Rio & Pomegranate

January can be harsh when the days are short & dark with nary a vacation day in sight. That's when the boroughs that make up New York City come in handy. I've never been to Brazil, but I can sample the fun of shopping in a Brazilian supermarket in Astoria. Rio Supermarket has everything from havianas to a dizzying array of coconut flakes. I didn't find that elusive condensed soymilk, but I stocked up on some other goodies.

Rio Supermarket: Astoria, Queens

 Yerba Mate tea, soja milk & strawberry, Quaker polentina, sococo coconut flakes and water, elefante tomato past (I'm a sucker for the graphic), cashew juice, and these delicious bananada cremosa. The banana candies are not very photogenic, but think sweetened date like consistency banana with just enough give. Unfortunately, the cafe was closed so I was not able to get my acai bowl fix.

On the nile cafe: 33-9 36th Avenue Astoria, Queens

 I wandered into On The Nile Cafe and tried their Egyptian specialty: Koshary. This dish consists of rice, lentils, pasta, chic peas, tomato sauce and fried onion. What a wonderful combination. I also had a cup of strong brewed hibiscus tea and extremely flavorful samosas.

 Over in Midwood, Brooklyn I'd heard about Pomegranate: "the kosher Whole Foods".  Spacious, fresh produce, helpful staff-I'll be hopping on the B68 more often. Were I not so self-conscious I would have snapped a photo of the freezer case teeming with parve specialties.

 Not especially cheap, but here is what I scored: tahini, seitan, Halva w/o egg, hummus, and these Israeli peanut puffs (like cheese puffs, but peanut butter!)

Unrelated to outer-boro foraging, check out this jackfruit burger from the new Bliss! (photo credit: Kz's magic phone)