Category Archives: Staten Island

Discovering Port Richmond

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I’ve lived in Staten Island my whole life. I’ve been to almost every part of the island in my 18 years here, including Port Richmond. However, there is so much I didn’t know about this historic place that’s only 10 minutes away from where I live. Between my basketball games and my brother’s I have been to the Port Richmond area countless times and yet I didn’t know anything about it. As I walked through Port Richmond through the guided tour set up by Wagner College, I learned about the history, the food, and the challenges of the area. Historically, one of the highlights was the Dutch church and graveyard that was one of the first built on Staten Island. A second highlight was the large arrow that pointed to water, that in faded writing read the word “Ferry.”

The image2food side of Port Richmond was also very interesting. Almost 20 restaurants line the streets of Port Richmond Avenue. Among these restaurants there were many Spanish and Chinese cuisine restaurants. There was even an Irish Pub. One of the restaurants was something quite uncommon, a bakery that also serves many different types of dinner dishes. In the shop there is not only cake, ice cream, but also chicken entrees and pizza pies! Although this may seem unconventional, it is quite interesting.

Another one of the restaurants we stopped into was a newly image3opened one, which specialized in tamales, it’s decorations actually made me want to eat there more. It’s amazing how many different elements can go into a “where should we eat” decision. The idea that a restaurant being nicely or culturally decorated can make a person want to eat there is very interesting to me.

A lack of restaurants is definitely not a problem for the area. Along the way we stopped into two markets that provided fresh fruits and vegetables. Seeing these places made me very happy because I know that these fresh foods are available to people that live so close to an area that lacks fresh food, Arlington. Arlington has not yet been declared an official food desert, but it is on the road to becoming one, something that the community and those in charge can hopefully change.

In these markets I also saw a lot of spices hanging on the walls. These made me think of how spices have impacted history and the age of exploration. Some of the spices hanging up I had never even heard of, I guess I need to expand my spice knowledge! image1Even though Port Richmond did have these markets with fresh foods, they did recently lose one. A fire took away one of the supermarkets and I don’t believe there are plans to have it replaced. Another problem with the area would be the arsenic and lead within the soil at Veterans Park. Even though this issue is under control, there are still other problems facing the area, such as the garbage littering the streets, but the community is working hard to change that. Port Richmond is a rich community with a lot of history and day by day it will grow stronger and better.

Exploring Port Richmond

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This historic building was renovated yet the historical character remains.

This building was renovated yet the historical character remains.

Taking a tour of Port Richmond opened up my eyes to the food cultures that live in this community. Port Richmond is one of the oldest neighborhoods on Staten Island. Situated near the water of Kill Van Kull, Port Richmond embraces various ethnicities that can be seen through the family owned restaurants and markets. Taking a walk through the streets, I was able to see about twenty eateries in a span of one mile. On every corner, there are Mexican, Chinese, Peruvian, African and many more cultures being presented. Many claim that when they walk through the streets of Port Richmond they “smell” South America. This neighborhood is filled with culture and delicious food!

One of the shops that remains in my memory is a food market. Situated in the middle of a street, this Mexican food market sold a multitude a fresh fruits and vegetables. This shop was pretty small compared to the commercialized grocery stores I buy my food from on Staten Island. However, this market contained so many different fruits that I never seen before. The decorations and food in this market submersed me in the Mexican culture as I walked through the aisles.

Inside of the food market

Inside the food market

As our learning community passed this market, one restaurant that really caught my attention was a Chinese restaurant that also served Mexican food. This family owned business decided to broaden the types of food being sold and appeal to another major ethnic group found in Port Richmond. I found this restaurant to be particularly interesting because these to cultures are extremely different, yet someone believed it was possible to diffuse these cultures together. This restaurant defines Port Richmond’s food culture. In this neighborhood, there are many ethnicities and these ethnicities have merged together to create a multicultural community. This is clearly seen through the food being made by store owners and purchased by customers.

This Mexican Restaurant catered Mexican and Chinese food.

This Chinese Restaurant also catered Mexican food.

Tortillas Y Mucho Mas

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Yesterday my class and I ventured out into Port Richmond in Staten Island. We took a tour and I was intrigued by the number of restaurants down Port Richmond Ave. There were tons of restaurants serving a variety of foods ranging from Chinese, Mexican, Peruvian, Dominican, and even Italian. Coming from a Hispanic descent, when I saw all the Latin food restaurants I immediately thought of the food I eat at home. I am Salvadorian however, traditional Spanish food is all very similar. We all enjoy foods like rice, beans, plantains and tortillas-especially tortillas. While walking down the parade of restaurants, we passed by a a restaurant that made fresh tortillas. It reminded me of home because my mother makes homemade tortillas from time to time. It shocked me that they were using a machine to make the tortillas because my mother usually makes them by hand and then yells at me to learn how to make them. Yet, I find it very difficult to make tortillas. I can never get the shape of a perfect circle and if I do I can never get it to stay intact and not break apart. There’s a hidden talent to making handmade tortillas that I have yet to discover. Fresh made tortillas that are still warm from the pan are so good. My parents can eat them with almost everything yet, I only like them with particular food like this soup my mother makes called Sopa de Res. Sopa de Res is a soup filled with all kinds of vegetables and beef. My mother does not always make handmade tortillas because they are a lot of work. Whenever there aren’t any fresh made tortillas we just buy corn tortillas from the store because my family simply cannot go without it. Whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner we always have a side of tortillas for our meals. Our class trip to Port Richmond was a trip that I particularly enjoyed because it hit really close to home. I can’t wait to go back and try all of the different kinds of food they have to offer.

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The man is running the dough through this machine I suppose to flatten it out before forming the circular tortilla shape.