Eating In Translation
@davemcook.bsky.social
Eating In Translation examines interesting, usually inexpensive food in and around New York, and occasionally farther afield.
Guinean rice-and-three: okra, potato leaf, and cassava sauces with joloff rice at B&D Halal #2, Ninth Ave., Manhattan. Also shown: my palm-oil-stained plate, afterward; the West African restaurant under construction, last summer, revealing signage for "drugs & medicines" from long ago.
February 1, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Guinean rice-and-three: okra, potato leaf, and cassava sauces with joloff rice at B&D Halal #2, Ninth Ave., Manhattan. Also shown: my palm-oil-stained plate, afterward; the West African restaurant under construction, last summer, revealing signage for "drugs & medicines" from long ago.
Spam musubi at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, which returned to the city late in 2024 but will close its remaining NYC location, on Allen St. in Manhattan, at the end of business on February 2.
H/T Kim (Carta di Musica) for the word
H/T Kim (Carta di Musica) for the word
January 31, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Spam musubi at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, which returned to the city late in 2024 but will close its remaining NYC location, on Allen St. in Manhattan, at the end of business on February 2.
H/T Kim (Carta di Musica) for the word
H/T Kim (Carta di Musica) for the word
A pear and gorgonzola slice (cut in two, by default) from tiny Potenza Centrale, Ave. B, Manhattan
January 30, 2026 at 1:35 PM
A pear and gorgonzola slice (cut in two, by default) from tiny Potenza Centrale, Ave. B, Manhattan
New York-area food events, January 29-February 5 bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
January 29, 2026 at 1:33 PM
New York-area food events, January 29-February 5 bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
At Balaji Bhavan, a Jersey City vegetarian restaurant with roots in Tamil Nadu: a delightfully chewy Mysore bonda; kothu idly; pongal. (Dosas, punugulu, uttapam not shown.) Small spoonfuls of panchamirtham — banana, date, and apple ground with jaggery and ghee — were all the dessert we could manage.
January 28, 2026 at 2:11 PM
At Balaji Bhavan, a Jersey City vegetarian restaurant with roots in Tamil Nadu: a delightfully chewy Mysore bonda; kothu idly; pongal. (Dosas, punugulu, uttapam not shown.) Small spoonfuls of panchamirtham — banana, date, and apple ground with jaggery and ghee — were all the dessert we could manage.
A split order, half poached and half roasted, at the Singaporean shop Uncle Ray's Chicken Rice, Ninth Ave., Manhattan. Also shown, the full presentation of this (literally) rice-forward dish, including three dipping sauces: chili, minced ginger, and dark soy. More ginger, please!
January 27, 2026 at 2:40 PM
A split order, half poached and half roasted, at the Singaporean shop Uncle Ray's Chicken Rice, Ninth Ave., Manhattan. Also shown, the full presentation of this (literally) rice-forward dish, including three dipping sauces: chili, minced ginger, and dark soy. More ginger, please!
Bolivian rellenos de papa and, sliced, de plátano at the Día del Ekeko: Gran Feria de Alasitas, held on Saturday at the Club Cultural de Queens, in Corona. Also shown: a juicy salteña de res from Salteñas NYC; an alfajor.
January 26, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Bolivian rellenos de papa and, sliced, de plátano at the Día del Ekeko: Gran Feria de Alasitas, held on Saturday at the Club Cultural de Queens, in Corona. Also shown: a juicy salteña de res from Salteñas NYC; an alfajor.
Tofu nway — warm chickpea porridge served over rice noodles, with pickled mustard greens, minced chicken, and crushed peanuts — by Ma Nu, at yesterday's MAHAA Burmese fundraiser, parish house of St. James Episcopal Church, Elmhurst, Queens
January 25, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Tofu nway — warm chickpea porridge served over rice noodles, with pickled mustard greens, minced chicken, and crushed peanuts — by Ma Nu, at yesterday's MAHAA Burmese fundraiser, parish house of St. James Episcopal Church, Elmhurst, Queens
Dr. John (beef meatballs, Italian sausage, pepperoni) and The Humungous Fungus (a special from 2025; bianco base, "mushroom medley," truffle ricotta, truffle oil), Detroit-style slices at Frico on 2nd, Second Ave., Manhattan
January 24, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Dr. John (beef meatballs, Italian sausage, pepperoni) and The Humungous Fungus (a special from 2025; bianco base, "mushroom medley," truffle ricotta, truffle oil), Detroit-style slices at Frico on 2nd, Second Ave., Manhattan
Beancurd skin with cucumber, steamed cured meat with fermented black beans, and stir-fried pork with chili, three dishes (of eight) from a group lunch at the new Hunan restaurant Nong Geng Ji, Flushing, Queens. Planning a return soon; much to try (or try again).
January 23, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Beancurd skin with cucumber, steamed cured meat with fermented black beans, and stir-fried pork with chili, three dishes (of eight) from a group lunch at the new Hunan restaurant Nong Geng Ji, Flushing, Queens. Planning a return soon; much to try (or try again).
A rare conjunction of Burmese and Bolivian headlines New York-area food events, January 22-25 bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
January 22, 2026 at 12:40 PM
A rare conjunction of Burmese and Bolivian headlines New York-area food events, January 22-25 bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
Dansoman red-red, a spicy Ghanaian bean stew colored by palm oil and tomato, and decorated by fried plantain, avocado (not traditional, I don't think, but sure), gari, and eventually a red red-hot sauce, at Gracey's Culinary Specialties, in the Bronx Terminal Market's Boogie Down Food Hall
January 21, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Dansoman red-red, a spicy Ghanaian bean stew colored by palm oil and tomato, and decorated by fried plantain, avocado (not traditional, I don't think, but sure), gari, and eventually a red red-hot sauce, at Gracey's Culinary Specialties, in the Bronx Terminal Market's Boogie Down Food Hall
Simplicity: moules marinières (with shoestring fries, not shown) and a pot de crème au chocolate, Marseille, Ninth Ave., Manhattan
January 20, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Simplicity: moules marinières (with shoestring fries, not shown) and a pot de crème au chocolate, Marseille, Ninth Ave., Manhattan
Kingfish and coucou, resembling an okra-laced polenta, at 11 Parishes Restaurant, which serves stick-to-your-ribs food of Barbados in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Mostly takeout. At the wallside counter I dined along to early 80s poptones: Romantics, Journey, Manilow, Clash.
January 19, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Kingfish and coucou, resembling an okra-laced polenta, at 11 Parishes Restaurant, which serves stick-to-your-ribs food of Barbados in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Mostly takeout. At the wallside counter I dined along to early 80s poptones: Romantics, Journey, Manilow, Clash.
Wintertime hand-drawn signboards at The Ellington, Upper West Side; Holiday Cocktail Lounge, East Village; Papa d'Amour, Greenwich Village; and El Dorado, Ridgewood
January 18, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Wintertime hand-drawn signboards at The Ellington, Upper West Side; Holiday Cocktail Lounge, East Village; Papa d'Amour, Greenwich Village; and El Dorado, Ridgewood
A substantial, satisfying Margherita slice from Stromboli Pizza, celebrating a half-century on St. Mark's Pl., Manhattan. Also shown: Covid-era art on an outdoor dining enclosure. Stromboli's painted pizzaiolo is no longer extant, but to be sure, he survived much longer than my slice.
January 17, 2026 at 3:07 PM
A substantial, satisfying Margherita slice from Stromboli Pizza, celebrating a half-century on St. Mark's Pl., Manhattan. Also shown: Covid-era art on an outdoor dining enclosure. Stromboli's painted pizzaiolo is no longer extant, but to be sure, he survived much longer than my slice.
Unlovely, it's true: clams in a robust, aromatic kum heong sauce. But at the close of a Malaysian group lunch (at Pulau Pining in Elmhurst, Queens; ten of us, ten different dishes, many in multiples), I scraped the plate clean over the last of our rice. Now contemplating kum heong anything.
January 16, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Unlovely, it's true: clams in a robust, aromatic kum heong sauce. But at the close of a Malaysian group lunch (at Pulau Pining in Elmhurst, Queens; ten of us, ten different dishes, many in multiples), I scraped the plate clean over the last of our rice. Now contemplating kum heong anything.
New York-area food events, January 16-19 and after bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
January 15, 2026 at 2:09 PM
New York-area food events, January 16-19 and after bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
A cinnamon brioche — on the go, already partially peeled — from Silver Moon Bakery, Broadway, Manhattan
January 14, 2026 at 1:09 PM
A cinnamon brioche — on the go, already partially peeled — from Silver Moon Bakery, Broadway, Manhattan
An exemplary thiebou djeun — the white version, though I've enjoyed the red, too — at Saint-Louis Restaurant, Lenox Ave., Manhattan. My current favorite Senegalese in the city.
January 13, 2026 at 3:01 PM
An exemplary thiebou djeun — the white version, though I've enjoyed the red, too — at Saint-Louis Restaurant, Lenox Ave., Manhattan. My current favorite Senegalese in the city.
Florentine omelette with hash brown patties (plus rye toast, grape jelly, and coffee, noted only after), Southport Diner, Southport, Connecticut
January 12, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Florentine omelette with hash brown patties (plus rye toast, grape jelly, and coffee, noted only after), Southport Diner, Southport, Connecticut
"Asarni" — a trimmed "masarnia," Polish for "butcher shop" — at the former Morscher's Pork Store, Ridgewood, Queens. Also shown: hand-painted art for a tale by the Brothers Grimm, with the German words "Tischlein, deck dich" — "little table, cover yourself [with food and drink]."
January 11, 2026 at 2:44 PM
"Asarni" — a trimmed "masarnia," Polish for "butcher shop" — at the former Morscher's Pork Store, Ridgewood, Queens. Also shown: hand-painted art for a tale by the Brothers Grimm, with the German words "Tischlein, deck dich" — "little table, cover yourself [with food and drink]."
Orange olive oil loaf, Bakeri, Ridgewood, Queens
January 10, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Orange olive oil loaf, Bakeri, Ridgewood, Queens
New York-area food events, January 10-11 and after bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
January 9, 2026 at 2:34 PM
New York-area food events, January 10-11 and after bit.ly/nyfoodevents...
Żurek — a sort of white borscht, soured with a rye rather than a wheat starter — at Pierogi Boys, Ridgewood, Queens. This was the substantial first course, in fact, to a progressive lunch that continued with a meatball parm at Arrigo's. Dessert to be noted, too, by and by.
January 8, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Żurek — a sort of white borscht, soured with a rye rather than a wheat starter — at Pierogi Boys, Ridgewood, Queens. This was the substantial first course, in fact, to a progressive lunch that continued with a meatball parm at Arrigo's. Dessert to be noted, too, by and by.