Nothing beats the heat like fresh tropical fruit.

It’s hot in the big city children. As much as I like to sweat over a bowl of mapo tofu or tuck into a bowl of Thai soup, sometimes the best way to cool off is the tropical way, by sipping on the cool hydrating milk of a freshly hacked open young coconut. And there’s no better place  to get one than the decidedly laid back Dominican gentleman who his fruit stand sits on the north side of Rooosevelt Avenue near 104 Street. I’ve been waiting for him to set up shop and was glad to see that he’s back on the street food scene.

As the 7 train rumbles over head he plucks a cold coconut ($5) from his stash and taps it, to see if it’s good. If it passes muster, he expertly chips away a straw hole at the top with a few whacks of a well honed cleaver. His wares also include fresh fruit juices—mango, watermelon, lime, guava—and tropical fruits like mangoes and baby bananas. My favorite are tiny green-skinned quenepas. The flesh is sort of similar to a lychee, but wonderfully sour and acerbic. It’s a perfect cure for the summertime blues.

Dominican Fruit Man, north side of Roosevelt Ave. at 104th St, Corona