mombar cafe in astoria, ny

one of my favorite places in astoria is mombar cafe, at the "little egypt" end of steinway. they do an excellent, smoky baba ganoush and fava bean dip. and i hear they make great offal dishes, like sheep's brain.

the kitchen is tiny, but as the food shows, it has soul.

dessert

astoria's a convenient place to live if you're commuting to midtown manhattan. and the mixed immigrant popuation makes eating and shopping a bit more fun. i love the middle eastern, greek and italian delis --where else can you get fresh taramosalata, warm pistachio baklava, pure olive soap and handmade fettucine within the same few blocks?

but i'm particularly grateful for "family market", the japanese convenience store near broadway station. it sells all the basics plus the latest issues of "casa brutus" and "soen" magazines. i try to buy natto --stinky gooey fermented soybeans-- whenever i go, although i'm not such a big fan, because i know it's the healthiest thing. and i can never resist the desserts. particularly sakuramochi. i love the combination of the sweet red bean filling and the salted cherry leaf. which reminds me, i once saw someone remove the leaf from the mochi, saying it tasted better without. i nearly reconsidered our friendship.