Marita and I are suckers for street food. Don’t get me wrong. We’re not reverse snobs who frown on eating at Michelin-rated places like Le Cirque, Le Bernardin and the like. Yes, we’ve eaten in those gastronomic temples and would go back in a heartbeat, ignoring without hesitation our rule of not going to the same restaurant twice. But there’s something really appealing about eating good and cheap street food, especially food you haven’t tried before, and paying less than what you’d pay in tips in Manhattan restaurants.
We had to bring a cousin of ours to JFK for a 7:00AM flight (ugh) so we decided to make a culinary adventure out of it. Marita said we wouldn’t find any open restaurants or street food stalls so early on a Sunday morning. I figured a lot of Latinos work 7 days a week and there had to be a few places that were open. So we drove down Roosevelt Avenue and sure enough we found some open Mexican taco joints. Then we came across Warren Street and lo and behold, there were two big food trucks and two carts selling comida tipica Ecuatoriana.
Here’s a rundown of our Ecuadorian breakfast. We had papas con cuero which is a very popular dish in Ecuador, consisting of potatoes, rice, lettuce and 1-2 inch slices of boiled pork skin (cuero). Normally, I don’t like rubbery foods but I actually liked the cuero; the texture was like Gummy Bears and it had great flavor. Then we had Ecuadorian pork tamales which are now Marita’s favorite. They’re made with large ear corn masa, peas, raisins, onions, shredded pork, topped with slices of hard boiled egg and smothered with a pinkish pepper sauce which I think was aji. So far, we’ve had Peruvian, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban tamales; the Ecuadorians win hands down in our book.
The vendor actually asked if we wanted our food “para llevar” or dine-in (I forget the term in Spanish). Dining-in meant eating on the sidewalk, sitting on plastic chairs placed against a building wall, together with working class Latinos. I think I would have blended in but Marita would have stuck out like a sore thumb. We decided against the al fresco option and ate in the car while listening to one of the Latin radio stations. I regret not ordering the horchata, that great refreshing drink made of ground almonds and rice. Now that I think about it, we blissfully ate the cuero and tamales without the slightest concern over getting sick. I could have had the horchata but I remember my parents’ warning not to drink any of those orange and red cold drinks sold in street carts in Manila.
Queens today is a great place for foodies. There are lots of other Latin American goodies that we have yet to try like cholado, their version of halo-halo; arrollado, a type of Uruguayan rolled meat dish; estofado de ternera, a veal stew of potatoes, carrots and peas from Argentina; mazamorra morado, a Peruvian pudding made with purple corn, apple, raisins, pineapple and prunes. Many of these restaurants are on Roosevelt Avenue.
Marita and I will be back. Maybe we’ll look for some Brazilian food . . .
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