CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Many students might think that the neighborhood around Fordham lacks culinary diversity, but there are plenty of various cuisine options close to campus that most students don’t know about. I always pass by a Spanish restaurant located at 188th and Webster Ave on my walk to the D Train for work. During peak dining hours, the place is packed with people.

The moment you walk into 3 Way Restaurant, the blaring sounds of lively Spanish music fills your ears and the mouth-watering smell of roasting chicken churning in the rotisserie at the back of the front room tickles your nose. We approached the counter to the left and the waitress told us to sit in the dining area in the adjacent room. The dining room has about ten tables, which at the time of our visit were half-filled with other local customers. After perusing the extensive paper menu, my lunch mate and I decided to split the half roasted chicken and the steak with onions. Both meals come with beans and the choice of yellow or white rice (we both picked yellow).

The order took about 10 minutes to arrive; the portions at 3 Way are very generous, especially the massive plates of rice. My first angle of attack was the rice and beans. My lunch mate opted to pour her beans on top of the rice so that the fluffy rice would soak up the flavorful juices from the beans. I immediately copied her and will now be conducting this maneuver during all my future encounters with rice and beans; I strongly recommend it. After several bites of the simple tastiness of the savory rice and beans duo, I attempted to tackle the steak and onions.

The steak quickly disappointed me because it was very thin, overly chewy and deficient on the flavor scale, though the sautéed onions added a nice tang that I did enjoy. Following my unsatisfying experience with the steak, I was ready to move on to my final contender; the half rotisserie chicken. Just looking at the crispy, orange, seasoned skin of the chicken, I knew that it would taste better than the steak. As I sliced portions of the bird, my knife cut through the chicken breast like butter. After the first bite, I was sold. The white meat was really succulent and perfectly cooked-through. The tenderness of the juicy meat combined with the flavorful crispy skin redeemed 3 Way’s lack-luster steak.

For the subsequent 10 minutes, I engulfed the roasted chicken and my serving of rice and beans, leaving little room for talking or breathing. Even though the steak lacked pizzazz, at the end of the meal I was sufficiently stuffed almost to a point of stomach cramping.

Unlike at most restaurants in New York City where I wince at the amount of money I have to pony up for the check, I was happy when the bill arrived and it read $19.25 for the two of us. We had a filling and authentic Spanish lunch for just under $10 a person!

I will definitely go back to 3 Way for the roasted chicken and rice and beans. I would also like to explore other options from their vast menu. I heard the beef stew and plantain chips are delicious. If you don’t have time to sit down at the restaurant, 3 Way delivers daily and offers a quick pick-up option from the counter.

Next time you get sick of the pizza or deli sandwiches, I recommend taking a short stroll over to 188th and Webster to experience some of the culture and delicious food that the Bronx has to offer.  In some cases it’s not always true, but in this story, 3 Way is the best way.