Where Does Your Cabbie Eat?

In my search for authentic cuisines, I thought that Park Slope’s car service drivers might be able to steer me in the right direction. After all, they hail from countries far and wide, and they’re continually tooling about the neighborhood, so they might just know of some tucked-away gems where delicious foreign foods might be had.

Based on my extremely informal survey, I found that most drivers don’t frequent restaurants serving cuisines from their countries of origin, because those restaurants don’t exist in Park Slope.

For those drivers who do dine out, the restaurants that came out at the top of their lists were Italian or Latin, sometimes Chinese, and sometimes as American as it gets.

I began my survey by quizzing drivers whenever I went for a ride. Most of the drivers from Eastern Car Service (headquartered on 15th Street) are Ecuadorean. While there used to be some Ecuadorean eateries in the Slope, they’ve been closed for some time, and these drivers tend to drive to Sunset Park or Queens if they want to go out for an Ecuadorean meal.

Many told me they don’t eat out but go home for meals. For example, Alberto Perez said his wife usually whips up some pasta, rice and beans, or enchiladas (but he will stop at McDonald’s “in an emergency”).

Another driver, Miguel Bermeo, also eats at home, dining like a king on arroz, papas, ensalada, y sopa de mariscos. Yum.

For Jhakeline Padilla, Tutta Pasta, at 160 Seventh Ave., is a favorite – she prefers the spaghetti with shrimp. Ramon Encalada, also from Ecuador, goes for the roasted chicken at Los Pollitos II, the Mexican restaurant at 148 Fifth Ave. And Jose Palaguchi favors Coco Roco, at 392 Fifth Ave. Having lived in Guayaquil, on the coast of Ecuador, for 20 years, he has a taste for seafood, so he generally orders the salmon.

Arecibo’s drivers tend to be a bit more diverse, with many from Ecuador but others coming from places such as Bolivia, Honduras, and Yemen. I hung out by the headquarters, at Lincoln Place and Fifth Avenue, to chat with drivers as they stopped by. Abdo Ghaleb, from Yemen, said he likes to grab a chicken or turkey sandwich on the run, at the halal deli on Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue.

Mansour Alsaidi, another Yemeni native, says McD’s is the quickest option, but he rarely dines out: “Why would I? My wife makes the best food in the world.”

Bolivian-born Waldo Soria’s number one favorite is Tutta Pasta, where he orders the spaghetti with chicken parmigiana. His other go-to place is El Viejo Yayo II, the Dominican spot on Ninth Street, where he recommends the shrimp with rice and the tostones (twice-fried green plantains).

Italian food also made Cristina Murillo’s shortlist – the Ecuadorean-born driver says that the food at La Villa, at 261 Fifth Ave., is fresca, hecho en eso momento (made on the spot), and sabrosa. Her plato preferido is linguine with baby clams. When she’s hungry for Chinese, she’ll try the sesame chicken at Hunan Delight, at Sixth Avenue and Union Street.

Rene Ortiz, a native of Ecuador, likes to go to the original Viejo Yayo, at 36 Fifth Ave. (which is not connected with the Ninth Street restaurant) – his favorite dish is chicken, rice and beans.

“The food is good, the people are very nice, and the owner’s my friend,” he said.

Marco Ramirez, who’s from Honduras, favors the Viejo Yayo on Ninth Street  – he gets the “pollo a la plancha” (grilled chicken), ensalada, y tostones.

“I like the people, and the food is good,” he said. But the deciding factor in choosing a restaurant, he said, with a grin, is “donde encuentro parqueo” (where I can find parking)!