NOTABLE NOSHES: Banh Mi Oh My in Morningside Heights...Pierogies and Polish Fare in Ridgewood...Sopes and Cemitas in East Harlem

The Pork Belly Banh Mi at 212 Café and Lounge - You don’t need a student ID (before 8PM) to access either of the two food venues in this sleek cafe in Columbia University’s Lerner Hall. At 212’s “Cafe East,” I like to get a black milk ginger tea (no bubbles, pleases) and grab-and-go sushi rolls, particularly the salmon/avocado roll with generous chunks of sushi-grade salmon in each of the 8 slices ($8.95). I’ve never paid much attention to what was being served at the other end of Cafe 212, but last week I noticed a whole tray of well blistered Portuguese custard cups, the Portugal-to-Macau-to-NYC dessert I told you about here. Whaaaa? When I went to investigate, my nostrils were tickled by the smell of pickles. 212 Cafe was serving $11* banh mi with either chicken, pork belly or tofu. Their pork belly banh mi is an exemplar of the perfect sandwich: The baguette was crispy on the outside and soft and chewy inside, cradling thick slabs of fatty pork belly, pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro and just enough hot chili mayo tying it all together. They serve it EVERY DAY along with more pricy offerings of Pho and Unagi Don. And the custard cups are pretty good, too ($2.25) but not as good as at D&M.

*I know. I know. This is $1 above my $10 and under snacking limit, but most banh mi cost $15 and up, so it seems like a good deal.

Al Pastor Taco and Spicy Pork Cemita at Sidewalk Tacos -The Chef and I recently indulged a craving for authentic Mexican food at this tiny East Harlem taqueria. Our bill for one cemita with spicy pork ($9.99) one carne asada (steak) sope ($6) and one al pastor (pork and pineapple) taco ($3.50) came to only $20 before tax and tip! Sopes, by the way, are slabs of maza (think baked polenta or grits) topped with meat, queso blanco, crema, radishes, cilantro and chile peppers. Sidewalk Tacos doesn’t stint on fresh, tasty ingredients ,and the Chef noted his cemita (typically the size of one’s head!) was $5 less than most. Note: while I enjoyed the heavy metal x Mexican ofrenda style decor, the loud pounding music in a tiny space made me wish there really was a sidewalk where I could sit out and enjoy my tacos!

Apricot Croissants at Dell’Aria Coffee Roasters - We had come across Sidewalk Tacos, because of recent weekend forays to newish East Harlem coffee roaster and cafe, Dell’Aria. Now I’m a decaf coffee drinker, but the Chef and other espresso drinking friends vouch for the high quality cup at Dell’Aria. As for me, I love the incredibly affable barista Matt. He serves with a genuine smile and seems personally invested in the success of this welcome addition to Manhattan coffee culture. One Yelper noted that despite the “bougie” appearance, the spacious cafe is a comfy place to hang out. Dogs think so, too, as there are always dogs lolling in patches of sunlight. A full menu of breakfast grain bowls and lunchtime panini, foccacia and fries tempts. Many are within my snacking budget including the Panini Crudo ($10) and truffle fries ( $5.50). So far I’ve only sampled the small but quality selection of cakes and pastries: I love the apricot croissant, which is light and airy, dotted with pearl sugar and contains a dollop of apricot preserve, a sweet present inside the savory, buttery swirls ($4.20)

Polish cucumber salad , pierogies and more at Hetman Fine Foods Deli - We’re lucky to have avid and agreeable urban hiking partners, Lydie and Chris. On Easter Weekend Lydie had a box of sweet rolls to pick up from an Apt 2 Bread pop up in at Helen Levi Ceramics and invited us to come along for a Ridgewood “Stadtbummel,” German for “a stroll through town.” It’s an appropriate word for this neighborhood which was solidly German in the early 1900s. Ridgewood, Queens is ever more popular for its mix of the hip and the old world and for the lovely undulating amber and brown brick row houses and elegant Romanesque-revival houses (10% of the buildings in Ridgewood have attained landmark status).

There is nothing elegant about the hearty Polish fare in Hetman Fine Foods Deli, spooned into sturdy cardboard containers or plastic tubs by a line of no-nonsense Polish women. The Chef was taken with what looked like a giant retro egg roll encrusted with breadcrumbs; one had a mushroom mixture inside and another, sauerkraut ($6.00). He chose the latter, and I ordered a pint of Polish cucumber salad ($6.00) and we got 8 crescent-shaped pierogies ($8.00). Lydie’s and Chris’s goodies included a large piece of fried fish, with a bread crumb crust, like a schnitzel. We went to Rosemary’s Playground, a few block’s from Hetman’s, where we spread out with our repast at a picnic table in the sunny but chill Spring weather. The pierogies—half stuffed with mushrooms, half with a potato/cheese mixture—were light and fluffy, not leaden, which I had feared. I especially liked the potato and cheese ones. But for me the cucumber salad was the standout. Thinly sliced slivers of cucumbers are mixed with vinegar, sour cream and a little sugar to create this refreshing concoction, every bit as good as my Grandma Rosie’s and a nice counterpoint to the heartier fare. Note: I’m a little unclear about the pricing when you get several items in one cardboard container, but it seems you can have ample portions of three items for $10 or thereabouts!

While Hetman’s seemed like a real nexus for the neighborhood’s old world communities, Topos Books and Honey Moon Coffee Shop are hipster hubs. The Germans of Ridgewood-past would say both of these places are “gemütlich.” With used bookstores increasingly hard to find in our high-rent city, Topos’s large collection of used books in good condition, many of which are current titles, is a goldmine. They have a small cafe and are always spinning good tunes. Honey Moon is a friendly coffee shop, which has interesting art on its walls (see my pic of art by Yusuke Okada ) and a small outpost of Molasses Books, another high quality used bookstore—lots of über literary and art titles. The Chef and Chris browsed the books and Chris came away with a selection of Stevie Smith’s poetry, and the Chef bought Fully Automated Luxury Communism (!). Check out Honey Moon on insta; seems they often have pop-up partnerships with local artists like ceramicists Helen Levi and Maggie Boyd Ceramics (on May 7).

212 Cafe and Lounge
2920 Broadway (at W. 115th St)

Sidewalk Tacos
2163 Second Avenue (near E. 110th St)
646-454-9255

Dell’Aria Coffee Roasters
232 E. 111th St (near 2nd Avenue)

Hetman Fine Foods & Deli
6665 Forest Avenue (near Madison St)

Topos Bookstore
788 Woodward Avenue ( near Putnam Ave)
347-927-5680

Honey Moon Coffee Shop
517 Onderdonk Avenue (near Bleeker St)