Enjoyed an excellent lunch of bacalao and ensalada at El Despertar, a cuchifrito restaurant near the Prospect Ave station of the 2 and 5 subway.
Rafael took friendly charge of me as soon as I walked in, tolerated my feeble attempts at broken Spanish, explained all the food choices, and served just what I wanted. As I sat and ate, he passed by me several times, making sure everything was alright. What a great place! The price is right, the food is excellent, and the service friendly!
Afterwards, on Westchester Avenue, some bright yellow graffiti caught my eye, including the red editorial “Toy!” that someone else painted below one of the yellow throw-ups. The young woman shown pointed out that the same yellow & black colors indicated the writers (graffiti artists) were from the same crew, but each had his/her own style.