The croustillantes de chevre at Le Gamin. Photos by Sarah Bibi.

We all know Greenpoint used to, and to an extent still does, provide a lot of space and tranquility within its warehouse-laden boundaries. The neighborhood — once home to farmland, rope factories, and lumber yards — has been keeping its rising restaurant stars mostly to itself, and it’s time we respectfully broke the silence.

The enclave best known as “Little Poland” — for its roots, current residents, and the scores of Polish restaurants lining Manhattan Avenue  — has all kinds of ethnic offerings that go beyond pierogis and goulash (though see my pick for those below). I went out to explore them while keeping a handle on my wallet. 

Sushi: Sapporo Haru: 622 Manhattan Avenue at Driggs Ave.

The sparse and cheap-looking décor at Sapporo Haru is common amongst many smaller sushi restaurants, and particularly in Greenpoint. However, the fact that this is no Sushi Samba doesn’t detract from the appeal of the deal that Sapporo Haru offers. Free unlimited hot sake with “dinner,” which apparently just means you have to order $10 worth of food. (Wasabi, another sushi place down the block, offers unlimited sake for orders of $15 and above.)

Options include the standard: rolls of sushi ($3-$5, $5+ for special rolls), edamame ($3), and sashimi (12 pieces of fish for $10) and specialty plates that make deviating from fish worthwhile. Their beef negimaki rolls ($7) are flavorful, tender and devoid of gristle (a huge peeve). The Brooklyn roll, a specialty roll constructed of deep fried mint leaf crab and spicy tuna topped with avocado, is $9.95, while for a dollar more you can get the filling and piping hot Sunshine roll, made with crab, caviar, avocado, cucumber, mayonnaise, and roll backed scallop (a SH modification). A cheap and tasty alternative to fish is the Shiitake mushroom roll for $3.50.

The service is straightforward and perfunctory, nothing fancy– but most importantly, the staff is always a few steps ahead when you realize you want your sake refilled. They also have discounted lunch specials until 5pm (two maki for $7.50, three for $10).

Mexican: Vamos al Tequila: 162 Franklin Street at Kent St.

Greenpoint’s Mexican food fans like to debate the relative merits of Vamos and Papacito’s, but my vote goes to the former.

This isn’t the cheapest Mexican joint in Greenpoint — tacos are two for $6, tamales are two for $7, and other entrees run from $12 and up. But the portions are huge and delicious and the staff (many of them related to the owner) attentive and helpful. This relatively new joint offers a free soda, juice, or horchata with whatever the specialty platter is that day, and every order comes with free chips and homemade salsa, which is biting and fresh (and free!).

I want their enchiladas verdes just thinking about them right now: the grilled, chopped chicken in a warm spinach tortilla, drizzled with cheese and a light sour cream sauce, surrounded by rice, frijoles, and punctuated by traditionally-made guacamole. Also rave-worthy are the Mexican pizza and just about any of their seafood offerings.

The kitschy banner hanging below the kitchen’s serving table and the lovingly painted emblems of Mexico on the walls assure you that this family restaurant is expecting you to feel just that — like family. Joaquina, the owner, even plays the grandmother, asking why your plate isn’t empty — for me, this just adds to the down-home charm.

Polish: Karczma: 136 Greenpoint Avenue at Manhattan Ave.

Brokelyn-ites looking to fill up their growling stomachs on a dime in Greenpoint shouldn’t miss out on the cuisine for which it is best known.

In Karczma’s farmhouse-like space, traditionally dressed waitresses in brightly colored country skirts, vests, and blouses, will make you feel like you just spent all day working on the farm and have come home to a well-deserved feast. This food is all about refueling, so come prepared, and possibly in clothing sans waistband.

Karczma doesn’t offer anything that different from most Polish restaurants, but its accessibility to English-speakers, ambiance, proximity to the subway, prices, and quality of food and service make my choice for a traditional Greenpoint chow-down.

Among the many meal options are: Hunter’s Stew ($7 served with mashed potatoes or bread), old-fashioned white borscht in bread ($3.50), a plateful of mushroom pierogies ($6), and numerous types of meat, if a new take on chicken, blood sausage, salmon, or beef goulash is your thing. And of course, the requisite kielbasa is also available many ways. Try it grilled with onions, fries, mustard, and sautéed cabbage for $7. The chicken kebab with onions and peppers, served with fries and garlic dipping sauce ($9) will satisfy your cravings for carbs, protein, vegetables, and of course, the human need for dipping sauce. During happy hour (conveniently around dinner time on Thursdays from 5-9 pm), 16 oz. of Polish beer is $3.50.

French: Le Gamin: 108 Franklin Street at Noble St.

This is a date-worthy splurge, but it’s worth a few extra bucks if you want a good steak frites ($18 for a literal platter of steak with herb butter and large sides of fries and well-dressed salad) or crepe ($9 for 3 fillings, including meat). Other good choices include the croustillantes de chevre, which are goat cheese, fig, and honey wrap-ups ($8.50), quiche Lorraine — yes, quiche, really — ($9.50), and escargot (only $6).

They have a specials menu that can steal your attention away but tends to feature more pricey entrees. The inviting ambiance — created by a brisk but friendly accented waitress, European décor and rickety wooden chairs, and the smell of pommes frites — makes you feel French and sexy, which is always a good thing. If it’s warm out, head out the cramped hallway to the back garden. It’s simple brick and stocked with wooden picnic tables, but the hanging lights add a romantic feel.

So here’s a toast to Greenpoint food: the real reason to wait for that godforsaken G train.

Today’s the day we show Mexico our love… by throwing back tequila shots and Margaritas. Brooklyn does Mexican pretty well year-round, but tonight we come out in force with drink specials, cheap food and the odd assortment of Mexican-themed events. Here’s what’s going on:

The Bell House
Tickets for the annual Guactacular are all gone, but you can still show up to the free after party for free Sauza shots, DJs and more. 10 p.m. 149 7th St., Gowanus, 718-643-6510.

Papacito’s
This one’s going on all day with live Mariachi bands, DJ’s, $1 Tecate, free tequila every hour and free stuff from sponsors Sauza, Hornito, Tecate and Modelo. 999 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint, 718-349-7292.

Cafecito Bogota
$2 Tecate, $3 empanadas. 1015 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint, 718-569-0077.

Magnolia Restaurant
$5 Margaritas, $3 Coronas, Mexican dinner specials. 486 Sixth Ave., Park Slope, 718-369-4814.

Secret Project Robot
The details are pretty cryptic, but the experimental art non-profit is throwing a free Cinco De Mayo “wrestling party” with a guacamole contest and a Margarita and Presidente festival. 8 p.m. 210 Kent St., Greenpoint.

Bar Celona
The Williamsburg tapas and cocktail lounge is serving Spicy Luna Sueno Margaritas by the pitcher, with beer and Luna tequila specials. 104 S. 4th St., Williamsburg, 718-237-7828.

Here are a few places not advertising specials, but that you might want to check out anyway:

Cinco De Mayo Restaurant, 1202 Cortelyou Rd., Ditmas Park, 718-693-1022.

Union Pool/El Diablo Taco Truck, 484 Union Ave., Williamsburg, 718-609-0484.

Bogota Latin Bistro, 141 Fifth Ave., Park Slope, 718-230-3805

And you can always start off the evening with Brooklyn’s best rice and beans. Did we miss any Cinco De Mayo specials? Let us know in comments.

My favorite rice and beans dish comes from the Guyanese & Trinidadian Roti Shop in Downtown Brooklyn (144 Lawrence St.). This small restaurant can be reached immediately by exiting the Lawrence St. R train station at the Lawrence/Willioughby St. S.E. corner. The interior is painted in the warm greens and yellows of the Caribbean, and small plates of rice and peas, vegetables, plantains and stewed chicken will set you back only $5.50. If you can muster the extra expenditure, I recommend the medium sized plate of jerk chicken, rice and peas, and plantains for $9. I once lived on that hearty (and spicy) meal for two and a half days.

My second pick is the Mexican Le Fe Restaurant, directly across the street from the 36th St. train station in Sunset Park (941 Fourth Ave. at 36th Street). Possibly the best bang for few bucks, you can get a very large plate of either yellow or white rice with a cup of beans on the side for either $3 or $3.50, depending on who’s working the counter on that day. When I come here, I also get an order of maduros, fried sweet plantains, for an extra $2.50. It’s a very large platter chock full of huge, moist, glazed chunks of the fruit. I take this meal home, further slice these babies up over my rice and beans, and after dousing the concoction with hot sauce, I’m fuller than a bedbug in a Bushwick mattress. I’ve been known to stretch this meal out over a three-day period.

Another favorite: Bogota Bistro in Park Slope. Photo by Juan Hernandez.

It’s well known to all of my Twitter friends that my favorite restaurant in Brooklyn is Bogota Bistro in Park Slope (141 Fifth Ave.). Bogota Bistro’s Colombian influenced yellow rice and red beans will set you back $6, or $3 per item. If anything, the rice and beans at this establishment is more along the lines of an appetizer rather than a standalone meal, but well worth it as a side dish to go along with a couple drinks on a penny-pinching night out.

At the suggestion of a friend, I checked out the Peruvian Super Pollo Restaurant in the corner of Sunset Park (4102 Fifth Ave. at 41st St.). The yellow rice is served with tiny bits of peas and carrots, and the red beans are stewed with large bits of pork. The total price of this meal came to $3.50 and, though not my absolute favorite, it amounted to a lot of food that could be eaten in roughly two sittings. The highlight was the green hot sauce that’s served on the side.

If you’re anywhere near the Gowanus or window-shopping along the Smith Street strip, I highly recommend actually buying something at the Dominican El Nuevo Portal (217 Smith St.), namely their $2 small portion of yellow rice mixed with pigeon peas. This little meal was the perfect size for me to be comfortably full, and you really can’t beat that for the price. The larger portion of either this or the red beans with white rice costs $6, and for the size and flavors, it’s definitely worth the expenditure. The large dish could definitely suffice for two meals.

El Yayo Nuevo will fill you up for $4. Photo by Vanessa Velez.

In terms of accessibility, you can’t do any better than the “Caribbean Latina” El Yayo Nuevo (5823 Fourth Ave. at 59th St.) that literally sits at the top of the stairs descending into the 59th St. N and R lines. For $4, you get a full plate of rice and beans mixed together, infused with onions. I’m used to having the rice served separately from the beans, so that the gravy saturates the rice to my liking. Not so at this place. A cup of beans on the side would have set me back another $1.50. I was disappointed until I tried the food and loved it. The rice and beans, though cooked together, were still very moist and the portion size was large enough for leftovers.

I mentioned earlier that rice and beans is, traditionally, a low cost dish. What does it cost to make it quickly and easily on your own? At the aptly named Bravo Supermarket for Values, I found a 20 oz pop-top can of ready-to-serve beans for $1.99 and a 10 lb. bag of Goya rice for around $8. That really put the rice and beans restaurant markup into perspective. Although I loved the added touches from all of these places, instead of saving money by eating cheaply at restaurants, why not try making your own?

Ana's afternoon haul. Photos by Vanessa Velez.

With salsa long the number one condiment in the U.S., the border between Mexican and American grocery stores is not as clear as it used to be. By now most people think of canned Goya frijoles as vritually interchangeable with Progresso’s. But do you know your poblanos from your jalapeños, or bananas from batatas (sweet potatoes)? If you’ve found yourself at your local supermarket or specialty store eyeing all of those colorful jars and odd-shaped cheeses, this guide is for you.

I started by experimenting with pre-made condiments and marinades available in jars and cans. For cooking meat, chicken or fish, I found a few common ingredients  very useful. Adobo and mole (marinades and sauces) can be a little dense, but they’re great to combine with the pan juices or broth of braised meat or poached chicken to deepen the flavor. Banana leaves, typically used to wrap tamales, can also be used to swaddle marinated meats, chicken and fish to add a smoky flavor when they’re roasted or steamed. (By the way, a great resource for the beginning Mexican chef is Latin Chic, by Carolina Buia and Isabel González, a cookbook and entertaining bible that offers a vivid cross section of contemporary Latin food.)

Tomatillos at Citalis.

For a fresh salsa, tomatillos are ideal. The small, green, thin-husked tomato-like fruits can be bought fresh and then pureed with jalapenos, cilantro, onions, garlic, salt and water. For a spicier alternative, replace the jalapenos with dried costeño chiles that have been boiled until just tender. Chorizo, a sausage and another Mexican grocery staple, is commonly added to rice and beans, stews or baked eggs. Just remove the casing and brown the ground meat for a few minutes first.

While most stores carry an inexpensive array of farmer’s cheeses, the white bricks can all blend together to the unaccustomed eye. Here’s a quick cheat sheet: queso fresco, a crumbly “fresh cheese,” doesn’t melt easily, so it’s an easy substitute for Feta. It’s often confused with queso blanco, which comes in two varieties — one has a creamy texture when heated and the other, labeled para freir, holds its shape when fried. Cotija is similar to Parmesan, and then there’s Oaxacan string cheese, which melts like mozzarella and goes great in quesadillas.

On the hunt for new ingredients over the past week, I visited a slew of supermarkets and Mexican grocers around Brooklyn. I was armed with my kitchen Spanish and a lot of questions. Thankfully, the store owners were more than happy to oblige, and with seemingly unlimited patience.  In fact, everyone I met went to pains to emphasize just how much more there was to try and see. Maybe I did only scratch the surface, but here’s a start:

Rows of Malta at Key Food.

To get a sense of the selection at a large chain supermarket, I went to the Key Food in Sunset Park (4320 Fifth Ave., between 43rd and 44th Sts., 718-438-9510). In addition to the usual Goya aisle and farmer’s cheeses, they had a small front section with go-to Mexican items like Doña Maria adobo and mole for $2.99. It’s also worth looking at the Los Compadres section for dried chiles and herbs, including Mexican oregano, which is more potent than the Mediterranean variety but used the same way.  Each bag was only 99¢, as was a 2 lb. bag of fresh corn tortillas, so it’s a painless way to try something new. I also found a bag of frozen banana leaves for $1.79. They can be defrosted and refrozen as needed. Finally, it’s always exciting to find a supermarket that offers any malt beverage, much less a choice between Vitarroz and Malta India ($3.49, $3.99/8pk).

Chilis at Citalis.

With its overflowing baskets of fresh produce lining the window, I was immediately drawn to Citalis Deli (4118 fifth Ave., between 41st and 42nd Sts.) Just opened, it’s brighter and spacier than the smaller grocery stores we’d passed. The manager was excited by the growing interest in Mexican food and the variety this allows the store to carry. He explained the different degrees of heat between a few peppers: the mild poblanos that are roasted and stuffed, the medium heat jalapeños and the hot Serrano chiles that make for a tearful dinner. There also were two types of tomatillos: the smaller, sweet ones for $1.29/lb and the larger, tart ones for $0.99/lb. In the back, there was a full case of what seemed like every Mexican cheese, each for $5/lb. (Only buy what you need; they’re highly perishable and need to be used quickly.)

Smaller than the original Guadalupita on Seventh Ave., Guadalupita II (Fifth Ave. and 39th St., 718-438-1080) is the place to find Mexican home ware. This is especially true if you’re looking for a piñata, a tortilla press or a stone mortar and pestle for making guacamole (one was shaped like a woman’s breast). It really is a great mix of things. They have a Victoria tortilla press for $19.99, to be used with Maseca, an instant corn flour that many stores now carry. Mixed with water and salt, Maseca turns into a dough to be rolled into separate balls and pressed to create well formed tortillas.

Breads at Mi Mexico Pequeño.

Stopping by Mi Mexico Pequeño (4513 Fifth Ave., between 45th and 46th Sts., 718-437-1031)  before heading home, I picked my way through baker’s racks full of variations on pan mexicano, sweet brioche-like buns with names like conchas, monas and besos. They’re topped with sugar or stuffed with jellies, custard or dried fruits  and go for less than a dollar apiece. Once we started taking pictures, the staff pulled out full trays and brought out the dramatic pan de muerto. The “bread of the dead,” to be used in October to make offerings on the Day of the Dead, is decorated with bones and flavored with anise seeds.

Recently renovated, the Key Food on Fifth Ave. in Park Slope (120 Fifth Ave. at Sterling Place, 718-783-8339), has a full case of tropical juices and frozen fruit pulps for shakes and smoothies for much less than at the typical health food store. The store has a Latin-heavy ethnic foods aisle with a better balance between Caribbean and Mexican foods than at the Sunset Park location. This Keyfood might be what every suburban supermarket will look like in 2025 if the census continues to tell us the same story about Hispanics in the U.S. With a small parking lot in front, I think of the store as a sort of Latino Fairway.

The size of the Goya section at the Boerum Hill Met Food (197 Smith St., between Baltic and Butler Sts., 718-237-0317) seems inversely related to the growth of the organic foods aisle. Slightly more expensive than Key Food, the store still has a good selection of Mexican produce like yucca, batatas (sweet potatoes),  tomatillos and farmer’s cheeses — both Colombian and Mexican. Taken with Felmingo Corp. (189 Smith St., 718-625-6533), the small bodega a couple of doors down, the block makes a strong showing.

Small and neat, Ditmas Park’s Mex Deli Grocery (1625 Cortelyou Rd., between East 16th and East 17th Sts., 718-282-0454) packs a large grocery’s worth of inventory in its floor-to-ceiling shelves. While they have the same jarred and canned pantry items I’ve already mentioned, they also sell fresh, homemade tubs of traditional condiments like adobo and mole for $8.00/lb and a cheese and chorizo assortment for $5.50/lb. Not quite satisfied after spending 20 minutes answering my questions about making tamales, the proprietors insisted I come back with the results so they could check my work.

Ana Sofia Pelaez lives in Cobble Hill and writes about Latin food at hungrysofia.com. See more of Sunset Park-based photographer Vanessa Velez’s work at www.veesvision.com.

Smith, 34, has been living in the neighborhood on and off for eight years, since he moved to WB to work at a metal shop, only accidentally hooking up with TVoTR. This, of course, is the experimental art-rock band whose third studio album Dear Science was considered by many big critics to be last year’s best. “I didn’t come here to be a rock star,” he said. (Can anyone else in Williamsburg say that?) Smith is certainly a star in the Cheap-omeda galaxy. Here are six reasons why:

EAST RIVER BAR, 97 South 6th St., 718-302-0511.
“I’m not cool enough for Union Pool but this place is not sassy at all. It’s pretty laid back and they have good country music bars. You can get the classic $5 PBR-and-a-shot and they have Buck Hunter. One of the top players in the country is there.”

Photo by Sam Kolich

LA VILLITA BAKERY (above), 171 Grand St., between 1st Street & Bedford Avenue, 718-486-8761
“It’s not organic, not pretty and rough around the edges. I get the grilled carne enchilada sandwich. It’s beef product and enchilada sauce. I get it with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, and Swiss cheese [$4.50]. That’s one of the best deals in the neighborhood because of the amount of the serving, the flavors and it’s in a hero-style bun or roll and the bread is all baked there on the premises. They also have good coffee [$1].”

AMARIN CAFÉ, 617 Manhattan Ave. between Nassau and Driggs, 718-349-2788
“Order the crispy duck [$12.95] and you get a quarter of a deep fried duck with angel hair deep fried potatoes on top of that’s just like the pasta—thin, light and buoyant. It has a lot of bang for its buck. You get the potatoes, boiled carrots, broccoli. You can share it. How much more pad Thai can you get?”

Photo by Sam Kolich

THE THNG (above), 1001 Manhattan Ave. between Huron St & Green Street, 718-349-8234
“They have everything—clothes, tons of books, old photographs and broken-down stereo equipment. CDs are a buck a piece. There’s a guy who goes to suburban estate sales and buys CDs and DVDs and vinyl (above).”

SALVATION ARMY, 180 Bedford Ave., 718-388-9249
“A nice facet of the one on Bedford Avenue you can always get a nice cheesy book Stephen King, Dan Brown or the guy who wrote The Corrections. I like the color-coded tags that tell you what day the prices will go down.”

Photo by Sam Kolich

GRAND MORELOS DINER AND BAKERY, 727 Grand St (Between Graham Avenue and Humboldt Street), 718-218-9441
“I get the chicken torta with everything on it—fresh Mexican cheese, avocados, refried beans, mayonnaise, blah blah blah. It’s open 24 hours. It’s easy to eat junk a lot when you’re eating on a budget so it’s nice that you can get a sandwich with vegetables for $5.50. Anything to break way from those really obnoxious cold-cut sandwiches. People get really turned off by the amount of meat in our sandwiches.”