NYC - Part III

Day 3 in NYC.

Since we hoped to leave in the early afternoon, we used this day to get a couple of letterboxes in the Riverside Park area and we wanted to eat lunch at a place I found on the Internet - Strictly Roots. Strictly Roots is at 2058 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd (aka 7th Ave) between 122nd and 123rd.

Okay, after the disappointment that was Vegetarian Dim Sum House (I am beginning to wonder if all the Americanized Chinese takeout I have eaten over the years has corrupted my palate and I am just unable to enjoy true Chinese food. After all, this place is raved about so much - did we hit it on a bad day or do I just not know good food when I eat it?), Jen and I needed some good food. We needed to hit a place that would feed us, feed our souls and minds. And boy, did we find it. This place has some mad, cheap grub that will stick to your ribs. The food is served cafeteria style but they also have fresh, made to order items on their menu. We stuck to the heating trays and just pointed up our lunches. Each item is priced differently, by serving. Jen asked for the plantains and the tempura tofu which were each $1. Yeah. $1 per serving. She got a juice and was all set for $4. Her plate:

A close up of the plantains:


Man, these were good. I was picking the caramelized sugar out of my teeth all the way to the Delaware Water Gap.
I ordered the collard greens, the red beans, and the mac and cheese. With a juice, my total came to $10. Even though we shared each others food, we still couldn't eat it all.

The collards:

I loved these. Jen thought they tasted overcooked and from a can but I know better. My mama is from Alabama :-) These were delish.
The mac and cheese:

This was good. Day-um good. We ate all of this. It was creamy, cheesy and pure comfort food. I would go back just for this.
The beans were okay, but with plates full of stand out food, they suffered by comparison. They had some baked goods but we passed on those because of the amount of food we ordered.
The Strictly Roots mural:

Yeah, get thee to this place :-) But avoid the bathroom - yeesh. That's all I am going to say about *that*.

One last thing - per my previous post.....do you have any idea how hard it is to letterbox in a city that people can't wait to help you out? Walking around with papers in hand, looking confused guaranteed someone stopping to offer directions. We had a person pull over in their car while we were at the Cloisters! So, in our best helpful tradition and to try to keep the NY nasty reputation alive, I offer you this:

This is Jen, trying to discreetly rehide a box in the Riverside Park area. Miss White Shirt and Black Purse is lost and is supposed to meet someone here. She decides, of all the helpful and nice NYers around, to hit us up continually for advise and directions. Us! The only people around who don't want to strike up conversations with complete strangers, who could care less if someone is lost, who don't want to talk to ANYONE. We are only concerned with getting the box, stamping in, rehiding, with no one else around the wiser. She came up to me 3 times - 3 TIMES - with inquiries about the location, the time, can she borrow my phone, blah, blah, blah. I am proud to say that I did my best to brush her off and turn her away. It is sad when a couple of folks from Syracuse pretty much display the only "typical' NY behavior :-)

Edited to Add: Strictly Roots menu