Mi Dulce Mexico

MÉXICO 🇲🇽
(SINALOA)

The story of New York City and food from the Mexican state of Sinaloa is a short one. Most of it is wrapped up in the brief existence of Taqueria Sinaloense, which opened in late 2017 but was unable to last even a full year. It celebrated the western Mexican state with all it could, but apparently there were not enough people in the borough who felt the same.

Another taqueria in Marble Hill took the same name and sold chilorio, but it seemed straight from the can and was nowhere near as good. Luckily, for the time being, this slow-simmered pork that is fried with chilies has found a home at the very end of the menu at Mi Dulce Mexico.

This newly-branded restaurant is a new face to Veyla's Bakery Cafe, which has sat on this corner for the better part of ten years. Although passing by many times and seeing a decent gathering of satisfied customers, Veyla's never had that something extra to pull it out from the crowd.

A typical breakfast in Sinaloa would look like the huevos con machaca ($8, above) they serve here. Machaca itself is spiced dried meat, shredded and usually eaten with big flour tortillas, especially in Sinaloa. Drying meat was first done as a form of preservation, but the style is still popular even when unnecessary with modern refrigeration. While the process is usually different these days, the consistency and quality of the meat can be close to the original when the chef is good.

Substitute the standard rice and beans with frijoles puercos, beans full of pork fat and other bits. Making yourself little tacos with their warm flour tortillas and delicious homemade salsa made with chiles de arbol is a real treat. Initially the tortillas seemed handmade as well, but an inquiry revealed that they are purchased. Regardless, they are of very high quality and make a perfect wrapper, each plate is served with a warm pack of four.

As for the chilorio ($14, above), they do it just as well or maybe even better than that version that broke New York City back in 2017. First slow-simmered, then cooked in lard and fried with chiles, chilorio is unlike anything else and one hundred percent Sinaloan. It is wonderful to have it back and available in Queens.

Once again, wrapping it up in one of those tortillas is like a dream. It is such a delight that a Sinaloan chef has found a home in another kitchen. A return will be soon in the cards to see how that aguachile is looking, as the state is well known for the delicious seafood made freshly from its coast.

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CORONA Queens
35-58 97th Street

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Cali Ají

COLOMBIA 🇨🇴

The perfect time to experience Cali Ají is during a weekday lunch, when the casual café is running on all cylinders. In a working class neighborhood full of auto shops, NYC Transit depots, and close to LaGuardia, these are the customers who are the regulars. Colombians working in these professions seem to be the demographic of the restaurant, those with a little grease on their clothes and monster appetites.

For this reason, it was crystal clear before even sitting down that a meal here was going to be completely satisfying. The menu is full of items ordered a la carte, but also contains a page with daily lunch specials for $10. On most days this includes some type of soup, rice and beans, and a choice of meat from the steam table. On a recent Tuesday, the sopa de tostones (below) was chosen, although the delicious albondigas that were paired with it were greedily eaten before a photograph could be thought about.

The small space is mostly filled by six four-tops and hungry humans, often to capacity with pairs sitting with strangers. No one seems to mind though, as dishes are served rapidly and turnover is high. Taking the time to linger around for longer than most, the natural rhythms of the café were really enjoyable to observe. Is everyone in a good mood here?

Having been to Cali some years ago, it was natural to want to feel the connection. The instant feelings of togetherness and family. People smiling and enjoying their day. Unlike Colombia's other big cities, Santiago de Cali is closer to sea level and therefore hot and humid, and more intense. But alas, each time the door would swing open to let those chilly winter-approaching airs inside, the feelings snapped back to New York City.

The plates that are available all day mostly come in the range of $10-13 and are also a massive value. This sobrebarriga a la criolla ($13, above) was a pleasant surprise, flank steak almost swimming in a lovely sweetened and fruity tomato sauce. Sobrebarriga translates literally to "over the belly" and just refers to this cut of meat. It always runs the risk of being too tough, but here it is executed quite well, with minimal chewiness.

Joining the steak is a few potatoes, some yuca, and a wonderful slice of plantain. One of a few prototypical Colombian favorites. For a nice kick, a little "Cali ají" if you will, grab the squeeze bottles and top up the sauce to your liking. Unless you work in the construction field and absolutely destroy your plates like many did during this visit, expect leftovers galore.

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EAST ELMHURST Queens
98-15 Astoria Blvd

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La Estancia de la Espiga

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Besides two storefront addresses and one phone number, the nondescript green awnings over La Estancia de la Espiga match the rest on the block yet give little hint of what takes place inside. On one it says simply: Bakery. On the other: Restaurant. On a sunny weekend with eyes squinting to avoid glare, you can barely catch a glimpse of what takes place through the open doors and on the other side of two big windows.

Because of these factors, the first notice of this restaurant actually came through Instagram as the owners are using it quite proficiently to announce the daily guisados available on weekdays. Dig in a bit further though and you might catch what is not announced much any longer: Weekends here bring some outstanding barbacoa and carnitas starting very early, and the neighborhood does not need social media to remind them.

Once your eyes do adjust inside, the combined space and tables are often buzzing, especially on Saturdays and Sundays when families sit down together and place big orders. Cars are double parked and men carry multiple bags out of the store to take home. When you see this occurring, you should always investigate more to see what is so popular.

A bright orange sign outside uses a popular meme of carnitas preparation (see end of article below) and wordplay of the Spanish for Frosted Flakes cereal (Zucaritas) to announce different types available. Just inside of this window, a woman keeps the giant cauldron moving, the simmering meats giving the air a deliciously appetizing layer.

In the other window a bucket full of masa is leaned on its side and regularly scraped from, as giant light tortillas are made to order for each taco and as accompaniment to soups. This station is also in charge of shaping masa discs for tlacoyos, sopes, and all the rest of the antojitos available.

Noon on a Sunday ended up being too late to procure any of the weekend special barbacoa (the server said it was gone "muy temprano" on this day), but there was still consomé de chivo ($8, below), a beautiful bowl of tender meat and bone broth served with three of the aforementioned tortillas. A side of cilantro and onions came as well for those wanting to turn the goat into tacos.

Going back and forth between enjoying the tacos and the consomé on its own seemed to be the best way to go about things, the rich broth on its own needing to be cut by citrus and fresh greens every now and then. Two homemade salsas in ketchup and mustard bottles provided nice additions to anything they came into contact with. The tomato-based red salsa here is a smack in the face, use with caution.

On another visit, tacos de barbacoa ($4.50, below) were procured, served on a large homemade tortilla as is customary.

Invited in by the sign, three tacos de carnitas ($4.50 each, below) were ordered in three different varieties. Maciza is the beginners carnitas, simply lean meat, while buche is made from the stomach and surtida is a combination of everything. You can order these on packaged tortillas for a dollar less, but this seems like a bad decision and no one was taking that route.

Buche.

As expected from the visual clues so far and the delightful aromas, each carnitas taco was excellent. After the initial disappointment of being to late for barbacoa, these quickly erased all bad mojo from the meal.

The restaurant seems to be a fan of memes, between bites be sure to look on the walls to enjoy a couple more. The meal was also joined by the random karaoke performer that wandered in with his own equipment and sang mellow ballads to the dining room from right next to the carnitas cauldron.

At the last minute a picadita ($6 with cecina, above) was thrown into the order as a way to "make up" for no barbacoa, but this turned out to be unnecessary. The salted beef was good enough, but the deep fried masa base and simple adornment of Oaxacan cheese was a far cry from the other items it shared the table with on this day.

When the normal cutoff times for getting barbacoa were inquired about, the server was hesitant to give a specific answer. On this day she spoke of large orders that had come in early in the morning and taken most of the available stock. It sounds like it will always be a crap shoot for this, but coming as close to their opening time as possible would always be the best bet.

[UPDATE 05 OCTOBER 2019: A quick return trip for the weekday menu]: As alluded to earlier, a rotating schedule of guisados is ready to go each weekday, keeping La Espiga busy during most lunches. On a recent Thursday, the temperature dropped dramatically and promised rain, so the chef decided to offer the pozole that is usually available on the weekends.

Pozole blanco estilo Guerrero ($12, above) is a rich, fatty pork wondersoup and cured all the ails of bad weather a few spoonfuls in. While green and red versions are everywhere, you do not often see this white version, made in the style of the chef's home back in Acapulco.

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CORONA Queens
42-11 102nd Street

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Cambodian Cuisine

CAMBODIA 🇰🇭

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This stall, a regular vendor of the 2019 Queens International Night Market, only seems to use the name "Cambodian Cuisine" at their stand, but is listed as "Phnom Penh Project" on the market website and "Cambodia Now" on their social media.]

Cambodian food has not always had the best relationship with New York City, with restaurants struggling to survive in realms where customers do not know much about the cuisine and rents keep destabilizing the best intentions of chefs. The longest running of these, which also had the simple name of Cambodian Cuisine tried in Brooklyn and the Upper East Side before finally calling it quits. Look hard enough and you might find a pop-up here and there, but nothing earth-shaking. Currently just Angkor Cambodian Bistro offers a permanent home for the cuisine.

With this history, the Queens International Night Market is the perfect place for a fairly new vendor to try and spread the word on an often underrepresented cuisine sandwiched between countries well known for their deliciousness. A surprisingly ambitious menu for a market stall is turning out some great modest renditions of Cambodian cooking and from the looks of it, New York City has the appetite for something new.

Sitting proudly at the top of their menu is amok ($5, above), sometimes referred to as the national dish of Cambodia and a must try. This fish and coconut milk curry is often found steamed within and served on a banana leaf but for the ease of prep here that is used more as a garnish. The flavors of Southeast Asia all shine through here subtly but the sweetness of the coconut curry is most pronounced, with hints of lemongrass and kaffir lime.

Definitely try also the grilled beef ($5, below), skewers of perfectly prepared and marinated to be slightly sweet and nutty as well. If eating as a group, this might be one where you get a portion for everyone as you will end up not wanting to share.

On most evenings the stand makes a mix of caramelized potatoes and bananas, but on this night the potatoes were alone. They get their caramelization from palm sugar and are lightly fried to a really nice consistency. This dish was a bit of a surprise in how well it was enjoyed and does not have to be simply a side. Definitely there will be something to look forward to when the bananas are paired with it next time.

They have a drink worth trying as well called mung bean milk ($4, not shown), a fairly healthy and high protein drink that goes well with all of their offerings. It gets its green color from pandan leaves.

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CORONA Queens
Queens International Night Market

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Dotty's Norwegian Kitchen

NORWAY 🇳🇴

One rule of thumb for coming to the Dotty's Norwegian Kitchen booth at the Queens International Night Market is to wait until the skies get dark enough for their colored light bulbs to get into full effect. Any earlier it seems, will usually be met by a polite "We're not quite ready." But Norwegian cuisine, here limited to three items, is worth waiting for in New York City since so rarely is it seen offered in traditional forms.

Sure, there are vaguely-Scandinavian tastes available at the Essex Street Market and an annual picnic held on Staten Island by folks that might have had Norwegian great grandparents, but Dotty's seems to offer something replicating the here and now and is a pleasant surprise.

Their most popular dish seems to be the fårikål ($5, above), a lamb and cabbage stew made with ale that sometimes gets called the national dish of Norway. Generous chunks of lamb and a potato or two are found underneath Dotty's concoction of pickled vegetables that they use for other dishes as well.

Fårikål has its roots as a Danish stew made with goose and/or duck, but when it traveled northward in the 1840's was adapted with the more common land animal. Nowadays the country celebrates this occurrence at the end of every September with Fårikål Feast Day.

The unfortunate translation to "fish pudding" should not put you off from an order of their wonderful fiskegrot ($5, above), served hot with very soft pieces of Icelandic cod. Another good portion of the pickled vegetables is joined by a dill cream sauce and capers added to the top of the pudding, creating wild extremes of texture and tastes. Somewhere within comes a slight sweetness, but salt and sour mostly rule the day.

The fish is very fresh and brought back memories of the wonderful Icelandic fish monger in Closter, New Jersey. Is this where they get their cod from?

Despite not ordering it, Dotty's had prepared too much lefse (not shown) for what turned out to be a slow night on the hottest day of the year. This resulted in a free half piece of the potato flatbread that could not be turned down. Cloudberries are not in season, so it was slathered with lingonberry jam instead and just as delicious I am sure.

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CORONA Queens
Queens International Night Market

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Nueva Fuente

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

It is always worth reading the fine print on an awning that has "Deli Grocery" emblazoned across the colors of the Mexican flag. In this case, underneath is that telltale sign of a kitchen inside that begins with "Tacos, tortas..." At this point, walking inside to inspect and at least grab a menu is a no-brainer.

Unlike some nearby places we recently featured for The Queens Tribune, the kitchen at Nueva Fuente has not surpassed the other business of the deli. The fresh juices and flowers in the front as well as all manner of cans and bottles of processed foods, sodas, and beer are a larger seller it seems. This could change though, the kitchen is a good one.

The menu here is massive and includes the wide range of standard antojitos as well as about ten large plates like mole poblano and pipian. The Plato La Nueva Fuente ($12, not shown) is carne asada with a cactus salad. Weekends bring soups like pozole, pancita, and mole de olla as well as barbacoa.

Depending on the day, the deli and kitchen opens early at 06:00 or 07:00, making it popular for quick breakfast sandwiches but also huevos a la mexicana and these chilaquiles con cecina ($11, above and below). Three small tables, each with two chairs, are pushed together in the back and available for customers to sit down and eat.

This order was surprisingly satisfying, with a nice touch of two fresh slices of avocado on top. The cecina is cut small and easily managed, generously drizzled over a layer of their wonderful green salsa and crisp tortilla chips.

Be careful with your orientation in this back area, as packages of chili dusted nuts and crispy fried chicharrón are hanging nearby. Facing the wrong way during your meal may cause you to end up snacking on these temptations by the end of your stay.

At first glance, I thought the singular taco árabe on the menu was a simple typo given the $7 price tag. Most likely, two or three of the flour tortilla-rolled tacos would arrive, right?

This is no mistake though, they serve their taco árabe ($7, above and below) massive, taking on the look of a Mission-style burrito. Some places in New York City and elsewhere are cheating with their tacos árabes and using al pastor meats, but Nueva Fuente seems to be cooking it in a more traditional Pueblan way, despite using a simple flour tortilla instead of pan árabe.

Onions are always an important part of the traditional version, but this also adds a nice crumbly cheese as well, a take I had never seen before. A purist might want to mention to hold the cheese, but at least give it a try on the first visit.

After a few meals here, I certainly am glad to have read that fine print.

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CORONA Queens

98-18 Northern Blvd

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Behind The Racks

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

This article originally appeared in the 11 October 2018 edition of The Queens Tribune:

The three-neighborhood border between Jackson Heights, Woodside and Elmhurst might be the consummate spot in the entire city for surrounding yourself with the culinary magic of the world.

Parachute into the 74th Street transit hub on one of many trains or buses and options can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. Backtrack a few streets to the Filipino blocks of Woodside on Roosevelt Avenue. Explore one of many Bangladeshi strongholds right outside the train. Walk down to Woodside Avenue in Elmhurst for the city’s tightest bunch of good Thai restaurants. Stay under the 7 tracks and find the greatest concentration of Colombian and Ecuadorian fare in the city.

This last route will also bring you past all manner of Mexican-owned establishments catering to one of the city’s largest blocs of people, the sheer force of which always makes certain that options for good meals are never far away. Immigrants and children of immigrants have been turning into entrepreneurs since the sun started rising, and some of these businesses have expanded to cooking food. Many times a sidewalk stand or a weekend barbacoa stall will get so popular that tables are added and a sign goes up in the front. Word of these spread through the neighborhood from person to person, but non-Mexicans with a keen eye can also partake in these unique experiences. The deli or market might still exist, but in many cases the food becomes the big draw.

Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

Rules for vendors and restaurants are a bit more relaxed in México, so walking down any street in the country’s cities makes finding food easy. Taco shops have cauldrons of meats bubbling with all your options right in plain sight. The taquero constantly chopping meats on his wooden block and shoving them into a double tortilla is not hidden from passersby. To conform with codes here in New York City, places that replicate this experience usually have to slide to an indoor setting with some regulations, but the spirit is just the same. You can find these stands and stalls on almost every block in some parts of Jackson Heights and Corona, with high concentrations on Roosevelt and 37th avenues as well as Northern Boulevard.

Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

A five-minute walk under the elevated tracks of the 7 line brings you to a very nondescript deli and La Esquina del Camarón Mexicano (80-02 Roosevelt Ave., open daily), born from a proprietor who got popular in the area making coctel de camarones at various locations during summer months. These shrimp cocktails in a tomato-based sauce full of clam juice and lime are staple foods back home, the rush of memories almost visible on the faces of people eating them here. The weekend stand churning these out during summer months still exists, but in 2014 a full kitchen and seating area requiring a bit of contortion to sit down was added to the back of the deli, along with a menu full of seafood antojitos. Fried fish and octopus tacos, fish empanadas and shark flautas are all delicious, but tops are the tostadas of both octopus and ceviche. The former is simple, fresh pieces of the mollusk, while the latter is a daily-made sea bass cooked in lime juice with touches of cilantro and tomato. As is the case for most of these spots, a trip late in the afternoon or evening might yield limited options after a busy day of sales.

5 de Mayo Food Market. Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

The 5 de Mayo Food Market (81-06 Roosevelt Ave., open Sat.-Sun.) is one block farther east, and at first glance appears to be a fruit-and-vegetable stand. Piles of mangoes, pineapples and onions are being inspected by shoppers, but right above their heads is the key to discovering what lies within. A very limited amount of Spanish comprehension brings into focus what the neighborhood already knows: A wonderful taco stand sets up on weekends (fines de semana). The stand also doubles as a butcher of sorts; marinated and cooked meats can be purchased by weight to take home for parties or home cooking. The most popular type for both eating in and take away is its wonderful barbacoa, a type of preparation that traditionally takes place in an earthen pit but is adjusted for city life here in Queens. The market does both goat (chivo) and lamb (borrego), the latter being the absolute star of the show in all its fatty glory. Available year round but more enticing for the impending winter is a nice consomé de chivo, an oily, rich and spicy goat stew that is ordered by the gallon for take-away customers. A friendly seating area that holds 10 or 12 is just the right kind of place to make friends and hear stories.

Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

San Antonio Farm & Grocery (85-25 37th Ave., Fri.-Sun.) has a slightly longer window for weekend tacos, again at the back of what appears to be a regular grocery store. The standout offerings here are the luscious pernil, slow-roasted pork shoulder; and the chile relleno, somewhat of an oddity for a regular taco. This consists of a poblano pepper stuffed with white cheese, breaded, fried and placed on the double tortillas with a dollop of guacamole on top. The chorizo here is also rave-worthy, so if your stomach can handle it, order one of each and enjoy some Spanish football with the other customers who sit down briefly to eat.

Pambazo from Horchata Deli. Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

Farther east is Horchata Deli (90-02 37th Ave., open daily), home to an exterior stand cooking all manner of antojitos. Pambazos, named for the soft white bread they are made with, are sandwiches of potato and chorizo that get dipped whole into guajillo sauce. Along with quesadillas and tacos placeros, this seems to be what the chef here is known for, and it gets ordered often.

Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

Continuing along north and east almost all the way to Citi Field, Carnicería Mexicana (105-09 Northern Blvd., open daily) has another kitchen that seems to be a bigger draw than the original function of the space. As the name suggests, this is also a meat market, but hand-drawn signs placed on every surface show an ever-expanding menu and confident kitchen. There are a few seats in the rear taking advantage of every sliver of space the tiny market has, but you can also walk up to the exterior window and place your order there. The women here have created house specialties (de la casa) for many of the antojitos, a great place to start your explorations. The quesadilla de la casa is unique, a riff on the classic squash-blossom version that adds crunchy chicharrón and the herb epazote.

Photo by Sasha Maslov for The Queens Tribune.

These five are by no means an exhaustive list; there are shops in between all of them in which to eat and explore. The neighborhood shifts and grows constantly, with stands popping up and shutting down, opening behind groceries, next to delis, and even under sports bars. While New York City has a deserved bad reputation for lacking regional Mexican foods, its antojitos are as good as can be found anywhere.

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JACKSON HEIGHTS/CORONA Queens

Various Locations

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La Pequeña Tienda & Deli

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

From across the street La Pequeña hides behind a tree in summer, but get close and it is clear they want to make sure the neighborhood knows about the foods prepared within. A list of some of them is visible above, but take a menu and you will see the kitchen is prepared to cook you all manner of breakfasts, antojitos, and platos.

It appears like most of the nearby residents up here on Corona's eastern reaches of Northern Blvd know about La Pequeña, as it has been quite busy each time I dropped by. The main customer here seems to be single men coming in for the $8 lunch special, an order that gives you a pick of entree from the steam table, rice, beans, and an agua fresca. On weekends, there are tacos placeros, barbacoa, and tamales.

The small place also does a brisk grocery business and has deli meats and cheeses sold by weight, all making it a bit difficult to squeeze in and put in an order sometimes. Once you succeed, the lady takes your cash and calls the order back to the kitchen. 10 minutes later the bell dings and she'll bring it around to you at one of the few tables if you plan to stay.

If there is an antojito or plate named after the place or a house special, I often like to try it first to get a sense of the place. This first order of a Cemita La Pequeña ($9.50, above) followed this method, the namesake sandwich which definitely is not pequeño. The meats on this sandwich are carne enchilada and thinly sliced ham, combined with queso, peppers, and beans.

The bread here (cemita) is especially good, it looks like they get a nice selection of breads everyday from a nearby bakery.

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CORONA Queens

106-15 Northern Blvd

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