Bryant Park

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Jessica Aletta

This past weekend I went with my boyfriend to the city to explore new things that I haven’t seen in New York before. On this trip we went to Bryant park and little Italy and got some good food. When we went to Bryant park it was earlier in the afternoon but we hadn’t eaten all day and were starving. We both were extremely tired and the first thing we found when we walked in was coffee of course! Then we tried to find a snack before we went to an early dinner late lunch. We came across a station that said fried pickles and for him and I anything that says fried sounds good. So the first thing we ate that day was some fried pickles and drank some coffee. Which to me showed wow we really are college kids in the way we eat.

I think the psychology behind these food choices is very interesting to look at. Not all people would even dare to look at a fried pickle when they are drinking coffee. But the way that we have been living these past few months you learn to eat what you can when you can. So to us it was not a big deal to have a weird combination of things because we have learned this behavior. But for other people who are not college students they would think this is such a disgusting combination that we were even getting weird looks. This situation and the college dining situation is kind of like the optimal forging theory as to where you do what you need to do to waste the least amount of energy and gain the most amount of energy back.

The weirdest combination but the best fried pickles!

The Terrifying Transition to Gluten Free

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Lauren Fay

I recently discovered that I have Celiac disease. Celiac disease is just a fancy way of saying that gluten and I don’t mix well. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. When someone with celiac disease eats gluten their body makes an immune reaction that attacks the small intestine. This is why it is so important for those with Celiac disease to stop eating gluten as soon as possible.

I was diagnosed last week and was told to start looking for gluten free options. For someone that has been eating gluten free for many years, this is not difficult. For someone who is new to gluten free, it can be very difficult. Due to discussions in my psychology course at Wagner College, I have become wary of labelling and wonder if foods that advertise they are gluten free really are gluten free.

I have discovered that the supermarket near my house, ShopRite, has an entire gluten free isle. Although I will not know if they are completely gluten free, acquiring these foods is a step in the right direction. I have also discovered there are many restaurants on Staten Island that offer gluten free foods. Villa Monte’s gluten free pizza is known by many as the best on the island. Goodfellas offers gluten free pasta options (although I’m still wary about eating there because of their mice problem not too long ago).

Although this transition will probably be difficult in the beginning, I know I will get used to it as most do. This also gives me a whole new field of cooking and baking to pursue! I’m sure I will discover many gluten free dishes to prepare and force them upon my family even though they don’t need to eat gluten free!

Flushing, Queens

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Ariana Gargano

When I first got to Flushing, I did not realize how big this part of Queens was. I started out on main street where it is mostly Chinese immigrants that populated the area. Everything was in Chinese, the signs, menus, prices and the writing on the products. The thing I found most interesting about this area of Flushing was the stand of all different kinds of food, hot food, fast food, fruits, vegetables, fish and meats and a lot of things that I have never seen before. One of the mini supermarkets that I went to on Main Street had an enormous variety of Chinese candies mostly hard candies and chewable candies like starbursts shaped and flavored all differently. The drinks were even foreign to me, mostly the types of soda. The soda sold in the markets along main street and the Hong Kong supermarket are not like coca cola or sprite the colors of the drinks are even unique, there was bright green, purple, red, pink in thick glass bottles that had this little ball in the cap that had to be pushed through into the bottle so it could become carbonated. The food was not entirely strange to me. A lot of the Chinese food was the common things we see in Chinese restaurants around Staten Island, but there were a lot of things I did not recognize. The different kinds of fish cooked in various ways I have never seen before was this fish I saw at a street vendor was the whole fish just grilled on a stick.

Ten minutes away from Main Street, Flushing turns into an entirely different place. By Kissena Blvd, it becomes populated with Jewish families and a lot of Muslims. Around this area, there are only about three supermarkets that sell fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. Compared to Main Street there were markets that sold all different kinds of food everywhere. This part of Queens had mostly fast food places to eat with a couple pizzerias, one of which I went to called Valentino’s and a lot of food stands and restaurants that sold Hallah food because the area was highly populated with Muslim families. Another thing I found most interesting was the parks; there are tons of parks by Kissena Blvd. The people who live in this area hang out in the parks more often then people in my neighborhood of Huguenot does with a park being right down the block from my house. The park was crowded with all different kinds of people; some people seemed like they were just talking a walk through the park if they had nothing to do. I asked people in the parks if they had any other information about Main Street, but they all said the same thing “it’s full of Chinese people” and that’s all they had to say. One thing I found funny was that one person told me they call the area where Main Street is “chino main” because of all these Chinese people and that you can only buy Chinese food and products there.

Group Visit to Brighton Beach

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Peyton Beck

This past week, My group and I were able to take the B train down to one of the a southernmost parts of Brooklyn: Brighton Beach. As we got off the train and headed underway toward the Boardwalk, we seemed to have walked into a different country. Brighton Beach is also known as “little Odessa”, holding the highest concentration of Russian immigrants outside of the eastern hemisphere. Here, you can see the unique culture of individuals residing in Brighton Beach, as well as the bustle of the main strip, Brighton Beach Avenue. However, in this image, you can also see a sign for “Dunkin’ Donuts”, a highly commercialized chain in the heart of an authentic collection of Ukrainian markets and shops.

Food Cues

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Olivia Silvestri

Food Cues: Are they real or is it really because we are hungry?

During this weekend I ventured into the city with my friend for brunch. I couldn’t wait to go for brunch because it is my favorite. I love that breakfast food is offered until 4 pm with a few lunch options. When I got to the restaurant I ordered everything I thought would seem delicious. Pancakes, eggs, and French toast were shared among the 2 of us. When we were finished we couldn’t even think of eating more that’s how full we were.

Finally, after deciding to leave the restaurant my friend and I were walking to the train. On our way to the train we were complaining about how much food we consumed. With only about 2 more blocks until we hit the train station we saw a 16 handles (frozen yogurt store). We immediately looked at each other and couldn’t resist. Before we knew it we had filled our cups with 3 different types of frozen yogurt with 5 different toppings.

In my opinion, this is a true example of a food cue. My friend and I were so full walking to the train but once we saw that 16 handle we suddenly felt like we were able to eat it and went right inside we no hesitation. Food cues do impact the reasons we eat no matter if we are full or hungry.

Food Markets In Florida

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Ariana Gargano

Over this weekend, I was in Florida visiting family and got a chance to go to parts of the city I have never been before. One of my favorite places I went to was the Lincoln Road Mall, which is a block that the stores are all outside on a strip and throughout the strip there is little markets in between both sides of the block. One thing I noticed was that there were many fresh fruit and vegetable markets in between both sides of the mall. I was expecting those little shops to have accessories or some clothing since it was a mall but when I saw it was fruits, vegetables, seeds, smoothies, and othe Lincoln Shopping-on-Lincoln-Road-Mall-new r drinks I was a little surprised considering the setting where we were. Another thing that I noticed was that each stand and a line to the cashier, mostly every stand someone was buying something that made me even more shocked because who would come to a mall to buy fruits and vegetables or even think to stop to buy something in one of those markets while they are shopping. But even I stopped and got a strawberry and peach smoothie.

One that was my favorite was a stand that sold smoothies made from a coconut then the smoothie was put into the coconut. We do not see a lot of things or markets like this in Staten Island as often as it is available to people who live in this part of Florida. Every stand had something different one stand only sold types of oranges; another stand had tomatoes and basil and another stand I noticed sold seeds for all kinds of plants and trees. Some of the stands did sell clothes, accessories, house decorations, and survivors, but another thing I noticed was that those stands were never as crowded or busy as the ones that sold fruit or vegetables. The pe antique1 ople who worked the stands seems to be lower and middle-class people and a lot of them were Spanish.

Discovering Delaware

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Kathryn Scarfo

This past weekend I drove two and half hours to see one of my good friends who attends University of Delaware. Aside from the excitement of seeing a friend who has been gone for a month, I was amazed by the campus at University of Delaware. Specifically, I was intrigued by the amount of places there were to eat. Every where you turned there was a different place to get food. Every building had at least one vending machine on each floor, the library had a cafe and restaurant area, another building had Dunkin Donuts and a Mexican take out establishment, the bookstore had snacks and Starbucks and, in addition, there were two dining halls. Food was the focal point of almost every building on the campus.Not only was the campus bombarded with food, but as we proceeded into the town down Main Street, I was astonished as to how many restaurants were on this one street. Looking for a place to eat lunch was such a difficult task with almost fifteen places to choose from in just plain sight.

After seeing the abundance of food choices, I was in awe and began thinking about why there would be so many food places for one college town. Granted, there are thousands of students that attend the University of Delaware but I occurred to me that these college towns, especially food providers, realized the demand of college students, always looking for a quick bite to eat. In the same way, many students may also have fixed incomes, so it is common for students to be frugal with their money. The food providers catered to this as well with food prices and deals that were very reasonable. They also acted on this notion and significantly lowered the prices, to a certain extent, making it easy for college students on a fixed budget to afford eating out at these delicious restaurants on Main Street.

According to The Douglas Steward Company article The Purchasing Power of College Students, the top way students spend their money is on food. Students are more willing to spend their incomes on food than any other product not only for its source of energy and to satisfy their hunger, but for social means. Food providers have become meeting spots and places to host events and gatherings. It is evident to understand why food providers have become a focal point of this college town because of the high demand of consumers, which are the college students, that throw all their income on food.

I also realized that each sign acted as a food cue and even if you just ate, when you walked into every building, food was staring right at you, tempting you to indulge in it. My friend and I laughed at how easy it was to fall into the “Freshman Fifteen”. However, after reading Why The “Freshman 15” Is A Lie, I realized this idea is a myth. Although many college students do tend to gain weight upon entering college until graduation, fifteen pounds is exaggerated. Women tend to gain seven to nine pounds over the four years and men gain about 12 to 13. So for all my fellow college students who are worrying about falling into the “Freshman Fifteen”, be thankful we do not have as many option as Delaware at Wagner, but also be mindful that this idea is a myth.

My Family in NYC

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Peyton Beck

This past week, my family decided to visit me! It was family weekend here on campus and they wanted to experience New York City, especially because they had never been before. But instead of spending the extended weekend here on campus, we spent most of it in the city. Usually I would meet up with them because of my classes or soccer practices, so it was a good experience for me traveling and navigating the city by myself.

After our exploration of the city, we would usually try and find something to eat. If we weren’t rushing to eat or didn’t feel like waiting for the usual 2 hours at Hard Rock Café, they would usually ask for my opinion, knowing that my friends and I have ventured into the city a few times for the search of a good restaurant. Fortunately, we found one and it was successful enough to suggest: Adrienne’s Pizza on Stone Street.

My family loved the atmosphere of this street and the many different cultures that was included on this street. The next day we even tried the Mexican restaurant right next store. They had very good guacamole, which is also the dish I picked for my food voice. My family cannot pass up a good Mexican restaurant, making even the “Big Apple” feel like home for my family. I think this street embodies this idea of “home” for everybody venturing into the big city; the street has such a variety of dishes and specialties that someone is able to find something they are pleased with or relate to.

But, ironically enough, the weekend we visited this street was the same weekend this street was celebrating “OysterFest”. In history class, we have been talking a lot about New York City’s relationship to oysters and their importance dating back to the beginning of the New World. My family had no idea why a lively street in New York City would bother to have a festival involving oysters, but I was able to inform them about the history of oysters pertaining to New York City’s economy and industry. It was an interesting history lesson for them, and they were pleased that I was actually learning something in college!The festival looked like a lot of fun. There was an infinite amount of oysters and an infinite amount of different people. It reminded me about the idea we discussed in class: oysters were special because they were a luxury for the upper class, but also cheap enough for the poor and enslaved. It’s a dish that has always brought different people together, regardless of the time period.

What Food Means to Me

Posted on September 22, 2015 by LindaJeane Delfini

This past weekend, my family and I had to do the hardest thing we have ever had to do: close the doors to our business. For the past six months, the town in which my families business is located has been under MAJOR construction. From the bridge that gets you into the town being closed, to all of the roads being ripped up, the town was a war zone. The costumers needed a police escort to get into our store making it ultimately impossible to get in! Since the bridge was closed, if you lived in the neighboring town, the detour took about twenty minutes! Although my love for rice balls, and fresh mozzarella is very strong, like most of our patrons, I wouldn’t have traveled 40 minutes to get those delicious Italian foods either.

Finding out that this was our last operating day made my heart break. Our business was the only occupation my family and I knew. What would we do on Christmas? Who would cater our parties? What would we do if had a craving for one our homemade rice balls (This was only my concern)? What would we do if we needed lunch for school tomorrow? Where would my parents work? Some of these problems may sound superficial, however this is what rushed to my brain. Growing up, we always had food at our fingertips — so having to go to the grocery store for things that were always accessible in my store felt so bizarre.

Pacing up and down the deli case, trying to figure out what to eat before it was all gone felt more like trying to figure out what to write an essay on. After much consideration, I picked a rice ball. Before I could even walk, I ate rice balls. It was my go to food as a child, and still is. They could be as small as a munchkin or as large as a softball! They came in all different sizes and some came with meat and some came with cheese.

Most of you are probably thinking why is she writing about this? Growing up in my store made me who I am today, and without my store, I wouldn’t have the same passion for cooking and love for my culture. Visiting Port Richmond’s vast array of restaurants, bodegas made me realize that there are others out there with different backgrounds and cultures that have a shared passion for food like my family and I have. Visiting these places made me feel proud of my families long-lived business, and all of the things we have shared among our costumers, friends, and family.

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