​A black-skullcapped hunk stands ready to provide a hot embrace -- for your panino.

The debut of Eataly may be remembered as the most tumultuous culinary event of the year. To help you sort through all the details -- since it probably won't be possible to actually walk into the place unimpeded and buy something for several days -- we provide a helpful primer of Fork in the Road's coverage, beginning with February's first whispers, in reverse chronological order. Note that all our writers have jumped into the act.

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​Mimi's Hummus, which has inspired total devotion to its chickpea puree, opened up a small, next-door grocery on February 1st. At the time, owner Avi Shuker told Fork in the Road that it was a "modern Middle Eastern local market." Today, the shop was stocked with a variety of goods: some Middle Eastern, others from the twee Brooklyn artisan food movement, like Mast Brothers Chocolate.

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There aren't many shops in the city where you can get Sichuan peppercorns, dried African bird's eye chiles, homemade chai masala, Berbere spice blend, Japanese sansho seasoning, organic turmeric, international beers, dried apricot paste, henna, fresh catnip, gallon jugs of honey, and copper tongue scrapers.

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​In line with locavoric principles, the cheese-eating public has shown a greater interest in cheeses produced in our part of the country, which means New York and New England. Of course, this is partly due to the efforts of Anne Saxelby at Saxelby Cheese, but ideas like this are infectious and develop their own momentum.

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  Even though Greek Orthodox Easter is 12 days later than the Roman Catholic version, preparations are already underway. The butcher shops of Astoria are already flogging baby lambs and baby pigs, to be spitted and roasted whole as part of the traditional festivities. Above we see the window of Broadway Meat Market, which has placed several specimens in the windows for your inspection, or perhaps to scare away children. The traditional recipe for lamb involves rubbing the exterior and body cavity with salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and oregano or thyme, depending on which island (or the mainland) you're from. Happy Easter! From Fork in the Road.

Friday is the best day of the week because that's the day the legendary Sikorski Meat Market throws its freshly smoked charcuterie onto the counter while it's still warm.

All from the pig, of course, but you can select short ribs, spare ribs, loin, and sometimes other swine-bearing treats. Only a couple of dollars for a couple of ribs--I don't remember how much exactly, because the receipt became so clotted with grease, that I couldn't think of sticking it into my wallet. 603 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 718-389-6181

 

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The neighborhood of Floral Park, Queens, is located as far east as you can go and still be in New York City. The neighborhood cozies up against the Nassau County line, and is made up of wide, quiet streets lined with small brick houses with yards. It also happens to be home to a large Indian community, mainly, I'm told, Punjabis and Gujaratis. The 2000 census found that about 15% of the population was Indian-born, but a 2007 NYT article about the neighborhood says that the number has climbed since then.

Credit goes to Eating in Translation, one of my favorite blogs, for cluing me into the neighborhood by writing about Mumbai Xpress (256-05 Hillside Avenue). This is a relatively new and truly excellent little restaurant specializing in all the myriad fast food and street food of Mumbai.

 A few blocks down, New Kerala Kitchen (267-05 Hillside Avenue) seems to be barely hanging on--the owner told me that business is bad, so they didn't have many of the Keralan specialties available--but is still turning out very fresh, flavorful rustic food.

In fact, those restaurants have so much going for them that if they were near a subway, you can bet they'd be full of Chowhound obsessives. As it is, you can take the F to Jamaica Estates and then take the Number 43 bus to Hillside Avenue. Or, the Number 68 bus runs back and forth from Hillside Avenue to midtown.

I'm going to save the delicious details on Mumbai Xpress and New Kerala Kitchen for a future column in the paper, but there are two great grocery stores and one great sweets and snacks shop to tell you about now.
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The quetzal is a tropical bird with colorful plumage and a long forked tail, a national symbol of Guatemala. El Quetzal is also the name of a Guatemalen grocery in Jamaica, Queens, located on Hillside Avenue, under which the F train runs. The grocery is less than a block from the Parsons Ave. stop. It's a classic New York City bodega, a dense warren of ethnographic products so super-organized that you'll find yourself walking hesitantly down the narrow aisle, fearful of knocking a thousand things off the wall with an inadvertent swipe of your arm. Following are some of the products we found there.

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They came in a clear cellophane bag with bright red trim. They looked pretty good, but as I peered into the bag I couldn't really tell what they were. "Kong kang," said the counterguy with a smile. "You don't mean kang kung," I replied, using a common name for water spinach. The shopkeeper looked over at his companions and they all started to guffaw.

Had I just made my first joke in Siamese, or had I just made a fool of myself? Either way, the curled brown snacks proved delicious when I got them home--salty and sweet at the same time, with a whiff of exotic herbs that may have included lemongrass and screwpine. There were some chile flakes in the mix, too, making them a perfect snack.

A little web and cookbook research yielded inconclusive results, except that the snack is sometimes called in English "rice worms." Enlighten me if you know more about this snack, which is available at Ayada Grocery, 76-13 Woodside Avenue, Elmhurst, Queens, 718-426-5006.