Fishballs from Gourmet Maylin on Seventh Avenue. Image from the Village Voice.

Fishballs!

The Village Voice’s stalwart Sarah DiGregorio is back on the eat in Sunset Park. She does yeoman’s work covering the food scene in the neighborhood. Her most recent post featured dishes from Gourmet Maylin Inc., a Fujianese restaurant at 6124 Seventh Avenue.

Sunset Park is best explored via the stomach and foot. From the park on the hill to the rugged waterfront, this neighborhood features some of the best views in Brooklyn, and waves of Latino Asian residents have transformed the area into one of the tastiest trips in the borough, rich with tacos, tamales and tortas.

For a savory breakfast option, grab a tamale from the lady who sells them on 45th St. and 4th Ave. For something sweet, Mi Mejico Pequeno II (4513 5th Ave.) has sugary pan dulce, crispy cookies and soft rolls that between emerge from the ovens hourly, and café con leche to wash them down with.

Breakfast in hand, find a bench in Sunset Park (44th St. and 5th Ave.) and take in the incredible view of the Statue of Liberty and the Upper New York Bay.

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View Cheap Eats in Sunset Park in a larger map

Thanks to readers for the recommendations on popular spots to grab a bite in the neighborhood. Click map above or here to find favorite places to eat tacos, have a slice, grab a sweet treat for breakfast and slurp hot noodle soup. Have we missed any of your favorites? Leave a comment and I’ll add it to the map.

When people want to track a societal shift, they turn to statistics. But signs of the times also come in less quantifiable bites.

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It was quite the hubbub on 5th Avenue today when two firetrucks descended upon a fire in a basement apartment on 5th Avenue at 44nd Street. Turns out the cry came over nothing more than burnt lunch, according to local Herb Hartel. Around 4pm, a half dozen firemen left the apartment rather more languidly then they went in. No one was injured, and it appears the incident left the apartment undamaged.

It may have been a false alarm, but it’s heartening to know that Ladder 114 stands ready to “Tally Ho” when bigger flames flare.

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On weekends, among the ice-cream ladies and grilling corn, Maguel Asevedo and Antonio Rosa man the pastelilla stand outside the Citibank on 5th Avenue and 54th Street in Sunset Park.

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Anyone who spends time on 5th Ave has seen, and probably tasted, the dulce de tamarindo. Today the sweets appeared on a blog called Eating in Translation, which features “fascinating food from New York City and sometimes farther afield.” You can find the gentleman mentioned on 5th nearly everyday–sometimes near the new Duane Reade, sometimes a few blocks north.

Eats from Sunset Park surfaced all over the blogosphere today.

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New Yorkers dug out their sweaters this week, a reminder that summer has come and gone. A few pumpkins have appeared on doorsteps, and the Halloween store on 5th Ave is open for business.

On the northern border of Community Board 7, the last of the season’s golden cherry tomatoes and prehistoric-looking lacinato kale still cling to their stems. The Community Garden on 15th Street and 6th Ave is available every day to members, and regularly opens its gate to the public.

In Sunset Park, this year has seen a renewed interest in the green bits that spring up in the concrete jungle. The New York Times reported on a SP couple that is fighting for the under-swan, the Sunset Park CSA looks toward the end of its season, and Best View in Brooklyn spots a creative gardener. What else is sprouting in CB7?