358300 Mon Jan 08 21:53:00 -0800 2007 0 20 General Tristate Archive 0 2166640 over the weekend, i went to mitsuwa marketplace in edgewater with the intention of eating at several of the food court stalls. after parking my car, i was surprised to see a japanese woman operating a grill on the sidewalk right outside of the sanseido bookstore; this was something i hadn't noticed before. turns out she was grilling two types of sweet potatoes - one with the standard yellow interior and another with a deep purplish hue on the inside. these were wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked directly on the grill. japanese-style grilled sweet potatoes are something i hadn't seen for the past few years - the last place i can think of was located on w. 13th street in manhattan (near parsons) and run by a japanese expat. apparently his visa ran out, forcing him to close the shop and return to japan. i believe dosirak now occupies his old space. anyhow, the sweet potatoes at mitsuwa turned out to be delicious - hot, sweet, and pretty soft on the inside without being crumbly or overly dried-out. although they weren't super cheap ($5 per pound, which comes out to about two regular-sized tubers), they were totally worth it. initially i'd assumed that she'd only set up shop this past saturday because of the freakishly unseasonable 70 degree weather. but it turns out that she gets to her spot every saturday and sunday around 10am, with the sweet potatoes ready to go by 11:30am. she serves them all afternoon until 7pm, which is a little bit before the entire plaza closes. Mon Jan 08 21:53:00 -0800 2007 17064 surly