Dave Cook

Chicharron with guineo, Elsa la Reina del Chicharron, Broadway, Manhattan (one of several locations). Two forks included, even with my "smaller" order: three-quarters of a pound of fried pork belly and a like weight of boiled unripe banana.

Cerdo a la leña — Dominican-style whole hog — with pork ribs and honey-butter-brushed cornbread at Bark Barbecue, Bushwick, Brooklyn

Seen in passing: DUMPL1NG (a New York plate with the numeral 1 and not the letter I), perhaps seeking out its namesakes in Flushing, Queens

For me, white radish was the selling point, but this fresh-fried Wenzhou lantern cake also offered bits of pork, shreds of scallion, and, shining bright, a hard-boiled egg. From the Lao Yang cart, lately spotted on Prince St. (opposite White Bear), Flushing, Queens

New York-area food events, July 16-22 bit.ly/nyfoodevents-j…

An excellent torta de milanesa de pollo (comped) at Sunset Park Plaza, an outdoor lot at 4223 Second Ave. in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, that transforms into a Mexican food market every Saturday and Sunday, 11:00-7:00.

@is0bel8 I haven't, but now I'll keep it in mind!

@EIT Have you tried the sweet corn ice cream at sundaes and cones? Different but also delicious

Over-the-top street corn in a cone: elote soft serve dipped in butter, then dressed with Cotija, Tajin, and (eventually) lime, at Papa d’Amour, University Pl., Manhattan. So much butter.

@tpottery_ Once you factor in butter, cheese, Tajin, and lime, not so sweet.

@EIT How sweet?

A pastrami sandwich (after an hour-plus in transit, under wraps, while researching a food tour for @ContextTravel), Katz's Delicatessen, East Houston St., Manhattan. Also shown: pickles, which come with; a taste offered by the cutter once I finally reached the head of the line.

Three parts octopus, shrimp, and squid, and one part celery (for its contrasting crunch), seems about right: Neptune seafood salad, Tashkent Supermarket, Sixth Ave., Manhattan

A sprawling annual festival of Bajan chow (food from Barbados, that is, like this fish cake), plus Andean, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Italian, Malaysian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, West African and more: New York-area food events, July 9-12 bit.ly/nyfoodevents-j…

Meaty as I could manage: My richly sauced, overloaded chicken mole taco placero, at Guisados Maria in Bushwick, Brooklyn, surprised me with the winning half of a wishbone, too.

Caracóis — snails — at Sport Club Português, during last month's celebration of Portugal Day in the Ironbound section of Newark, New Jersey

A pata de veado, a Portuguese "deer hoof" pastry of egg-cream-filled, cinnamon-striped sponge cake, at the bakery-café Pão da Terra, during a visit last month to Newark, New Jersey

A Brazilian-style pressed double hot dog — when you're not taking photos, it's much less messy to roll back the wrapper just enough for each bite — from the Opata's Hot Dog truck, during a visit last month to Newark, New Jersey

A brief roundup of New York-area food events for early July bit.ly/nyfoodevents-e…

Fatta hummus and fresh-baked flatbread, Maqluba, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Penang char kway teow, Wok Wok, Mott St., Manhattan. Good wok hei. In the downstairs dining room, very good aircon, too.

Making my cooldown plans early: matcha gelato (level 3 on a scale from 1 to 8 , both of which I also sampled), Aokō Matcha, Chrystie St., Manhattan