Eating In Translation

Stop 1 General Market

Although the leaves of maca, an Andean vegetable, "are eaten in salads and are used to fatten guinea pigs, it is most valued for its swollen roots. Resembling brown radishes, the roots are rich in sugars and starches and have a sweet, tangy flavor. Dried, they can be stored for years." Or, ground into powder, they can be blended with water and sweetened with cane sugar for Vita Lina brand maca drink (16 fl. oz., $2.25). "Shake exuberantly," the label advises; repeat as necessary, I'll add.

Stop 1 General Market
103 Westchester Ave. (at King St.), Port Chester, New York
914-937-4510

Tasting at Peru Food Festival and Expo

Courtesy of the grill man, a sample of super-tender anticuchos (grilled beef-heart skewers) was a prelude to several further tastes from the stall of Passaic, New Jersey's La Casa de Rosita. For more photos — mainly of meats but also of my eventual devil-may-care pachamanca for one — see the EIT page on Facebook.

Tasting at Peru Food Festival and Expo
On the grounds of St. Peter's Church, 19 Smith St. (Westchester Ave.-William St.), Port Chester, New York
www.Facebook.com/Tasting-at-Per%C3%BA-526367264152341
(The 2017 event was held on June 11)

International Cafe

Pig snout was an option, I saw, while eyeing a tray of steam-table feijoada, the beloved Brazilian pork-and-beans stew. After a moment's consideration, I ladled out a more prosaic, snout-free serving — at the end of a long day on my feet, fork-tender was the path of less resistance.

Also shown: farofa, whose sandy appearance belies the deliciousness of coarse toasted cassava flour when scattered over Brazilian meats, and two preparations of couve, collard greens sliced in the typical thin ribbons. The brighter green portion was simply steamed; the darker green (largely hidden underneath) was apparently sauteed in butter.

International Cafe
103 Adee St. (King-North Main Sts.), Port Chester, New York
914-939-1002
www.Facebook.com/International-Cafe-108132459227978

Life Savers Building

Factory and company headquarters, 1920-1984; now condomiums. Imagine your favorite flavor in the recurring motif, more easily seen in the closeup photos on the Eating In Translation page on Facebook.

Life Savers Building
1 Landmark Sq., Port Chester, New York

Bolivian Carnival of La Fraternidad Morenada Central

Quechua, an official language of Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, provided the word "ch'arki" for dried meat. Via the Spanish "charqui," the connection to the English "jerky" is plain to see, though somewhere along the trail the llamas made good their escape. Nowadays beef is typical, even in the Andes. Often the meat takes the form of chips or flattened strips, though on this plate — where it was served over hominy and accompanied by potato, egg, cheese, and hot sauce — the charqui resembled nothing so much as dried ropa vieja.

For many more photos from this annual celebration, see the Eating In Translation page on Facebook.

Bolivian Carnival of La Fraternidad Morenada Central
St. Peter's Church, 19 Smith St. (Westchester Ave.-William St.), Port Chester, New York
www.Facebook.com/events/1706656689559498
(The 2014 carnival was held on November 9)

Meateria

The name of this former market is flanked by two images, a "Butterball young turkey" to the right and a more cryptic logo to the left. Very likely the sign dates from 1947, when Meateria was founded; at its height, this family-run business operated from five locations in Westchester County and the Bronx. After the rationing and leaner years of the Second World War, the imagery may have heralded the return of fat years — and, in particular, an abundant supply of corn-fed meat.

Upon the retirement of owner Pat Albano, who took over the business from his father in 1960, Meateria closed in 2012.

Meateria
141 North Main St. (Highland St.-Willett Ave.), Port Chester, New York

Vinny's Luncheonette

Though the artist took liberties with the toque and the height of the pancake toss, the message is clear: If the door is open, breakfast is just a short order away. Afternoon pancakes ($5). The lunch specials I glimpsed were more than ample, too.

Vinny's Luncheonette
182 North Main St. (at Mill St.), Port Chester, New York
914-939-9591

J.J. Cassone Bakery

This marble rye ($2.25) was very dense; come the late-night sandwich hour, I had to slather on the mustard with a heavy hand.

J.J. Cassone Bakery
202 South Regent St. (at West St.), Port Chester, New York
914-939-1568

Longo's Park Deli

The counterman asked me before I could ask him: Why is a balboa called a balboa? Order this hot sandwich and you can count on swiss cheese melted over roast beef; sometimes you'll also get onions, mushrooms, bacon, or the like. Usually it's served on garlic bread, though occasionally the kitchen will hold the garlic and supply of cup of beef juice instead, for dipping. Longo's sticks with the classics: just roast beef, swiss, and a poppy-seed roll given the garlic-bread treatment, and generously so ($6). You can get it as a hero, too.

Despite sightings as far afield as Florida and Texas, the balboa is largely confined to the Northeast, which lends some faint support to claims of a connection with the Philly cheesesteak, and with Rocky Balboa. In my gut I've always suspected this association, but the evidence I've uncovered so far is thin. Does any EIT reader know more? The spelling of the sandwich — big "B" or a little "b" — is another question entirely; that one I'll duck.

Longo's Park Deli (also known as the Park Delicatessen)
203 South Regent St. (at West St.), Port Chester, New York
914-939-3217
www.ParkDeli.com
Open seven days, although the grill shuts down at 2:00

"UNdo It"

Surviving signage from a 1970s 7Up campaign, Port Chester, New York