Delightful Dishes

This cuisine fits very nicely into the American style as well as staying true to the ethnic community it represented. Not only does it offer a nice and cozy place to dine in, it is fully equipped with free wifi, American television, English speaking people, and really just a wonderfully comfortable atmosphere for anyone to joyfully dine in. On the cultural side, it stays true to adding African/Carribean art works, plants, and architecture, as well as the food served and nationalities of the people who work there. I could tell quite a bit from the cultural décor as well as the behavior of the staff. For one, there were exotic plants everywhere that were obviously from their homeland since I have never seen these plants in Staten Island or on the Northeastern Seaboard. Also, from the décor it was easy to see that their culture believed in spirits and demons. This was apparent from the mask that was hanging on the wall of the restaurant. Masks are an essential feature of the traditional culture and art of the African people. Some traits common to most African cultures include the fact that a spiritual or religious meaning is given to them as well as the fact that they are used in ritual dances events. A special status was even given to the artists that create masks and to those that wear them in ceremonies. Also, a picture of the Coat of Arms of Trinidad and Tobago hung on the walls.

 The symbol of the picture each represented the people of Tobago and Trinidad. The palm tree crest represents Tobago before it’s political union with Trinidad. The wreath and shield, which bear the colors of the nation’s flag, represents the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago’s colonizers. The gold ships represent the Santa María, La Niña, and La Pinta. The two birds on the shield are hummingbirds because Trinidad is sometimesreferred to as the “Land of the Hummingbird.” The two larger birds are the Scarlet Ibis and the Cocrico, the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Below these birds is the nation’s motto, “Together We Aspire, Together We Achieve.” Also on the walls were various African Art work.

The type of food that was served was mostly catered to the African people with a few sides that could aspire to other cultures such as white rice, lo mein, Mac & Cheese, Dumplings, and French Fries. On their lunch menu they have more American meals such as cheeseburger, Chicken wings, BBQ wings, and Chicken soup. However, the bulk of the menu is African soul food. Their main courses include Oxtail, various forms of chicken (jerk, pineapple, curry, stew), fish, fried shrimp, beef, Potato salad, Yams, sweet potatoes, Steak and eggs, Plantains, and rice and beans. Also, to cater to other cultures, there was a wide selection of almost every American beverage from sodas to sports drinks to ice tea. What was really cool that I had was Trinidadian Soda. It was Banana flavored but in the end it just tasted like orange root beer. It lest such an awesome aftertaste that exploded in your throat as you swallowed it. It was really cool. The authentic elements of the restaurant were the architectural aspects and design choices. The walls were a bring reddish orange color along with arched walkways, paper fans, exotic plants, stained glass light fixtures, and the artwork displayed on the walls. Also, the staff was authentically African and was able to share their knowledge of the land as well as the significance of a few of the artworks. They even had authentic accents. Their recipe’s were also authentic and were not really changed to fit the American way, which is pretty authentic.

This institution is best known for their Carribean/African soul food and they make it well known to the surrounding area, which is filled with mostly African people, that they are serving their culture’s food. I think that the picture of the Coat of Arms of Trinidad and Tobago relayed the most history of the African culture because it mashed together a bunch of symbols that together symbolize the actually formation of their nation. By participating in the eating of the various foods that were supplied by this specific culture’s institution, it puts a little perspective on an American because it adds to the opinions of differences between certain people. There is a common misconception amongst the cultures that one is better than the other. However, after trying the various foods of another culture, you get to see that the food is actually really good and that culture has something to add to the already diverse palate that is the American culture. It adds to the increased efforts to create unity between the cultures and nations by us partaking of the food of this culture, especially since the feud between the blacks and the whites transcended for generations and millenniums in the past and even a little bit today amongst the very prideful people.

In my culture, being Italian, we still eat all the native Italian dishes. Also, being in Staten Island, Italian food is everywhere. Pizza, pasta, tomato sauce, bread, lasagna, stuffed shells, and gnocchi are all still eaten and are readily available for me to eat and represent my culture with because I am fully Italian and it’s just been a part of my life for so long I don’t see a reason to change. My grandparents are the ones who commit their time to following the Italian culture the most.