Sunnyside eats: Surfing the heat wave for quesadillas

Cooking in a heat wave is something that is best avoided. Luckily, in Sunnyside, there are a plethora of choices and one need not walk very far to find something authentic, cheap, fast and delicious.

Under the el and right by the 46th/Bliss Street 7 train exit, on Queens Blvd., a friendly couple braves the suffocating heat and makes quesadillas from scratch, selling them at just two bucks a pop.

From their tiny cart, the woman assembles quesadillas, using ingredients that she prepares in bulk at home and keeps in separate large containers. The smell of the dough as she starts cooking reminds patrons that this is indeed authentic Mexican food. 

Customers can choose from the following selections:

• Queso con pollo. This is the standard chicken and cheese quesadilla.
• Chorizo con papas. Mexican chorizo, a spicy sausage, is chopped into small cubes along with potatoes.
• Tinga de pollo. This quesadilla is filled with shredded chicken stewed in a spicy tomato sauce. 
• Champiñones con queso. A basic mushroom and cheese quesadilla. 
• Chicharron con calabaza. Fried pork rinds are chopped finely and mixed with zucchini. 
• Huitlacoche. Considered a delicacy in Mexico, huitlacoche is Mexican corn truffle, or a fungus that grows on corn.
• Flor de calabaza. Fresh, brightly colored squash blossoms, also called zucchini or pumpkin flower, fill this unusually tasting quesadilla.

The fillings, whether chicken and cheese or squash blossoms, are fresh and flavorful. Once the quesadillas are ready, the man packs them up, topping them off with strips of clean, crisp lettuce, Mexican sour cream, cheese and one's choice of hot sauce or salsa verde - the tomatillo-based spicy sauce. 

A cooler next to the cart has a great soda selection, including the Mexican Jarritos brand that comes in various flavors (including tamarind, fruit punch and pineapple), as well as the Boing-brand juice cans (favorites include guava and mango). They charge $1.50 for Jarritos bottled sodas and $1 for bottled water, regular and diet soda (both Coke and Pepsi brands) and the Boing canned juices. 

Although this is a street cart, where one typically gets one's meal to go, the couple also provides a few chairs and stools for customers who wish to sit and enjoy their quesadillas, and perhaps be tempted enough to get more.

These quesadillas taste as great as they smell, and for just $2 each, they are a steal.

Look for the cart every day from noon until about 11pm. 

--Vivian Gomez