spelled pelau, and pronounced pay-Lao — is available Saturdays only, alas, but speaks well for the rest of the menu. There's room to sit, though not for a crowd; SVG is small, like its namesake, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

SVG Caribbean Bakery & Restaurant
1621 Nostrand Ave. (Tilden Ave.-Beverly Rd.), East Flatbush, Brooklyn
718-693-1926
www.SVGCaribbeanBakery.com

Lamoon: Family Inheritance

The food of Northern Thailand — the first home of Arada Moonroj, chef and co-owner of Lamoon, in Elmhurst, Queens — "tends to be spicy and salty rather than sweet. It's also herbal, Arada emphasizes. Consider larb, a family of salads whose principle ingredient is often some sort of finely minced meat. Larb is a common dish in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand; in the last decade this style of larb has become a familiar sight on many New York restaurant menus. Isan larb, however, generally incorporates only a few seasonings; Arada relies on her mom's recipe, which uses 11. 'In every bite you can feel lots of herbs,' she tells us." Read more on Culinary Backstreets.

Pilar Cuban Bakery

Dessert first: At the starting line of a Caribbean crawl filled with jerk, roti, doubles, and savory patties, guava cheese pie kicked us into gear.

Pilar Cuban Bakery
397 Greene Ave. (Franklin-Bedford Aves.), Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
347-350-9037
www.PilarNY.com

Wheated

Red sauce would overwhelm this spinach-and-sausage pie. So would too much seasoning; fortunately for all concerned, Faicco's sweet sausage evidences a deft hand with fennel. Also shown, if marinara you must: eggplant stuffed with risotto, dates, and sweet corn.

Wheated
905 Church Ave. (Coney Island Ave.-East 10th St.), Prospect Park South, Brooklyn
347-240-2813
1326 Newkirk Ave. (at Rugby Rd.), Ditmas Park, Brooklyn
718-758-4184
www.WheatedBrooklyn.com
Closed Monday

New York-area food events, February 7-14

Midnight Market Jersey City
Friday, February 8, 6:30-midnight
Harborside Atrium, 210 Hudson St., Jersey City
www.Eventbrite.com/e/midnight-market-jersey-city-tickets-54200608479
Tickets: $7 advance/$10 onsite; ages 21 and over only

Vietnamese Lunar New Year Celebration of Mekong NYC
Saturday, February 9, noon-4:00
St. James Recreation Center, 2530 Jerome Ave. (at West 192nd St.), Bronx
www.Facebook.com/events/772701076427699
Previously: www.EatingInTranslation.com/2018/02/vietnamese-lunar-new-year-celebration.html
Free admission; donations gratefully accepted

La Dinastia

Roast pork is the common bond: lo mein and plantain, from a Chinese-Latin lunch plate. Sitting at the counter up front, rather than in the dining room in back, I listened as English- and Spanish-speaking tradespeople placed and collected takeout orders. A lone Cantonese-speaking customer stopped by only for a hot drink; leaning in at my left, he chatted with the counterman over the hiss of frothing milk.

La Dinastia
145 West 72nd St. (Broadway-Amsterdam Ave.), Manhattan
212-362-3801
www.Facebook.com/pages/La-Dinastia/117825001576414

Golan Heights

Lunchtime laffa, with schnitzel and all the fixings. I placed my order and claimed my seat just before the noon recess — Yeshiva University and (shown) its affiliated high school are immediately across the avenue.

Golan Heights
2553 Amsterdam Ave. (186th-187th Sts.), Manhattan
212-795-7842
www.Facebook.com/GolanHeights
Closed from late night on Thursday till after sunset on Saturday

Memories of Shanghai

Better than douhua I recall from Shanghai: tofu pudding with seaweed, dried shrimp, and a touch of chile oil. H/T Max Falkowitz, who recommends the xiao long bao.

Note that the restaurant itself is at the back of an alley still framed, midway down, by a torii, a gateway held over from the previous tenant, Tokyo Teriyaki. In warmer months the alley offers picnic-table seating, but in winter the tiny restaurant accommodates a dozen diners at most. If not ordering takeout or delivery, avoid rush hours.

Memories of Shanghai (aka Dian Dim Sum)
68-60 Austin St. (Yellowstone Blvd.-69th Rd.), Forest Hills, Queens
718-880-2938
www.MemoriesShanghai.com

Beer

Even in closeup, this weathered advertisement is difficult to read (click on photos to enlarge). At least one additional painted layer is evident; for example, the word "millions" appears directly below "beer." Judging by the partially legible DElaware telephone exchange, the best-preserved layer of this old sign probably predates the formation of the old American Football League, in 1960, let alone the Super Bowl.

Beer
Surviving signage on the west-facing outside wall of World Boxing Gym
29 Division St. (7th-8th Sts.), Jersey City