New York City may just be the most diverse city in the world, home to hundreds of languages and millions of people. Thanks to this diversity, the city overflows with culture. One aspect of NYC where this diversity of culture is known to shine is its food.

Throughout all five boroughs, food can be found from nearly every corner of the planet. But most college students simply do not have the means for frequent high-class establishments with menus curated by famous chefs from around the world. Therefore, this column will focus on no-frills spots around NYC where delicious food can be acquired without breaking the bank. More specifically, you can go to any of the restaurants featured here and spend less than $15 to fill your stomach.

To start things off, it’s only right to feature an establishment that any Fordham student will instantly recognize: Rams Deli Plus.
Better known as Rams, it is one of the two bodegas across East Fordham Road from Rose Hill, and, thus, it is incessantly compared to its down-the-road neighbor, Best Deli & Grill (I’ll leave myself out of the debate about which one is better, but you see that I have chosen to write about one and not the other).

Rams is open 24 hours a day; you’ll see why if you’re ever close by on a weekend between midnight and 3:00 a.m. Nico Riodan, FCRH ’22, calls it “the best spot for a late-night sandwich,” and it seems that many people agree. Most times of the day, Rams serves a mix of Fordham students, members of the Belmont community and others. One bite into anything on the menu makes it easy to understand its wide-ranging appeal.

Rams has a menu that will look familiar to anyone who has ever been in a bodega before: a wide array of sandwiches, burgers and the like, along with platters such as chicken over rice. Matt Chang, FCRH ’22, recommends the Downey or the Bronx classic chopped cheese but also advises, “If you want to switch it up, try the Burgerrito.”

Like most bodegas, there are more than enough options for you to find a favorite (I, too, endorse the Downey as a starting point). Most of it will run you well under $15, and each menu item has more than enough food to be considered a meal in itself. In other words, you will run out of room in your stomach before money in your wallet. If you are somehow still hungry after a Hero, however, Rams has plenty of snack and drink (alcoholic or otherwise) options, too, and it is relatively easy to stay within a $15 budget even if you purchase food plus a bag of chips and a drink on the side.

For this review, I went with an order of chicken over rice (which includes peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato and white and hot sauce) with a bag of chips and a drink on the side. The delicious and filling food only set me back $6.50.

While most of this information is old news to anyone who has lived in the area for more than a couple of weeks, I think it’s only right that the first edition of this column covers a Fordham favorite.

Rams’ name alone should indicate that it is just that. In case you need more convincing, stop by (at any hour of the day, I might add) and order anything from the menu. Chances are, you’ll understand why Rams has customers coming in all day and all night. And better yet, you won’t empty your wallet in the process.