It is true that the bacalaitos at the Freakin Rican in Astoria, Queens, are not quite as big around as the ones you will see browning in veritable caldrons of oil over wood fires at kiosks scattered along the beach road in Piñones, outside San Juan. These flattened cod fritters are the size of pie plates in Puerto Rico, while in Queens they are roughly the diameter of a coffee can.

Dimensions aside, they give off all the right signals. They are the color of a corn muffin, with green specks of chopped cilantro under the surface that let you know they are not made from Goya’s mix. They don’t leave your fingertips entirely free of grease, but they come close. They have an exterior crunch that surrenders quickly to the firm, chewy interior of mashed salt cod; the texture is less fried dough than fish taffy.

You could start to build a business around bacalaitos like these. That, in fact, has been Derick López’s plan for some time now. Mr. López, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in the South Bronx, is the Freakin Rican’s chef and, with his husband, Victor Vargas, its owner. About four years ago, armed with picnic coolers and a couple of folding tables, the two men began selling a short menu of Puerto Rican staples at the street fairs that seem to infiltrate a different New York thoroughfare each weekend. As they promoted the Freakin Rican catering operation, the Freakin Rican product line, the Freakin Rican Facebook page and the Freakin Rican YouTube channel, they saved their earnings so they could found the Freakin Rican restaurant.