This New Colombian Restaurant Is Set Out to Make a Mark
As a Colombian-American who lives on TCNJ campus (and doesn’t have a car), it’s been extremely disheartening trying to find any food that resembles what I’ve eaten at home, and any attempts made at Eickhoff have not been up to par. However, during the TCNJ Community Fest that had taken place this September, I found a booth advertising a Colombian restaurant that had opened up nearby. This is a review of that restaurant.
Transcript:
If you’re the kid of immigrant parents, then you likely know very well the struggle that plagues us all upon starting college: food. And I’m no exception.
For context, I ahve a Colombian mom and a Cuban dad. Aside from the typical American foods, I also grew up eating what many of my peers would only encounter in a select few restaurants: coconut chicken stew, fried plantains, the like—and that’s not getting into the things that would be of a more acquired taste.
Eickhoff hall is not nearly as bad as the people here make it out to be, but if you disregard the soup, this place is HORRIBLE at attempting anything that requires more seasoning than a pinch of salt and pepper. Not too long ago I saw that they had arroz con pollo at Quimby’s—which is one of my favorite childhood dishes—and it was completely butchered.
So you can probably sense my upcoming relief when I found out that a Colombian place had opened up nearby. Behold: Eddy’s Coffee and Grill.
Now, this is a pretty humble place. My friend Emily and I had arrived to a practically empty establishment, so we had the entire place to ourselves. It reminds me of a handful of restaurants I encountered throughout my time in Colombia. The decorations upfront were very reminiscent of those.
I ordered a handful of chicken and beef empanadas, since I wasn’t feeling quite up for something heavy, like their mini bandeja paisa or any of the hamburgers they had listed on their menu. I also had jugo de maracuyá, which is just passion fruit juice, but I like saying its Spanish name because that’s how I grew up saying it.
Overall, the taste was very nostalgic. Emily enjoyed the food as well, but I am mad that she didn’t want to sample any of the fruit juices, which I personally think are the perfect accompaniment to any Colombian meal.
It’s a 9 out of 10 for me.