Category Archives: Shopping

Kringle vs Kringle

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Instagram Post 11/23/2019

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After my 11/16 post about Holtermann’s kringle on Staten Island, a number of folks spoke up about their experience with the same Danish pastry from Trader Joe’s. So of course I had no choice but to purchase TJ’s version for one of my typically OCD A/B tests.

Trader Joe’s product comes to us from the O&H Danish Bakery in Racine, Wisconsin, a family business that’s been making kringler and sharing hygge since 1949, so their Danish culinary bona fides are well established; their website, ohdanishbakery.com, touts some 23 tempting flavors but I suspect TJ’s offers only almond.

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TJ’s is filled with a rich, dense almond paste and adorned with a lemony glaze. It was slightly smaller and featured a filling, glaze and dough that were a bit sweeter, perhaps, than…


Holtermann’s, shown here from the previous post, that boasted a nut filled nut paste filling, a sweet sugar glaze and a slightly more sophisticated, handmade tasting dough that seemed to have more of a from-scratch, small-batch taste.


TJ’s in its entirety, complete with a quarter for size comparison, as I did for…


Holtermann’s – photo from my last post for the sake of completeness. I told you I was OCD.

The verdict. They were different, and both were certainly good in their own fashion as described above. Then again, Holtermann’s cost $22 and involved a subway ride, a ferry crossing, and no small amount of time getting there and back again, but at $7.99 for a similar confection, I can walk to TJ’s in about half an hour and probably burn off some of those kringle kalories while I’m at it! 😉
 
 

Holtermann’s Bakery

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Instagram Post 11/16/2019

My first encounter with kringler, the filled Danish pastry, was decades ago via an annual snail-mail catalog specializing in Christmas goodies posted from Wisconsin. (Racine is renown as the kringle capital of Wisconsin and kringler are the official state pastry.) Closer to home, the stalwart Leske’s Bakery in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is famous for their rendition. But I was unfamiliar with Holtermann’s Bakery, 405 Arthur Kill Road in Staten Island; a ferry trip and a bus ride at my dining buddy’s behest would enlighten me.

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Holtermann’s is a somewhat isolated tiny bakery with an enormous parking lot to accommodate the dozens of cars that bring scores of folks who queue up patiently for their delicious baked goods. (Apropos of enormous, that’s a quarter in there.) Some kringler are pretzel shaped; these are vaguely reminiscent of a kid’s slot car race track, flat and oval, but that’s where the similarity ends. This sweet confection, along with a cup of hot coffee, amply provided breakfast on several frosty mornings.


Revealing the filling of sweet nut paste plus nut pieces and the generous application of sweet icing. Did I mention sweet yet?


Perhaps more decadent (and yes, perhaps more sweet) was this chocolate almond ring with…
…gobs of almond paste supporting chocolate glaze and slivered almonds – and there was some cake in there as well.

The family owned and operated business has been around since 1878 so obviously they know how to put a smile on people’s faces. They did on mine. 😋
 
 

Mandato Fruit & Grocery Corp. – Part 2

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Instagram Post 11/10/2019

I’ve written about Mandato, the three-in-one Mexican destination at 7220 3rd Ave, Brooklyn before: it’s a take-out restaurant featuring tortas, cemitas, tamales, picaditas, tlacoyos, sopes, quesadillas, huaraches and more; a market where, in addition to packaged goods, you’ll find authentic Mexican ingredients including quesillo, nopales, and store-made barbacoa, carnitas, and tamales; and an authentic panadería where they bake their own Mexican panes dulces (sweet breads) available in store and sent out to close to 30 local groceries and bodegas as well – and that’s the subject of today’s post.

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Shown here are three from among dozens of varieties of baked goods prepared daily, all delicious, all made without preservatives or lard. Sleeping at the bottom is a yoyo; moving clockwise a taco de crema; and holding down the 2 o’clock position is a cherimoya, so called because it’s crafted to look like the eponymous fruit.


A peek inside sheds more light on the names. Like its real-life counterpart, the yoyo actually comprises two halves, bonded in this case by a fruity layer. The taco de crema, airy and flaky, guards creamy custard within. The cherimoya encloses a surprise as well: a generous amount of sweet cinnamon filling.

It’s a unique stop along my Bay Ridge Little Levant ethnojunket, or if you’re in the neighborhood, check it out for yourself!

(Note that this venue is officially Mandato Fruit & Grocery Corp, not the restaurant of the same name next door – there’s no connection.)
 
 

Happy Diwali! (2019)

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The 2019 Collection

Dear Friends,

I can no longer keep this to myself. I am an addict, hooked on mithai. What’s that? You don’t know about mithai? Mithai are Indian sweets and since Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, is upon us, I can think of no better time than now to tell you my tale. So gather round your diyas and check out my post “Indian Sweets 101: Meeting Mithai” right here on ethnojunkie.com!
 
 
दिवाली मुबारक
Happy Diwali!
 
 

Mandato Fruit & Grocery Corp.

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Instagram Post 8/13/2019

You’re going to hear more from me about Mandato, 7220 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, not only because it’s the only Mexican destination along my Bay Ridge food tour, but because I absolutely love the place.

For starters, it’s really three spots packed into one: a genuine panadería where they bake their own Mexican panes dulces; a market where, in addition to packaged goods, you’ll find authentic Mexican ingredients including quesillo, nopales, store-made barbacoa, carnitas, and an array of at least eight mind-blowing salsas; and a takeout restaurant serving tortas, cemitas, tamales, picaditas, tlacoyos, sopes, quesadillas, huaraches and more – the subject of today’s post. All of this is under the aegis of Pedro, a partner in the family business, who is probably the friendliest, most helpful person you’d ever want to meet and who customized these delicious wonders for me.

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This quesadilla is brimming with queso fresco, queso Oaxaca (aka quesillo), lettuce, crema, and huitlacoche, sometimes called Mexican truffle. Do you like mushrooms? Do you like corn? Then you should try huitlacoche.


Sliced in half to reveal its inner beauty.


Huaraches start with a double layer of masa enclosing a thin coating of mashed refried pinto beans, hand pressed into a thick oblong shape and fried (literally “sandals” because of the shape). This one is topped with chorizo and potatoes, onions, queso fresco and crema.


Cross section; look very closely at the bottom and you might see the layer of refritos.
 
 
Auténtico. That’s the word for it. More to come soon from Mandato: the panadería, the store-made goodies, and beyond!

(Note that this venue is officially Mandato Fruit & Grocery Corp, not the restaurant of the same name next door – there’s no connection.)

 
 

Paleteria Los Michoacanos

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Instagram Post 7/18/2019

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Every now and then, I write about something or someplace that I fervently want you to try because it’s Just That Good. Paleteria Los Michoacanos at 101-06 43rd Ave in Corona, Queens specializes in the most amazing, intensely flavorful paletas (Mexican ice pops on a stick) that I have ever encountered. Ever.

[1] They offer twenty-eight outstanding milk based flavors like arroz (rice pudding), rompope (eggnog), mamey, strawberry cream, pine nut, chocolate, chongos zamoranos (a Mexican dessert made from curdled milk and rennet), and queso con zarzamora (cheese and blackberry, shown here – which I highly recommend). And of course, you’ll find peach, raspberry, vanilla, pistachio and other familiar favorites.

Or choose from among twenty-two water ices like chamoy (tamarind with chili), guanabana (soursop), cactus pear, and grosella (currant) along with the customary orange, lemon, watermelon, raspberry, mango and the usual suspects.

[2] A peek inside just one of the freezer cases. (BTW, they have ice cream, batidos and more.)

There’s actually some confusion about locations with similar names and branding. There’s a Paleteria La Michoacana in Yonkers (my introduction to these stores) with a comparable product line. I learned from Wikipedia that “La Michoacana” is an informal group (not franchises) of family-run ice cream parlors, comprising thousands of venues in Mexico and the US. Three Mexican brands claim ownership of the name, “Paleterias La Michoacana”, “La Nueva Michoacana”, and “Helados La Michoacana”. But ¡No importa! The only one you need to drop everything and rush off to immediately is this one in Corona. Prepare to be blown away.

🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦
July is National Ice Cream Month, and every year I update my epic post about ethnic pops (with a little storytelling thrown in for good measure). It’s everything you always wanted to know about international ice cream all in one place. Please check it out here!
🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦 🍨 🍦
 
 

Feijoa

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Instagram Post 7/12/2019

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One of the things I love most about doing ethnojunkets is introducing my food tour guests to international treats they’ve never tasted but soon won’t be able to live without. (That’s what puts the junkie in ethnojunkie 😉.) So I was unusually pleased during a recent jaunt through Brooklyn’s Little Odessa when a participant whose birthplace was Colombia gleefully recognized a favorite fruit in the gourmet produce section of Gourmanoff, an upscale Russian market, that she hadn’t seen locally elsewhere – feijoa. She happily instructed the others in her technique for selecting a ripe one as well as consuming it – which made my job easier!

Also known as “pineapple guava”, “Brazilian guava”, “fig guava” and “guavasteen”, the fruit’s flesh is soft in the center growing firmer and a bit grainier (a little like a pear) approaching its thin green skin. In the same family (Myrtaceae) as the guava but not the same genus, the aroma is almost perfumy. Its flavor is full-bodied and tropical, intensifying nearer the skin which itself can be eaten but has a decidedly different character, floral in nature.

So what was the connection between my exultant Colombian guest and this posh Russian market? Turns out that the feijoa is native to two regions of the world: Colombia (and other parts of South America) and Russia (and former Soviet Union countries)!

🎶 Reunited, and it feels so good! 🎶
 
 

Max & Mina’s

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Instagram Post 4/22/2019

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Since we’re in the middle of Passover and warm weather is inching ever closer, I can think of no better time than to recount the story of my pilgrimage to Max & Mina’s Ice Cream at 71-26 Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. That they’re kosher is beside the point – and their over-the-top decor showcasing covers from 60’s era Mad Magazines, cereal boxes, and other memorabilia against a seaside themed subplot is just the tip of the icecreamberg. It’s the seemingly infinite roster of unique, unusual flavors they’ve created over the years that’s their claim to fame.

If you can name it, and even if you can’t, they’ve probably made it: Cotton Candy Pop Rocks, Pancake Chip, Sponge Bob, Circus, Snickers, Bourbon, Merlot, Coffee & Doughnuts, every breakfast cereal I can think of like Rice Krispies, Cap’n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs and Quisp. (Remember Quisp? I wonder if they did Quake.) If your taste runs to the more conventional, there’s always Mint Chip, Pumpkin, Nutty Pistachio, Peach, Rum Raisin, Key Lime Pie and the like. This trio comprises Peanut Butter Pie, Blackberry, and Egg Nog. I’d name more but Instagram limits me to 2200 characters. I’m told that they also have chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.

So how does Passover factor in? In a nod to Judaica, past flavors have included Nova Lox, Herring, Horseradish, Cholent (a Sabbath stew), Esrog (the yellow citron that’s part of the Jewish holiday Sukkot) and Macaroon. But not only plain macaroon, oh no. How about Chocolate Macaroon, Coffee Caramel Macaroon…the list goes on. Horseradish gets a similar facelift from strawberry and blackberry infused versions as well, and their Babka ice cream really takes the cake.

Note that when you go (and it would be a shonde if you don’t), none of these flavors may be available, presumably to accommodate the latest experiments, but I can guarantee that they’ll be replaced by as many equally intriguing offerings in a rainbow of flavors, colors, and textures.

So nu, what are you waiting for?
 
 

Mitsuwa Marketplace – Ice Cream

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Instagram Post 4/11/2019

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Is it warm enough yet to start writing about ice cream? (And does it even need to be warm at all?)

[1] A recent visit to the frozen food aisle at Mitsuwa Marketplace, probably the most comprehensive exclusively Japanese supermarket in the area, turned up this besquiggled, choko-cliff of an ice cream cone that was too visually compelling to forego. I made my way through the red balloon katakana (“super”), the yellow hiragana (bikkuri which means “amazed”), and the creamy soft-serve curlicue to be rewarded with a crunchy chocolate supporting infrastructure.

[2] The inside scoop (as it were). Truth in advertising: “amazed” pretty much summed it up.

Mitsuwa Marketplace is located at 595 River Road, Edgewater, NJ.
 
 

More Mitsuwa

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Instagram Post 3/4/2019

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In addition to the specialty shops and restaurants that accompany their extensive selection of Japanese packaged and prepared foods, Mitsuwa Marketplace, 595 River Road, Edgewater, NJ plays host to a series of promotional events. Currently, for example, three exhibitors from Japan are presenting bespoke Japanese sweets, premium dashi (Japanese soup stock), and luxurious seafood bento. The products are available for a limited time at the store and, I was told, once they go back to Japan, so does the opportunity to sample them locally.

Marumasa, hailing from Yamanashi Prefecture, featured a regional style of fried chicken (kara-age) along with other deep fried snacks. This set included [1] fried shrimp nestled within onigiri (rice balls) which were excellent and [2] chicken that would have been good had it not suffered from being out of the oil for too long rendering it cold and a bit greasy, an uncommon happenstance I was told.

[3] A fixture among Mitsuwa’s restaurants, Tendon Hannosuke specializes in tempura bowls. Shown here is the Original Tempura Plate with whitefish, two shrimp, soft-boiled egg, nori and vegetables.

If you’re into Japanese cuisine, cooking, and culture, Mitsuwa Marketplace is worth the short bus ride across the river for a few hours of exploration and dining. And if you have a little extra time, there’s a bookstore (Kinokuniya) and a home décor emporium (Little Japan USA) right nearby. (PS: Don’t miss the creamy, delicious soft-serve which we gobbled too hastily to photograph!)