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Eat Pupusas by Hand, Salvadoran Style, in Queens

There isn’t a piece of cutlery on the table when you sit down at Ricas Pupusas & Mas, a seven-month-old Salvadoran restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens. In El Salvador, where pupusas are the national dish, the palm-size stuffed-and-griddled tortillas are considered finger food. To eat a pupusa the Salvadoran way, tear off a piece of sweet-scented…

The Chicken Isn’t Even the Best Part

Classic duck confit is a true labor of love. There is salting and curing, an overnight rest, a ton of store-bought duck fat (assuming you don’t have some lying around) and an eternity spent in an oven. Of course, to all of this I say “Yum!” But also: “What if I … didn’t?” I know…

Deep in the Muslim Heart of Texas, a Farm Family Provides Halal Meat

TOMBALL, Tex. — Syed Raza and his wife, Jeanne Chilson-Raza, prefer not to use the word slaughterhouse. And Hira Halal Meat, their business in this small city an hour’s drive north of Houston, looks more like a petting zoo than an abattoir. An artistically carved granite rock greets visitors at the entrance. Palm trees and…

Uncommon Goat Cheeses From Vermont

Here are a couple of goat cheeses from Barn First Creamery, a small farm in Westfield, Vt., that have uncommon depth and flavor. The farm’s owners — Merlin Backus, who is originally from Westfield, and Rebecca Velasquez, the cheesemaker — started the project in 2013 and now have 30 goats. Most of their cheeses are…

Beers Made for Summer Sipping

Don’t call them women’s beers, but Talea, the fledgling New York brewing company, is founded by women: two former home brewers and business executives, Tara Hankinson and LeAnn Darland, a Navy veteran. They saw space in the market for easy-drinking beers, perhaps to replace that glass of rosé. Their first is Sun Up — a…

Come for the Cardamom Bun

The Cronut may have competition. As soon as Fabrique, a Swedish bakery chain, opened its first American branch, in the meatpacking district late last month, there were lines of people wanting traditional cardamom buns, similar to a cinnamon bun but with a more floral fragrance. “It was the best opening we ever had,” said Charlotta…

Everything, Even the Worm