FRESS:
[yiddish] To eat like an animal, i.e., quickly, noisily, and in great quantity.
This is how we do father's day in my family- full day eating fest. I convinced the fam to ditch Flushing for once in favor of Jackson Heights.
With so many amazing ethnic restaurants all within a few blocks, it is fressing paradise.
Himalayan Yak:
Our first stop was Himilayan Yak, you know, for breakfast. We started with an appetizer sampler, samayabajee, that came with shredded meat, pickle, beaten rice, and soy nuts. The beaten rice was very unfamiliar to us; it resembles uncooked oatmeal and had a pleasing chew and took on the sauce that it came with.
We could not turn down the wild boar sausage, which looks like a fatty piece of bacon. It was loaded with smokey flavor but had a bit too much fat on it for me.
Momos were another must have, we ordered the pork version.
With the doughy bun and juicy filling, Sister compared the texture and flavor to a soup-less soup dumpling, and I agreed.
Street Festival:
We followed some music that led us to an Indian/Bangladeshi/Pakistani street festival. It was packed with people dressed in bright colors and stand after stand of spicy food.
We sampled a type of chaat (I have had better at the 6th ave news stand) from one of the friendly vendors. We made a stop for spicy but refreshing picked mango, which came in bright yellow and a darker curry color. Fried veggie patties were plentiful, we only tried a nibble to avoid too much grease, after all we had plenty of eating left to do
Next we stopped at Hornado Ecuatoriano, a favorite of mine for ceviche. I usually order the shrimp ceviche, but we opted for the mixto. The shocking dark color of this ceviche was due to the conch that floated around along with the shrimp. Despite its muddy appearance, we loved the limey liquid and every drop was consumed.
Tostones on the side helped soak up the last remnants from the bowl.
My parents pepped up with café con leche that they claimed to be exceptional. I opted instead for a glass of chicha, the taste of slight fermentation just does it for me.
A sign advertising arepas and chorizo caught our eyes next, and we went into the tiny eatery, Los Chuzos y algo mas. We shared one cheese arepa and a fresh fruit juice with strawberry, pear, and orange. Both cost $3 and were devoured in seconds. There is a window for ordering from the street.
Tacolandia:
Tacolandia has a window right on the street and you can guess what they sell. We had a taco al pastor and one of chorizo. The meats are all on a steam table and finished off on the griddle to order. The chorizo was the better taco. Neither were the best of my life.
Unidentified Flying Chicken:
We finished off with fried chicken for dessert. UFC has supposedly famous Korean fried chicken that we had to judge for ourselves. We sat downstairs in the dining area and got the $10 small order of wings and drumsticks in soy garlic and sweet and spicy.
The soy garlic, the traditional kfc, was the clear winner, with that perfect crisped skin and umami flavoring. We also agreed that we would order only wings next time, as they provide more crisp to meat ratio. I also ordered a cup of tea, which is not the perfect accompaniment to fried chicken but I required something soothing and caffeinated at the time. I have to point out the cuteness of the tiny little honey cup they brought out for me. That combined with the wee little chicken motto was borderline too much
cuteness to handle.
Guayaco's Truck:
More ceviche? Yes, because it came from a truck and we got our selections to go. Guayaco’s Ecuadorian truck had a horde of men watching the soccer game of the t.v. attached to the truck.
Our other order, cazuela, made me retch. I could probaby start dry heaving right now if I thought hard about the way it tasted. It was extremely fishy, but leave it to my dad to say he likes it. I was expecting cazuela de pollo, my mistake.
The shrimp ceviche on the other hand was very fresh tasting and would have fulfilled the ceviche craving had we not just had some 15 minutes before. They even threw in a bag of plantain chips.
Later at the Asian market I spotted something that made me cock my head to the side and go hmmm? Sliced deer horns. Apparently they can be used as a sexual tonic. Eeek. I’ll just purchase my powdered dashi and be on my way.
La Casa Del Pollo Peruano II:
My mother can never resist a Peruvian chicken, so I took her to La Casa Del Pollo for a bird to take home. A whole chicken can be ordered for take-out for under $8 with the elusive green sauce. Extra sauce is another quarter; sister insisted on extra. The Peruvians have it down, the next day my lunch of meat was moist and the skin was charred and spiced in that way that makes mouths water.
Happy Father’s Day Daddy! You are a champion eater.
Himalayan Yak: 72-20 Roosevelt Ave
(718) 779-1119
La Casa de Pollo Peruano 2: 8707 Roosevelt Ave
UFC: 71-22 Roosevelt Ave
(718) 205-6662
