For Fordham students who either live or work near the Lincoln Center campus, a visit to Meze Grill is a must for students on a budget who love Middle Eastern food. A combination between a sit-down restaurant and a fast-food chain, Meze Grill churns out authentic and tasty Middle Eastern food at the pace perfect for a lunch break. Located at 55th and 8th, Meze offers healthy food at a fraction of the cost. A typical lunch consisting of a “pita sandwich” and a drink usually end up costing around ten dollars. The menu itself is interesting to figure out your first time at Meze; you can order either a “pita sandwich”, salad or rice platter filled with steak, chicken, lamb or falafel. Then, much like at Subway, you can choose what toppings to put on your order – my personal favorites being the garlic and tahini sauces. The absolute BEST thing about Meze is that if you become a fan of them on Facebook, you get a coupon for a free sandwich! Along with offering some of the best Middle Eastern food around, the prices at Meze can best be described as a steal.
Conveniently located near Lincoln Center, Meze Grill is designed for people on their lunch breaks – this is not a leisurely, sit down restaurant. While there are always plenty of tables in the restaurant to eat at, on nice days it is extremely convenient to eat your lunch in Central Park. The service at the counter is always friendly and prompt, and the line always moves fairly quickly. I would highly recommend Meze Grill because it offers great Middle Eastern food at a fraction of the cost, perfect for the Fordham student.
For more information and a menu, please visit… http://www.mezegrill.com/index.html
Wallet: $
Romantic: <3
Friendship: ***
Relaxation: ~ ~
Eclectic: + + +
I recently went to the Arthur Ave Cafe with my mother and grandmother. Out of all the various Italian restaurants on Arthur Ave, you would not expect this small little cafe to be one too. As we were walking down Arthur Ave, trying to decide where to go, we came by this little place with people sitting outside. My mom proceeded to ask one of the groups if the food was good here, and one of the men provided us with the information that the food was excellent, especially the eggplant parmesan. Why was the eggplant parmesan so good here? Well according to this man and the waitress serving him, this small little cafe was on the Food Network Bobby Flay Throwdown, and beat Bobby Flay himself with their eggplant parmesan recipe. So it was finished, my mom, grandmother, and I decided we would have lunch here.
Not only are the movies unique, from American to European indie, but the staff is great and the snack selection is excellent, including popcorn served in eco-friendly bags with different seasonings (no more overdrenched-in-butter popcorn), an espresso bar, vegan cookies, and Swiss chocolate. (If you’re not one for movie snacks, this section of the Bowery is also filled with little cafes that you can check out before or after your movie.) While you wait on line, the staff will likely engage you in some sort of humorous conversation, possibly about the grade school-style handmade displays advertising the midnight movie of the week (see: right). 
