Rincon Melania

Lucila Dutan, who goes by Melania, opened this Ecuadorian spot on Queens Boulevard in December 2017, after years running Rincon Latino down the block on Skillman Avenue. Her sons work the counter alongside her, and the kitchen serves guatita, tripe simmered in a peanut sauce, plus fritada con mote (fried pork with hominy) and pan-fried potato patties called llapingachos. The restaurant sits on the line between Sunnyside and Long Island City, a stretch of Queens Boulevard without much else like it. A weekday lunch special keeps the small dining room full at midday.