Margon's Pernil Sandwich: How to order

I finally got a chance to check out Margon. I decided to get the pernil sandwich over the standard cuban, just because I wasn't in the mood for extras on this day- pork only please. I was a bit confused by the ordering system. Cubans get made and ordered up front. For the pernil sandwich you order it at the first table, pay for it at the second, and then bring your receipt to the back where the meat is thrown on the grill, covered in its own juice, joined with some onions if you like (I do like), and handed over to you.


The meat had solid flavor going on, though it was lacking pieces of crisp skin we all love. Its a pretty huge and satisfying sandwich for $6.50.

Momos To Go: Namaste in Jackson Heights

After landing in LaGuardia airport I took a bus right to Jackson Heights for my first meal back in the states. Wondering around with my suitcase and hammock I passed on all of the tempting Latin American restaurants that I love, being that I had just eaten food of that genre for two weeks. Luckily, I saw a sign for momos. Himilayan food was the perfect choice.

The first section of this establishment, which I believe is called Merit Kebab Palace, looked like an Indian steam table. I passed on that and headed to the back.

I ordered the chicken momos and alu achar, both were brought out to me quickly.


As much as I enjoyed the meaty momos, I couldn't help thinking that for the price ($6) I could have gotten triple the amount of dough wrapped meat in Flushing...

The alu achar, spicy potatos, were a vibrant heat-packing side dish. The cilantro cut the spice enough to make this a nice summer dish.


I would love to return here with more people, so I can try out more of their dishes here.


37-67 74th Street

Nicaragua Fressing

Home safely from traveling in Nicaragua. We had so many adventures, many food related of course. Allow me to show off a few highlights...

After our arrival to Managua we quickly left for a stay on the Laguna de Apoyo.

Down at the bottom of the lake we enjoyed cold Toña's (the beer of choice in Nicaragua*, actually pretty good) and shrimp ceviche.

*The other being Victoria, which is a bit darker

Three of us shared a ginormous whole fried tilapia covered in garlic. We were told that the fish was caught from the lake itself, very cool if that was actually true. The fish cost about $10 in total, it would most likely be triple that back in NYC.

We then traveled a bit north to the colonial town of Leon. One of out favorite dinners was street food behind the main church. Two ladies, each with their own table full of food, were ready for us to point at what we wanted and then threw the items on their barbecues.

Hmm, what do choose? Maybe one of everything

A whole plate costs about a dollar. One fried patty I particularly enjoyed may have been made of green beans.

One this plate: fried plantain, fried cheese, taco thingies, and fried things stuffed with rice and meat galore.

Leon's main square is the spot for getting vigoron, a dish with mushed yucca and pork skin.

Though we enjoyed eating this local dish, the pork skin was quite intense. It might have been better if it was cut into tiny pieces. The green pickled thing made me happy.

While wondering the streets there was no way we could pass up 50 cent pupusas.

This one is stuffed with cheese, beans, and chorizo. The greasy, salty, meaty snack was matched with some spicy cabbage on the side. Rico!

This hot mess is mango bread, a dessert from Imagine, one of the more expensive restaurants in Granada. For a dessert splurge though, it was fun and unexpected. In a country full of mango trees making mango bread is a brilliant concept.

Another relative splurge was lunch at El Zaguan, which was recommended by many locals for the steak. It was not mind blowing.

Cute kids in the Granada market

Boat to the Island of Ometepe

On the island we had an interesting experience at El Zopilote. This "eco-friendly farm" has cabin and hammock accommodations. A flashlight is absolutely needed here. It is an uphill hike to get to the facilities, which means food is not easily obtainable. They provide free fruit as well as baked good and yogurt for a fee. A few nights a week an Italian gentleman makes brick oven pizza. Like other aspects of Zopilote, I was not impressed.

This part of the island, Balgue, does not have very many eating options.

This cart guy in the middle of the road sells tacos. He claimed all of his ingredients were as fresh as could be.

Salty meat stacked with avocado, not too shabby.

Nearby, Eduardo serves up some awesome home cooking at his little comedor.

I don't usually order tamales, but Nicaragua's nacatamal changed my mind. They are usually filled with pork... there is a good chance that fact alone stirred my change of heart.

Even better, was Eduardo's home made chorizo. We had to come back for this one.

While staying on the Merida side of the island we loved the food from this tiny comedor whose menu is penciled on the wall.

This bright chicken soup with squash and other veggies was just what I needed on a rainy Island day.

This is what sunset looks like in the beach town, San Juan del Sur.
















I made the mistake of taking Lonely Planet's advice for where to eat. Our first meal in San Juan del Sur was at Cafe Buen Gusto. Lonely Planet recommended highly for fresh seafood. Like all the restaurants on this strip, the view can't be beat. It is right on the water; the relaxing sounds of waves washing up under the wooden planks during high tide make any meal a bit better. The food, though not terrible, was a bit dissapointing. I was so excited to get my lobster on, but the pricey dish came with 3 teeny tails. I was hoping to crack apart some shells and get messy. A fish dish was not only small for the price, but did not taste half as good as other fish we had in this country.






A better bet is sticking with the stalls located in the main market.

Lonely Planet mentions these as a great place to pick up granola and fruit plates... what?
I'd rather stick with some local style home cooking, thank you very much.

We frequented Comedor Itxel with its lovely lady staff often.

A mango orange shake for one dollar and an insanely good nacatamale for another. Hell yea.

We also had some great fish platters here, they come with rice, beans, and some cabbage for about $4.

Sadly the food markets do close, so for a late night dinner I was enticed by the sign advertising poutine at La Panga. A half order of cheesy, gravy covered fries and some battered fish were a tasty fried alternative from the typical local food. The owner Adam is a sweetheart. If you find yourself in the area, check out his fundraiser events for a local orphanage.

Play Maderas is a gorgeous beach worth treking out for. On the beachfront we enjoyed fresh fish tacos.

I am pretty proud of this one; after getting 3 hours of sleep the night before, I woke up and purchased fish ceviche from a laundramat. Note the elegant way it was served in a tied up plastic baggie. Needless to say, it was tangy and refreshing and the perfect breakfast.

We got a great tip to check out the infinity pool at the Pelican eyes resort, located on a hill overlooking San Juan del Sur and its beach. As long as you make a purchase at their restaurant, La Cascada, you have access to the gorgeous pool. A pina colada was an easy choice. The place offers real salads, which is a bit hard to find in Nicaragua

Back in Managua, for our last night in the country, we decided to do a taste test of the two ubiquitous fast food fried chicken chains. Pollo Campero and more-so, Tip- Top, are EVERYWHERE.
Both offer table service, which is amusing.























I thought Tip Top's chicken was decent. A comparable combo was cheaper than Campero and came with more fries.










Campero's chicken= frightening. The breast meat was way too plentiful and juicy, which sounds like a good thing, but it really was not. It tasted like an alien creature resembling a chicken took a full course of hormone treatment and was then injected with bullion cubes.

But the children's play room was top notch.










Our last meal was unfortunately some icky airport food, but other than that we had some bodacious eats in Nicaragua. Perhaps in the off chance that you are planing a trip there, these reflections might be useful to you. If not, you are allowed to be jealous that a future broke ass law student ate better than you for two weeks.

Viajando en Nicaragua

Hola! So I am currently travling in Nicaragua for 2 weeks. After landing and getting to our hostel at 2am we went out and later had a street side burrito for about a dollar. Sabroso! Food is so cheap here, I know we are going to have many amazing adventures to report on.

Whiting Sandwich at Chicken House

While walking down 8th Ave I needed to find lunch. Didn't feel like spending $9 at Pick a Pita, had enough pork this week so no GoGo Curry. Then I passed Chicken House, which I had heard of as a cheap and sketchy little spot, perfect. They fry things here including chicken, fish, shrimp, and fries. I got a whiting sandwich for $3.50. It didn't have too much flavor on its own but the tartar and hot sauce on the counter helped that out a bit. It wasn't dripping grease like I expected and the fish was respectfully moist. The guy behind the counter was really really nice. So for the price and the fast, pleasant service this is not a bad stop.


36th between 7th and 8th

Flushing Mall is more than shaved ice

Flushing Mall is unappreciated as an eating destination. There is a lot going on up in there and it can be intimidating unless you know what to expect and what are the most yummy things to eat out of the many options.

When you walk in there are two staircases on either side, to the right and up the stairs is a little store that sells random food goods from Asian countries. Up the stairs on the left is a store with fun novelty items like a tissue box holder shaped like anime poop.

The inner food court is the main target.

All the way on the right wall is a store front with hand drawn noodles. The make their noodles right in front of you; its a choreographed dance of flour coated precision. The various noodle soups are $4.95 on average. I have enjoyed the duck soups in the past, though now they are offering a "country duck" special that I don't like as much. The noodles are the stand-out component of the soups. Their texture is unique to noodles that are only a few minutes old. The broths are none to shabby themselves, though they benefit from the cilantro on top and the chili sauce on the table.

This stall also sells fresh and frozen dumplings.


Moving forward to the line of stalls against the back wall you will find Szechaun food to the far-right. Dan-dan noodles and other staples are available but I have not yet sampled anything from here.

The ordering system for the middle stalls is rather intimidating because its changes. Sometimes you order from the lady at the front of the dining area and sometimes you order from the different stalls themselves. Just ask, its ok, dont be scared.

Ay Chung food (2nd from the right) has a lot of great options. Do not miss out on the Salt and Pepper squid and Salt and Pepper chicken (numbers 18 and 19) For under $4 each you get a huge serving of tasty fried pieces that are a lot less greasy than you would expect.

To the left, the famous shaved ice station also sells fresh squeezed fruit juices, teas, shakes, and ice cream. The red bean ice cream was delicious but tasted like melon. I like to spoil myself by ordering the fresh squeezed fruit juices; I went with carrot orange this time.

Next door there are pictures of items you can point and order. It appears that soup dumplings are available here but I have not yet tried them.
I have gotten a flakey turnip bun here but on our last visit we tried a sesame pancake meat sandwich type thing. We all agreed this had potential but it was not our favorite of the day.

Moving on and skipping past various dumpling stalls, the second to last stall on the left sells crepes and takoyaki. You can guess which I always stop for. Takoyaki has been one of my favorite foods since I first tried them at Otafuku a few years ago. Its worth the wait to get them fresh. It costs about $5 for 6 of them. Other random flavors are available (like curry) but I always get the standard version.

Crisped spheres with mushy octopus flavored filling with a nub of tentacle and pieces of corn covered with mayo, okonamiyaki sauce, seaweed flakes, and dried fish shavings. Can I get an amen?

Do yourself a favor and sit watching the fish shavings undulate while the insides cool down.

The delmanjoo caked are sold in the middle of the mall, I like to ask for a free sample of a broken one.

Stop by the puffed rice cake stand next to it for a great low-fat office snack.



Don't forget, it is a mall! There are two clothing stores on the lower level that often have great sales. Though most of the clothing is hilariously hideous, there are some good finds if you can be patient. I got this fun little half shirt thing at one of them. A beauty shop upstairs sells foot detoxifiers, bento boxes, and containers you didn't realize you needed.

A salon on the main floor offers mole removal starting at $5, thats not even a little bit sketchy.

Under the staircase on the left (if you are entering) are massage services as well as cupping. If you are brave enough and into painful back massages, like myself, you may want to check it out. Voice your opinion if it gets too hard, I made the mistake of not doing this and it was pretty painful; the giant round hickys on my back were not so cute during bikini season. I do warn you in advance - this is not a spa experience.

Bathrooms are located on both floors all the way on the left side. Other rando mall shops host children's harp lessons, wedding photographers, Japanese toilets, and bonzai trees, proving the point that this mall has about everything a person could need.