Bikanervala

INDIA 🇮🇳

You would not know it when you see the bright colors and modern logo, but Bikanervala has over 100 years of history all going back to a simple shop that sold sweets and namkeen. That shop was just east of the present-day border with Pakistan in the small city of Bikaner in Rajasthan. The company now has almost 100 stores around the world and ships everywhere.

After expanding to Delhi in the 1950's and blowing up through the next few decades, the shop has stuck to its principles for the most part, still excelling with a good selection of sweets and namkeen. The menu has expanded somewhat, with more filling meal options, and the next time you are in Hyderabad, you can even stay at the boutique hotel that the company opened in Banjara Hills.

Pea samosa plate ($2.99, hard pass)

Despite its gloss, Bikanervala still sticks to an informal format. Small portions are served on disposable paper plates. Plastic cutlery is provided nearby. Place your order at the counter and wait for the robotic voice to call your number and say "Please take the meal."

While waiting, browse through their packaged goods section, just a taste of what you can have shipped just about anywhere in case you ever find yourself long distances from a branch.

At a normal dinner time, the bird's nest-like wonder tokri chaat was unavailable but the cashier recommended raj kachori ($7.99, above) as a stand-in. This worked pretty well, with all the flavors and crunchy textures you need from chaat. While in other parts of India, kachori is a spicy snack on its own, in Delhi it is usually served as a chaat dish, the namesake on top as a sweetened wet bread to add another layer than usual.

Having noticed the nightly special of a paneer kati roll, and many other dishes including cheese, this dairy product seemed to be a theme of the offerings. In this spirit and as a reason to get some naan ($2.99, below back), a bowl of paneer butter masala ($9.99, below) was added.

The butter masala had a nice and proper amount of heat to it and hit the spot, although the thin naan was unfortunately a bad companion. It will probably be a more wise move to stick to namkeen dishes on future visits and supplement these with orders from the large sweets case.

After all, this is the bread and butter of Bikanervala.

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JERSEY CITY New Jersey

815 Newark Avenue

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Max's of Manila

PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭

In the Philippines, everyone has an opinion of Max's of Manila. The restaurant has been around in some form or another since 1945, touting the history of Maximo Gimenez and his relationship with US occupying forces during the second world war, a group of which convinced him to open up his first shop. Now that a second and third generation have taken over the operation, second and third generations of families are coming to enjoy the fried chicken and everything else.

The Jersey City branch opened almost ten years ago in the epicenter of the Filipino community. There is little fanfare for the place outside of this group, but walk in on any day or evening and you will see it is a hugely popular spot for groups of friends and family. As it is in Metro Manila, Cebu, or any one of its over 100 locations in the Philippines, Max's is a destination for happy times.

While the signature dish of Max's is indisputably their fried chicken, the success is ultimately based on the combination of this with a full menu of traditional Filipino foods like lechon kawali ($14.95, above), fried pork belly. This beloved dish is handled with real precision here with an almost unbelievably thick and crispy exterior layer. While the meat inside is juicy and delicious, be careful biting down as that crust can mangle the more tender parts of the mouth.

The sauce typically served with lechon kawali is called liver sauce, but this ends up being one of the last tastes that you find in it, especially when paired with the crispy pork. It is mostly sweet and slightly sour, from brown sugar and calamansi juice, respectively. The combination is great, although you can easily eat the succulent pieces of meat all alone if desired.

"Sarap to the bones."

Even if you are dining here alone without your Filipino family and friends, Max's makes it easy to try a few things with their chicken combo meals which are available from Monday to Friday. Max's fiesta plate ($11.95, above) includes a leg quarter of fried chicken, rice (or fries), and a fresh or fried lumpiang ubod. It also comes with the essential garlic vinegar sauce, which beats out the banana ketchup or worcestershire sauce that they recommend for the chicken, and a side of small dessert.

The chicken once again is extra crisp on the exterior with incredible crunch, while still juicy inside. The lumpiang ubod is a flaky egg roll made with hearts of palm, pork, shrimp, and crabmeat. That dipping vinegar was actually meant for this, but no one is looking. To further the garlic experience and make sure no vampires (or humans) approach you for the rest of the night, upgrade the plain white rice to the garlic version.

Since you obviously have not had enough fried and gluttonous food already during this meal, grab the turon a la mode ($5.95, above) to finish things off. Turon are lumpia made with bananas, joined on this plate by mais keso ice cream. Anyone reading Spanish can sound this out to corn and cheese, which sounds a bit odd for ice cream but is marvelous. The combination is undeniably right.

Wash everything down from the start with a tall glass of calamansi juice ($3.95, below), much sweeter than the fruit juice would be alone, but so good as a beverage. There is a reason this Filipino citrus is so ubiquitous in the country.

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JERSEY CITY New Jersey

687 Newark Avenue

I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

Los Andes Bakery

CHILE 🇨🇱

For many years Los Andes Bakery in North Bergen has been the type of place that when passed on a day of walking always was done with a full stomach. Its abstracted mountains in the window, something like what you see from Santiago de Chile, have always had a pull. On a recent weekday morning the panaderia chilena finally became the destination, and a few rewards were procured.

It should be noted that this is more than just a bakery, they make many types of quick Chilean meals and sandwiches, and even pastel de choclo on weekends. A variety of breakfast dishes paired with freshly made coffee, and an assortment of empanadas are all on offer. In good weather, a short walk to the western corner of James J. Braddock North Hudson County Park would make for a pleasant place to bring your loot, but the few tables they have are just fine as well.

Having to decide between a chacarero and a completo, Chile's famous hot dog with avocado and many other toppings, is always a challenge, but on this day the chacarero ($5.95, below) won out. This uniquely Chilean sandwich consists of thinly sliced churrasco steak paired with a nice mound of green beans.

On the streets of Santiago you can eat one of these almost every block, as small diners called schoperias (something akin to a shop selling draft beer) offer these and other quick bites to keep the alcohol from acting too quickly. Here it is served on hallulla bread that is baked fresh in house.

If there is one disappointment with this sandwich, it is only that there is no healthy smear of avocado, something you see on almost everything in Chile and something usually found on this sandwich as well. As seen in the section view below, a healthy dose of mayonnaise is used as a condiment instead, as well as some tomatoes.

When the sandwich comes out, a bottle that has been refilled with their housemade salsa will be offered, and this of course does no harm to your bites as well.

If you have ever been to the South American nation, you may come back thinking there is no other food more iconic than the large square folded meat pastries known as empanadas de pino ($4, below). Bigger than most of their continental brethren, this could be more than just a quick snack, the smells of freshly baked ones permeate the streets of the capital.

The word "pino" does not mean pine as the direct Spanish translation would suggest, but rather is a derivation from the native Mapuche word "pinu" which means pieces of cooked meat. When wheat and beef arrived during the Spanish conquest, the Mapuche started making the first iterations of these, the modern versions of which remain extremely popular with almost everyone.

Like any good South American bakery would offer, the display case here is full of sweet treats, many of which use the ubiquitous dulce de leche. One new treat found on this visit were cuchuflís (below), which are also popular in Argentina where they are known as cubanitos. This of course is a reference to their tubular resemblance to a famous Cuban cigar.

These are light as air and surprisingly have a texture much different than imagined. Instead of a crispy exterior, the lining is quite soft and the whole thing gives a nice chew.

The next visit will have to coincide with a weekend to try that pastel de choclo, a savory corn and chicken casserole sometimes considered Chile's national dish. But the menu's offerings are wide and generous, so a chicken version of the empanada and that always inviting completo will probably come calling as well.

The bakery also operates a location in Westchester County in Sleepy Hollow. The branch in Peekskill was the unfortunate victim of a fire late last year.

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NORTH BERGEN New Jersey
7714 Bergenline Avenue

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La Churreria N.2

CUBA 🇨🇺

Cutting through Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, and North Bergen, this section of Bergenline Avenue is one of the East Coast's gems. It would be difficult to decide on any moniker to call the neighborhood by because despite Spanish being the only language heard, the area is quite diverse. After filling up with Dominicans and Cubans near the middle of last century, more recent waves have brought in Mexicans and Central Americans, but smatterings of South Americans are throughout as well.

So far there are no Canadian restaurants, but other than that if it exists in the Americas, you can probably find it in these four neighborhoods. During the day, most establishments are up and running but at night the true nature of it all gets going with families outside meeting their neighbors and of course eating. Restaurants and bars are full and the energy is fantastic.

Empanadas de guayaba y queso.

La Churreria is a workaday Cuban cafe in the southern reaches of all this that opens early enough for breakfast but really is a go to for affordable lunch and dinner specials. It fills up with a varied crowd of old guys talking politics, office folks coming for lunch, stragglers grabbing cubanos and coffee, and families. On weekends these families might be wearing their Sunday best and taking over multiple tables pushed together.

Working class Cuban diners like this are not so prevalent in the city anymore for whatever reason. Cuban cuisine is "cool" enough that many of the eateries are hip and modern, bordering on fancy. Dominicans running counter service diners throughout the five boroughs can certainly cook a great cubano, but a full menu like this is a rare sight on the other side of the Hudson. Here they are everywhere, and La Churreria is one of the best.

It can also be a great place to break up a longer journey, the comfortable dining room usually has at least a couple tables open and cheap bottles of beer are always cold. Eventually an order of one of those respectable cubanos (above and below) will happen, and that is when life starts getting very pleasant.

Always arriving super thin because of their toasting method, the sandwich is nonetheless filling and packs in all the necessary savory and sour parts that it is known for. Not shown is their excellent medianoche, the same ingredients on a delicious sweet bun that might even be a better choice.

Despite being such an economical place, the tastes are of true comfort and soul warming. From the daily specials list, the bistec a la palomilla ($8.95, below) will not knock your socks off with an amazing cut of meat, but the simple seasonings on this thin steak make you think of grandma even when grandma is from Iowa.

These specials always come with two side dishes, of which the black beans here are a revelation and should never be passed on. The cup comes thick with smoke and pork, and a plate of beans and rice would be enough to satisfy on days that require pinching pennies.

On the way out you may notice that like many Cuban eateries up and down Bergenline, La Churreria announces itself as "El Rey del Pan con Bistec," the king of the steak sandwich so popular in the neighborhood. That title might be given to "two friends" further north, but after this steak you might vow to give it a try next time.

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UNION CITY New Jersey
3300 Bergenline Avenue

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El Progreso Restaurant

HONDURAS 🇭🇳

While the northern reaches of Hoboken continue to see high rise residential development and a complete sanitizing of all life, a quick walk up the hill into Union City seems like an escape to paradise. The avenues south of 495, the artery that leads into the Lincoln Tunnel, are teeming with a Central American enclave made up mostly of Salvadorans and Hondurans. Each block presents a new restaurant, bar, or bakery, all while having a much more calm and serene feeling than the same streets north of the highway.

In and around New York City, El Progreso is probably the favorite name of a catracho establishment, with at least half a dozen eateries, salons, and even a liquor store in the Bronx named after the the city in Honduras that sits at the base of the Mico Quemado mountains. Much of the immigration to the area was from this part of the country, in and around the major city of San Pedro Sula.

Needing some energy after a climb up from Hoboken, first things first the icon of comida hondureña was immediately ordered, the picture perfect baleada (above). For the first time in New York, this baleada brought back clear memories of eating at an outdoor restaurant in Honduras, not so much from the inside but the way the tortilla was a bit charred on the outside and had the wonderful taste of the earth. The handmade disc was also thick, soft, and chewy; its creator should have a statue made in her honor.

Inside this meatless beauty is beans, cream, and crumbled cheese, all top notch and in flawless proportion. Is this the area's finest baleada?

With the hunger suppressed, it was easier to enjoy the charms of this simple restaurant. An open kitchen in the back dominates your attention as each dish is prepared fresh to order. Tables are mostly blue and white like the country's flag, with the five stars that represent Honduras and its four neighboring countries that used to form a united Central America.

A plate of carne asada (above) was also a winner, served with all the components of a proper meal. Warm and freshly made tortillas are given to help you add combinations of the beans, rice, cheese, and avocado. A tomato and onion salsa is just right on select cuts of beef. Often carne asada plates can be chewy and tough, but the meat used here is definitely far from the cheapest they could find.

With plenty of other daily plates with a heavy emphasis on meat, future visits will be looked forward to, but dreams will be full of those amazing baleadas until the chance presents itself to return.

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UNION CITY New Jersey
1309 Summit Avenue

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Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai

JAPAN 🇯🇵

When talking about "Big 3" regional styles of ramen, most people outside of Japan have heard of Hakata and Sapporo styles, both having evolved from large metropolitan areas with many vendors and varieties. But a third lesser known style was developed in northern Honshu in the small village of Kitakata which gives it its name. Known for its storehouses full of soy sauce, Kitakata-style ramen uses this as its base, a type of shoyu.

The bowl itself appears simple, a broth full of noodles and topped with chashu and some thinly sliced spring onion, but do not let this fool you. This broth has been extracting pure umami from pork bones for "long hours" which gives it an almost smoky and toasted taste, full of earth and charcoal.

Ban Nai is the most famous source of this style of ramen, with 62 locations around Japan. Here in the United States there are now two in Orange County, California, one outside of Chicago, and now one tucked into a grocery store in Jersey City.

The broth of their standard Kitakata ramen ($8.99, above and below) is already full of flavor, but the chashu is a flavor bomb. Some might call this salty but their "secret recipe" marinade is wonderful, the pork belly is definitely its own product and not just full of taste from the bowl. For an upcharge to $12.50 you can get a bowl completely covered at the top with chashu (see plastic model below).

The noodles of Kitakata ramen are thick, curly, and chewy as seen above. More water than usual is used in these to give it the soft texture and they are hand-crumpled for the waviness. This character seems to be perfect for the interaction it has with the broth.

Plastic models (shokuhin sampuru) of all the three most popular items.

Inside of the 99 Ranch Market, a clean and not so busy grocery store which itself is within the Old Colony Square, there are also a few stalls selling Chinese food, both a la carte and buffet style. You can get self-serve dim sum, bubble tea, and sweet cakes from other vendors.

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JERSEY CITY New Jersey
420 Grand Street

Map of Eat the World NYC:

EggMania

INDIA 🇮🇳

In some parts of India, you will spot stacks of egg cartons at the stalls of street vendors, denoting they are making one or many types of egg-based dishes. There are spicy scrambles, sandwiches, pancakes, or simple hard-boiled eggs dressed up with various things. It seems to be these vendors that the creators of EggMania missed from their lives in India, and thus a restaurant was born focusing almost entirely on the types of quick egg meals cooked on the streets.

On this day, the walk from the PATH station was full of glimpses of TVs showing the same cricket match. It seemed like everyone was involved in something very important, including EggMania which had the sound on. It turned out just to be a common friendly match between India and Afghanistan, but a national passion is a national passion.

The interior is painted with one bold color, what could be described as "yolk yellow." Otherwise, things are pretty bare and the only focus is the menu made up by three televisions and a long list of egg options. The people in the kitchen and all the customers seem to be a younger generation than your standard Indian restaurants around town.

Fans of hard-boiled eggs might want to order the boil fry ($4.49, above), eggs topped with masala spicing and sauce. For another dollar, some shredded cheese can be added. Please note that only a few items have chili peppers next to them on the menu, denoting a spicy dish, but some things like this that do not are still quite full of kick.

One of the feature items seems to be the volcano biryani ($9.99, below), the popular rice dish that has been cooked full of egg and topped with a spicy gravy that warrants it one of those chili peppers on the menu and does get hot. Shredded white cheese is added to the top and makes the whole mix quite melty and fun.

Bombay-style grilled sandwiches seem to be popular here as well and were a part of the order of the other tables we saw. Cheese again plays a major roll in these, making options like the chicken masala sandwich ($9, below) seem like grilled cheese fusion cuisine. My experience with these is very small, but other times the cheese was only a tiny part of the sandwich. I am certainly not adverse to it and the crispy triangles are tasty, it just seems less related to Indian food than other options. It is also one of only a small amount of non-vegetarian items available here at EggMania.

If you are in the mood for more masala, try the homemade masala soda ($2.49, below), a mixture of club soda and spices. These all go to the bottom quite quickly, so give it a good stir before every sip. Not quite refreshing, this is definitely a unique drink, and to me seemed like what chaat would taste like if it was liquified. Did I sell it well?

Open since late 2012, EggMania has also opened a location in Edison, New Jersey. The mania is real.

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JERSEY CITY New Jersey

14 Liberty Avenue

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Taqueria Mexicana

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

On many walks down Bergenline Avenue, a second thought was never given to Taqueria Mexicana, which on the surface just looks like an unspecial purveyor of Mexican food in a neighborhood with a lot of special places. This, however, is exactly the reason your teachers tell you not to judge a book by its cover.

The cute and charming place, housed in a former diner, landed squarely back in these thoughts after doing some searching for memelas in the area. These Oaxacan antojitos are not much different than a sope or huarache, but do not seem to make it onto menus in town that much.

Memelas top left, burritos bottom left

Along with the memelas, an online search showed that the restaurant was also making burritos closer to their original format. Unfortunately our burritos in the United States are almost all fat California versions stuffed with rice. Even gabacho Californians will cluelessly tell you about how good "Mexican" food is in their state while referencing some overstuffed Mission-style burrito, and completely omitting all the regional variety available in Los Angeles et al.

But before those two dishes are eaten, the first thing you may notice in this repurposed diner is the good looking trompo of al pastor meat spinning behind what used to be the coffee and breakfast counter. An order of four tacos (below), bigger than Mexico City-style taquitos, runs $8.50 and is certainly enough for a meal alone. The meat for these was unfortunately not fresh straight from the trompo and this was evident by the slight dryness from regrilling. When fresh, this order will be unbeatable as the marinades and roasted pineapple are just about perfect.

An order of four burritos (below) is $9.50 and is a simple dish that uses a flour tortilla to wrap up meat and cheese, more like the typical versions first found in Northern México which also may include refried beans. While every single Mexican restaurant in the New York City area and the entire country has a burrito on their menu, they all look like they were made at Chipotle and are really there just for the gabachos who don't know better, or could not find a Chipotle.

A burrito like this, often found on the streets of Ciudad Juarez or other northern cities, is sold on the sidewalk out of a basket, similar to more familiar tacos de canasta, except always with a flour tortilla.

The memelas (below) come in an order of three for $8.50, large oval discs of freshly made masa. You can have them with either red or green salsa, or a combination of both like the ones seen here.

In Oaxaca, you might sometimes find these with a thin layer of black beans and nothing besides mole negro, salsa, and cheese, but meat options like this cecina are becoming more common.

With much love in the heart for a big plate of stacked pancakes, it is said with much endearment that eating top notch Mexican antojitos in a vinyl high back booth is just as nice of an experience. The next time you find yourself in North Bergen, make space in your schedule and stomach for Taqueria Mexicana.

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NORTH BERGEN, New Jersey

7024 Bergenline Avenue

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