Hot off the streets: Corn on the cob and hot tamales

Strolling the streets of Spanish Jackson Heights, the scents of native Spanish foods wafted over to me at various corners of the neighborhood. Awnings of Mexican cuisine and Colombian bakeries greeted me at different junctures, competing to satisfy a craving I couldn’t quite name.

It was when I saw the third person on my excursion eating something cheesy on a stick and wrapped in aluminum foil that I not only wondered aloud what they were eating, but actually exclaimed, “That’s it, I want what they’re having.”

Corn on the cob, off the grill, on the streets.

There began my quest, when I went back down a street where one woman I spotted with the food had just come from. But it led me to the same awnings and none of them offered anything of the kind. Suddenly, I turned my back to these storefronts and noticed the street vendors facing them, selling my so called mystery food: corn on the cob. A women who kindly declined pictures of herself allowed me to showcase her mouthwatering corn. I bought one for $2, digging my teeth into the kernels. It was grilled to perfection with just enough darkened spots, the evenly soft and chewy texture covered in crumbly parmesan cheese.

This vendor uncovers the plastic wrap to reveal the steaming hot tomales.

Next to this makeshift vending station set on a shopping cart was another woman selling hot tamales and steaming hot rice pudding. I didn’t buy either of these but they sold easily and quickly enough right before my eyes as I briefly waited for my corn. Having never eaten hot tamales they’re now on my back-burner. I can’t wait to return and feast on those tamales with more than my eyes, because sometimes, what you’re craving isn’t indoors at a sit down, but out and about and hot off the streets.