I had a three and a half hour gap between classes. Usually, I'd go to Robeson, do some homework, eat a salad, and play online games on my laptop; this time, I felt like venturing. I was so damn hungry, and for some reason I was craving a huge piece of grilled chicken. So, I asked Siri, "Siri, where can I get grilled chicken?" She gave me about 15 spots within a 5 mile radius where I can go get some grilled chicken. I checked the reviews to all the places, obviously realizing I wasn't going to walk 5 miles off campus to eat, and decided to walk almost 2 miles to a place called FMZ Grilled Platters.
Most people would refuse to walk around Newark. They here about the dangers of the city, such as daily gunshots, murders, assault, armed robbery, etc. Yeah, I guess all of that is true, but it was the middle of the day, and my stomach began to make noises comparable to a dying cow. I began my descent towards the grill, which happened to be a few blocks past Penn Station. I had never walked this far off campus before, so I had no idea what I would be in for. It was a beautiful day out, too, about 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky as the sun beamed down and posted reflections off every car and glass object that was in its path.
During my walk, I was truthfully in awe about what I saw. Not only in Newark a highly diverse town, but there are shops and restaurants varying between so many different cultural ranges. there were Indian Cuisine restaurants, Tuscan grills, Arabic stands and smoke shops, and so many more small ethnic businesses in such a small area of downtown...
I finally arrived at the FMZ restaurant and ordered a 10 dollar platter of grilled chicken and french fries, (yes, I know, a bit hypocritical of myself to order grilled chicken with a side of fattening, deep friend potatoes.) The food finally came out, and there was truthfully a place that was over a foot long, and about half a foot wide, covered in grilled chicken, broccoli and mounds of french fries... and I don't mean a small hill of french fries, but enough french fries alone to feed a family of 3. There was no way I was finishing all of this by myself. I ate all the chicken and veggies, and attempted to make a dent in the french fries, but as I kept eating, I could have sworn more fries were spontaneously reappearing on my plate. I decided to call it quits, and left the restaurant.
At least I had a long walk back to school to burn off all of these damned calories. I continued to pay attention to my surroundings, and realized that maybe myself, and many others, have the wrong impression of Newark after all . . . . .
The way you ended the post was great. Being a person that lives in Newark it's always good to see that somebody finally realizes that all of Newark is not bad. On another note the details you include about how culturally diverse the city is and what you saw on the way to the restaurant was good. It painted a clear image for me. The way you speak about the dish that you ordered inspires me to venture out for that restaurant.
ReplyDeleteThis post has a lot of great description, and I really like the self reflection that you do. People focus more on the negative aspects of the city and lose sight of all of the amazing things Newark has to offer. Your writing shows that it's not the crime-ridden wasteland everyone makes it out to be. Maybe you can talk about some of the shops you saw along the way in greater detail in future posts. Good job.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who constantly hears warnings from other people about where I go to school, it's actually nice for once to see someone mentioning something positive about Newark. The details regarding the scenery and the food created a clear image. Also, in the last couple of posts, you've broadened your focus (without losing the personality in your writing), so instead of simply focusing on Rutgers Newark, you've started talking about other areas of Newark, which is great because I think it is a bit more accurate to your blog title compared to previous posts. Your ending line could serve as a mini introduction to later posts; readers might start to wonder what else about Newark they had wrong, which could serve as material for future entries, if you're ever at a loss for ideas. Good job.
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