Harlem is underrated and largely uncharted culinary terrain for many Columbia students, who prefer to stick to the frequently tried and sort-of-true flavors of Pinnacle and HamDel. Columbians who do dare to venture up north or across the park for lunch or dinner will find a wide array of cuisines offered at generous prices. Harlem’s Caribbean population allows students who are tired of Havana Central’s exorbitant prices and John Jay’s miserable jerk chicken to search elsewhere for a taste of the islands.
The décor in the Cuban restaurant Café Floridita (129th Street and Broadway) falls somewhere between Tom’s and Havana Central, combining elements from classic American diners and traditional Cuban restaurants. Big cushioned booths and diner tables host baskets with side-by-side Heinz ketchup and Goya salsa picante. A big traditional pastel-colored milkshake machine is used to make papaya and pineapple milkshakes, which are then served in American-style soda cups. Spanish conversation murmurs underneath the pleasant hum of salsa music and giant posters advertising Havana nightlife.
In addition to the Cuban flavor, Café Floridita’s prices may draw students looking for a cheaper brunch destination. Every morning, it offers a Floridita International Breakfast, which includes two eggs, three pancakes, a choice of ham, bacon, or sausage, toast, and coffee or tea for only $8.50. Students will be hard-pressed to find a better deal than that within walking distance of campus.
Vegans and animal rights activists who complain about a lack of variety in Morningside Heights should just make the short but steep trek across Morningside Park, where a plethora of conscious-minded Jamaican restaurants await them. Fruitful Field (120th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard) consciously uses only cruelty-free halal products in its dishes. “If an animal is abused, if it dies from fear, then these vibrations stay in the meat after death. They cause fear in the people who eat the meat. This is what makes people sick,” explains waiter Judah Selah. “Halal meat is cruelty-free. It’s healthier and cleaner.”
A low-key restaurant with no shortage of reverence for Haile Selassie, Fruitful Field is a promising destination for conscious-minded students in want of some guilt-free jerk chicken and steamed fish.
Right across the street from Fruitful Field is Strictly Roots, an all-vegan Jamaican restaurant with the motto “serving nothing that crawls, walks, swims or flies.” Unlike many vegan restaurants in Manhattan, Strictly Roots does not charge an arm and a leg for its entirely plant-based products. The popular beef soyloin dishes are only $4 and stirred, fried, and salad dishes are even cheaper.
“One of our ... specialties is fried tofu and the BadMan juice blend,” said chef Iah Bless. The BadMan blend combines sea moss, nuts, seeds, soy milk, and honey into a special juice that is supposed to increase stamina. Strictly Roots also makes its own ginger beer, a non-alcoholic Jamaican specialty. Bless explained, “We are vegan for both health reasons and animal rights.” With the selection of dishes and juices Strictly Roots offers, diners will have a hard time believing that what they are eating is strictly composed of roots.
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