Looking for a quick lunch in Queens?  Try the quesadilla cart located just one block from the 82nd Street/Jackson Heights stop from the 7 train.  These crisp tortillas, folded in half and stuffed with a variety of fillings, make a fresh and quick lunch on the go.

This food cart is parked near the corner of 82nd Street and Baxter Street with a simple menu – quesadillas just $2.00 a pop.

The tortillas start as dough and are pressed between two pieces of saran wrap with a wooden tortilla maker.  The uncooked disc of dough is filled with the chosen filling, folded in half and placed on the grill.  Choices for fillings include chicken and cheese, zucchini with pork, mushroom and cheese and mushroom and corn.  Customers can add an additional topping for an extra $1.00.  Once the tortilla is crisp with brown spots visual all over the surface they are plated and topped with a choice of lettuce, sour cream, salsa and/or cheese.

I had the opportunity to sample a spicy chicken quesadilla, topped with lettuce, sour cream and cheese.  One makes the perfect snack/light lunch, but I noticed that most people purchased the delicious half circles in pairs.  I was drawn to this neighborhood in search for a market that sells Peruvian foods and was delighted to find this cart as well as several inexpensive Peruvian chicken restaurants.

I moved to Sunset Park Brooklyn eight months ago as a more or less fluent speaker of Spanish. The draw of the Spanish language is one of the reasons that I like living in this part of town, but feeling brave enough to go to the street food vendors was something I had a hard time with. Where do you begin when all you can see while walking by is a collection of sauces and iced drinks? There is obviously no menu and, even as a Spanish speaker, I did not know where to begin.

A few days ago I finally mustered up the courage to give it a try.  On the corner of 47th Street and 5th Avenue, just outside the video store, is a lady who sells a small, but great selection of goodies. She always seems to be gossiping with a crowd of people, so when she was on her own the other day I seized the opportunity. Her son, the proud little assistant, helped his mom pour sauces and drinks while I chatted her up about the array of foods before me. more…