Eating In Translation

"Trenton China Pottery"

After several decades in historic central Philadelphia, Trenton China decamped some years ago to the outlying Port Richmond district. The company's former restaurant-supply store, which is being converted to a mix of apartments with ground-floor retail, will offer "Old City charm," states the rental agency's website, with "original exposed brick walls and wood beams."

Except for an austere rendering on the accompanying Facebook page, however, the brusquely rendered sign doesn't appear in online promotions. In real life that paint job actually wraps around the corner of the building; the excellent site Hidden City Philadelphia offers a fuller look. Will it stay or will it go?

"Trenton China Pottery"
Surviving signage at The Pottery Building, 102 North 2nd St. (at Arch St.), Philadelphia

Grumman Greenhouse

Part submarine-tracking torpedo bomber from the Cold War era, part solar-panel-powered mini urban farm.

Grumman Greenhouse
Jordan Griska, 2011
www.JordanGriska .com/grid
Lenfest Plaza, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Cherry St. between Broad and Carlisle Sts., Philadelphia

Pesta Rakyat

Safety concerns ruled out live fires inside the church hall, but they couldn't dampen Independence Day spirits.

Abbott's Alderney Dairies

The Abbott family began bottling and selling milk from their Salem, New Jersey, farm in 1876. The business, which expanded to multiple locations in Philadelphia around the turn of the 20th century, soon added "Alderney" to the business name.

Cafe Pendawa

Pendawa isn't really a cafe: It offers no tables or chairs, and the two narrow aisles, which flank a long display table, scarcely allow one shopper to squeeze by another. During my visit I briefly became stuck in a logjam, though of a genial sort. Cafe talk was supplanted by shop talk, in Indonesian and English, regarding the merits of the many locally made snacks.

In retrospect, I was holding my talam ubi (four for $2.50) upside down. These particular kue (pronounced Kway, also spelled kueh and kuih) — a broad term embracing many savories and sweets, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore — were prepared from a steamed mixture of rice flour, cassava flour, and coconut milk, as best as I could determine. The base layer, poured into cup molds first, also included sweet potato; a second layer, more purely coconutty, and perhaps sans cassava, was then poured and steamed on top.

Cafe Pendawa
1529 Morris St. (at South Mole St.), Philadelphia
215-755-6229

Cocktail signage

Two come-ons a block apart, one beckoning with words, one, with an image.

Midtown III Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge
28 South 18th St. (at Ranstead St.), Philadelphia
215-567-5144

The Continental Mid-town
1801 Chestnut St. (at South 18th St.), Philadelphia
215-567-1800

Sonny's Famous Steaks

Cheese steak ($9) with Cheez Whiz, grilled onions. More Whiz and onions would have been better, but Sonny's certainly didn't skimp on the steak.

Sonny's Famous Steaks
228 Market St. (2nd-3rd Sts.), Philadelphia
215-629-5760
www.SonnysCheeseSteaks.com

Sarcone's Bakery

The glowing notice, posted outside, helped identify one classic "Philly breakfast." Inside, a clearer signal was sitting on the counter: a rectangular sheet of tomato pie, already minus most of its squares ($2 each). At 9:30 in the morning, many other customers had already come and gone.

Other tomato pies, exemplified by those in Trenton, New Jersey, first top the crust with mozzarella, then with sauce. (Some say "gravy.") Sarcone's prepares the archtypal Philadelphia style, which has little cheese and is served at room temperature. The effect is similar to swabbing your spaghetti plate with good bread for a last saucy dose of garlic and oregano.

See also Dom's Bakery Grand, in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Sarcone's Bakery (also known as L. Sarcone & Son)
756 South 9th St. (Fitzwater-Catharine Sts.), Philadelphia
215-922-0445
Closed Monday
www.SarconesBakery.com

Cambodian sidewalk grill

A freshly pounded green papaya salad, one table over, would have been a healthier choice, but I couldn't resist the sizzle. I did, ultimately, resist the split grilled duck heads, which often are too much effort without a compensatory beer. (In Flushing, other styles of duck head are sometimes available at Tianjin Dumpling House, on the lower level of the Golden Mall, and at Prince Noodle House.)

Cacia's Bakery

"Red with cheese" is reportedly the bakery's best-selling style (each about $1.50 per slice), but this "pizzaz" takes a better photo. (The spelling is the Cacia's, perhaps for branding. Scrabble devotees will note, too, that although "pizzazz" is an impossible play, with two blanks and a Z you could actually set down the word "pizzaz", subject to challenge.) Sometimes this slice is made with hot peppers; mine added milder "vinegar peppers" to the standard tomatoes and American cheese.

Also shown: remnants of a white pie.

Cacia's Bakery
1526 West Ritner St. (at South Mole St.), Philadelphia
215-334-1340
(One of many locations)
www.CaciaBakery.com