Reviews
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Biedronka
Polish, Food and Drink
This Greenpoint food store has a heavily Polish clientele. When I was there walking up and down the aisles, I heard and saw nonstop Polish, on the food and in the air. It is not the most attractively laid-out…
Koryo Books
Korean, Bookstores/Libraries
Koryo Books is located in the Manhattan mini-neighborhood of Koreatown. I went there in 2010 and found a book to help me learn the Korean alphabet. It was a good thing, too; I had reached dead ends in both of the…
Center for Applied Linguistics
General, Organizations
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) is a nonprofit organization “working to improve communication through better understanding of language and culture.” It was established in 1959. Its many activities include work on ESL and foreign-language education, language…
New York Mutual Trading Company/Japanese Culinary Center
Japanese, Food and Drink, Shopping
This is a big, beautiful East Side showroom, a gastronomically seductive space, for lovers of Japanese cuisine. Of which I am one. It is there courtesy of a Moonachie, N.J.-based company called New York Mutual Trading. …
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Hebrew, Polish, Spanish, Neighborhoods
Spanish, Hebrew, and Polish—for starters—can be found in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There are plenty of other languages floating around, but these three (excluding hipster language) are the ones I personally have seen the most of. I strongly recommend a…
Mike’s Deli
Italian, Food and Drink
This is a must-visit kind of place in the Arthur Avenue section of the Bronx. Owner David Greco is a big guy with a big personality. He seems to know everyone, and the customers who come around greet him with…
Flushing, Queens, for Korean
Korean, Neighborhoods
Korean is certainly not the only language in Flushing, but it is well represented. Take the 7 train to the end of the line in Queens and you will see a ton of Korean. This neighborhood is home to a large…
Little Germany, Lower East Side
German, Neighborhoods
In the 1870s, Little Germany, or Kleindeutschland, ranged from Division Street on its southern end (Division is just below Canal Street) to 14th Street on the north, and from the Bowery on the west to Avenue D on the east.…
Word Bookstore
English, General, Polish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This lovely independent bookstore in Greenpoint has all kinds of books in English, but what caught my eye when I stopped by in 2011 is that it also had Polish books for children. Not huge numbers of them, but between those…