Ecuador al Fresco: Greene Av’s One-Woman Show
A sunny day at Greene and Irving. — Photos by Scarlett Lindeman
Shopping-cart tamale vendors, "pop-up" grillers in the back of bars, and transient chefs who make their living cooking dinner parties from state to state are eating establishments that function outside of conventional models. Places and persons like these, including the family behind 1414 Greene Avenue, force us to constantly reexamine the role of diner and patron, restaurant and social space, eating and tradition. Academic waxing aside, the patio at 1414 Greene is a damn fine place to eat.
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The building belongs to George and Rosa Mendez. For the past three years, Rosa has been cooking meals to serve to friends, family, and neighbors in the area. On the small cement patio outside of their apartment they installed a white tent, set up a couple of plastic tables and chairs, and opened for business. If you’ve ever dreamed of having an Ecuadoran aunt to visit on Sunday afternoon who will serve you a bowl of ceviche and bring you limes and crunchy roasted corn kernels to sprinkle on top, well now you have it: this is home-cooked food at its best.
The menu, always three entrees deep, changes each week but usually includes a seafood ceviche or coctel. Last week, in addition to tall glasses brimming with shrimp in a cold citrusy tomato broth, the Ecuadoran classic encebollado, was served. Encebollado has hunks of simmered fish and starchy yuca topped with cilantro and red onion, and is perfect as a hangover cure. White rice and soupy beans bolstered a heap of pernil, roasted pork shoulder which shreds into tender strands at the touch of a plastic fork. The crunchy layer of skin takes hours to caramelize and condense into a shingle of porcine essence that crunches as hard as peanut brittle.
Come winter, Rosa will continue to feed lunchtime masses via telephone order and home delivery. But until snow falls, set your alarm to make it while supplies last. Late risers are met with a closed gate and empty pots, “People come late, you know, wanting the food, and I run out,” says Rosa. Saturday she feeds 60-70 people and Sundays it’s close to 80 heads, keeping Rosa cycling through small batches that she makes every couple of hours. “I have one girl that helps me on Sundays, but usually, it’s just me.”
BYOB or ask for a paper-bagged Corona.
1414 Greene Ave. (at Irving)
Sat and Sun, 9am-4pm (weather permitting)
Entrees: $8
Can I get a “Yum, Yum!”?
That’s illegal. There’s already a complaint on file with DOB. If my neighbor was having 80 people come over on saturdays and sundays, I’d be pissed. Why don’t they do what other people in restaurant business do and rent a legal space? There are legal spaces to be found in Bushwick for pretty affordable rates.
So what if it’s illegal, it’s peaceful and tiny — it’s not 80 people at ONCE, there are only a couple tables there. This is BUSHWICK, and there are far more objectionable things going on than a nice woman making good food at her own house on a quite bustling commercial street.
Actually, that’s across the street from my building. Considering the regular population on the streets of Irving Ave in the 250s on Saturdays and Sundays, I would welcome a peaceful/tiny restaurant contribution. It’ll beat the heck out of the horrifying groups of fighting lesbians and gang-bangers outside Bushwick’s Finest Barber Shop.
Hey – I didn’t file the complaint. I’m sure the food is good and I wish her well. She should try and get a legal space or it won’t be around too long.
If you eat a meal at a conventional restaurant establishement, and you get sick, you have very few problems compared to getting sick from eating from an illegal street vendor’s cart. An illegal vendor will not respond to an insurance carrier who will eventually push you to sue the vendor privately for compensation. The city will not offer any resources to help you against an establishment that, in their eyes, doesn’t exist. Illegal vendors do not follow simplistic rules… that may include ignoring food storage procedures, preparation, clenliness, etc… be very careful where you eat.
So you are going to deprive yourself of all the glorious street food offerings, all of the carnitas tacos, mangos on a stick, and halal chicken rice on the chance that you might get a stomach ache? Booooooooring!
I’m not talking about a stomach ache… I’m referring to a very unpleasant experience called food poisoning. Your chances of being poisoned are increased dramatically when that chicken is prepared for you by a street vendor (even a licensed one)… for example, bacteria grow to unsafe levels when chicken is kept in temperatures above 40 degrees (or below 135 degrees) for too long… a common event on the street. Limited space or overstocking meat, chicken, etc can also cause cross-contamination. Unlike a street vendor, a restaurant also has running water that can be used to wash utensils, hands, etc thoroughly. You want to tempt fate? Go right ahead… as for me, I’ve seen the effects and I’d rather limit my street vendor purchases to boring drinks and to snacks that are already packaged. =]
Chances of being poisoned increase dramatically when eating from a street vendor? Can I get some proof to back up this statement? Improperly handled food can occur in any environment. I think assuming that street food is by nature unsafe or dirtier than restaurant food is wrong. Visibility forces street vendors (the good ones) to maintain sanitation…you can watch their hands, their work space, their cleanliness. For all you know, the cooks in proper restaurants are dipping fingers into your food and cross-contaminating the chicken that’s been sitting out for hours, all behind closed walls.
Honestly, I have worked in restaurants and if you think they follow the health codes all the time to the letter, you should never step foot in a kitchen — you’d be horrified. The fact is, food simply isn’t that dangerous and the rules are stricter than is truly necessary. If it were a significant danger, that is, if people got food poisoning from eating street food even 1 out of 10 times, they’d all be out of business. They have no interest in making people sick, and so the chances are far more often than not that they will take the proper cleanliness and temperature precautions. Which sucks because the meat is always overcooked from the halal cart!
Captain, I’m just applying a little more common sense to the issue than you might be. I never said that food poisoning cannot occur in any environment… nor did I say that “street food by nature is unsafe.” My comments can stand on their own without your assumptive interpretations because it is absolutely true that the chances for poisoning are increased dramatically when eating food prepared by a street vendor. I should not need to find stats for you, it’s only an observation based on what I’ve seen and on common sense. Professional, I have no doubt the best of restaurants can also cause poisonings… and I never meant to defend them… but I am not convinced that a street vendor has equal opportunity or as favorable odds to perform as a restaurant establishment might. Allow me to become as creatively argumentative as you guys with the following: The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC, look it up) offers that the foodborne illnesses of 76 million people annually could be avoided by preventing cross-contamination caused by bacteria spreading from one food product to another on cutting boards, knives, sponges and countertops… ready to eat foods should be kept away from raw meats, poultry and their juices. Do you think for a moment that a street vendor’s serious lack of space and minimal power (electric or battery) contributes towards his/her ability to prevent cross-contamination anywhere near as well as an established restaurant? Do you assume that a vendor has opportunity to wash his/her hands for any reasonable period of time with warm, soapy water before handling raw meat or poultry? Do you think that a vendor can successfully keep cold food from hot food and maintain hot cooked food at 140 or higher consistently or re-heat already cooked food at 165 or higher? Did you know that food in a refrigerator should not be too packed because cool air must circulate to keep food safe? Don’t assume that there is no significant danger simply because a vendor has no intent to make people sick. Millions of people are effected diagnosed and undiagnosed events of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Contaminated water contains viruses and parasites that cause bloody diarrhea. Yes, food poisoning does happen, and can happen anywhere… I’m only stating that the odds are greater for occurrence at a street vendor’s site than at a restaurant… do you disagree? Suit yourselves because I dont really care where or what you eat, but in my opinion the odds are against it; it’s only common sense.
I have recently been certified as a food handler by the New York Department of Health and have worked in the food service industry for most of my life, so while I recognize that the information about food poisoning and cross-contamination you present is true, and I understand your desire for some kind of quality control, I would much rather eat at this woman’s house than 80% of restaurants out there. Just because an establishment is regulated by the city (which is tough, yes) does NOT mean it is clean. Taco Bell anyone?
Chillinoncentral — maybe you just have a weak stomach.
All I can say is, clean or not, the food and service were both excellent. If in the area, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Rosa’s food sounds so good! I can t wait to try it!