Staten Island Restaurant Tour, Part XXVIII: Rinconcito Paisa (Graniteville)

The Freedom Tower, again. Freedom is good.

Last episode’s trip to Mariners Harbor could have used a better pic of the Freedom Tower from the tail end of the Staten Island Ferry. Follow the pointing finger. There it is. Perhaps I am becoming a human-interest photographer in my old age. But my destiny…

...was to be bent. No, my destiny...

…was to cross Forest Avenue, the border between Mariners Harbor to the north and Graniteville to the south, and enjoy some arroz con pollo, Colombian style, at Rinconcito Paisa. On the way I passed Graniteville Quarry Park, where workers were installing a new curb. The name Graniteville is a geological misomer, the experts say. Real granite has potassium feldspar among its ingredients, along with quartz, mica, and hornblende. But the stuff quarried in Graniteville, back in its mining days, contained sodium feldspar. So if the monuments in the area’s cemeteries were locally sourced, they may not really be granite.

Men at work.

PS 22 was undergoing renovation. Some people look at an old school building and think, old building.

Another work in progress.

I look at an old school building and recall the contrast between the pre-WWI building where I spent kindergarten and third grade, a place of tall windows and light and air, and the post-WWII one-story hovels where I spent the rest of my elementary school years. Ceilings were low and the Central Jersey humidity weighed heavily on us as the tar-paper roofs just above our heads baked in the sun. No AC, of course.

These kids are lucky to have PS 22.

When not covered up, apparently the building looks like this, thanks to the Mural Arts Project, via Venture House, a nonprofit that helps adults cope with mental illness “through improved access to employment, education, recreation, affordable housing, meaningful relationships, and community engagement in an environment of mutual acceptance and empowerment.” When not occupied with community engagement, PS 22 is also known for its accomplished chorus.

Courtesy of Venture House.

Rinconcito Paisa has a cheerful cobalt blue exterior. I could not get a more frontal shot without stepping onto the busy speedway that is Forest Avenue, a place where all traces of forest have been ruthlessly eliminated.

Kinda blue.

This is a restaurant that takes a stand. Yankee fans are probably tolerated if they’re interested in awesome Colombian food.

Study of non-sports fan with baseball-and-beer signage.

View of my table.

Under the paneled mural of Cartagena.

View from my table, including small party of fellow diners and my excellent server, who made sure I knew arroz con pollo was rice with chicken.

He even specified yellow for the rice.

But the coolest visuals were the flags of many Latin American nations, hobnobbing with the ventilation grilles. Here are the views from my back table…

Left.

Apropos of nothing, the Bogotá TransMilenio is a leader in bus rapid transit, a bus system that runs like a tram, with dedicated bus lanes, turns prohibited across those lanes, off-board fare collection, and platform-level boarding. Swinging around…

Center.

NYC should adopt bus rapid transit, the whole package, immediately. The half-assed version we call Select Bus Service is not nearly good enough. Hundreds of cities on six continents, mostly in Latin America, have BRT; why can’t we have it in the most transit-rich city in North America? Completing the set.

Right.

And here’s the whole thing in panorama mode.

Geometric distortion at no extra charge.

The included side could be either beans or salad. I went for salad. The beet garnish at right was a nice touch.

Splash of maroon.

The main course was colorful and mildly spiced, little or no heat. I looked around and saw no bottles of hot sauce on the tables. I suppose it was available on request, but I thought, if this is the Colombian way, I’ll go with it. I opted for plantains over fries. Sweet or green plantains, asked the server? The latter. I’m hard of hearing and he had to repeat himself a few times; the questions you don’t expect are harder to hear.

Arroz con pollo.

What delighted me most were the peas, which were clearly either fresh or dried, with pale green color, chewy texture, and lots of pea flavor, way better than frozen peas. I like the Colombian way!

It works for me.

After lunch I took a stroll in what Google Maps identified as both Hillside Cemetery and Baron Hirsch Cemetery. Perhaps they are distinct but contiguous. A grid of long avenues crisscrossed the graves.

Peaceful prospect.

Some graves were grander than others.

Here lie people with money.

While I saw some Scandinavian names among older graves on the outskirts, many showed German names alongside the Hebrew engravings: Werner, Melser, Schleider. I felt as if I were looking at fragments of a history and culture nearly erased, people who had escaped annihilation to live peacefully in Graniteville.

Or at least be buried here.

Most moving was the practice of giving top billing to the role of the deceased in life: Husband. Mother.

You are what you do.

This stone had a lifelike etching of a grandmotherly figure.

Sofya must have been loved.

This one was just Filler. OK, I’m joking about the dead.

They don’t mind.

My trip home was on the Spirit of America. Nine months of making these trips and I hadn’t been on this ferry! It joined the Michael H. Ollis, the Dorothy Day, the Guy V. Molinari, and the John J. Marchi in my affections (and I still haven’t been on the Sandy Ground, named for a historic African American community in Rossville). I thought about the subtleties of granite, the graves of German Jews, the new generation of talented and community-conscious kids outside the venerable school building, and the pleasures of arroz con pollo. Some things are fleeting, others permanent, others both at the same time. Looking forward to lunch in Port Richmond.

The Spirit of America.

Previously on the Staten Island Restaurant Tour:

Part I: Angelina’s (Tottenville)

Part II: Fina’s Farmhouse (Arthur Kill)

Part III: Laila (Richmond Valley)

Part IV: Il Forno (Pleasant Plains)

Part V: Breaking Bread (Prince’s Bay)

Part VI: Woodrow Diner (Huguenot)

Part VII: Il Sogno (Annadale)

Part VIII: Riva (Eltingville)

Part IX: Marina Cafe (Great Kills)

Part X: Do Eat (Bay Terrace)

Part XI: Canlon’s (Oakwood Heights)

Part XII: Prince Tea House (New Dorp)

Part XIII: Inca’s Peruvian Grille (Grant City)

Part XIV: Colonnade Diner (Jefferson Avenue)

Part XV: Baci (Dongan Hills)

Part XVI: Chinar on the Island (Old Town)

Part XVII: Cinco de Mayo (Grasmere)

Part XVIII: Phil-Am Kusina (Clifton)

Part XIX: Lakruwana (Stapleton)

Part XX: Pier 76 (Tompkinsville)

Part XXI: Chang Noi Thai (St. George)

Part XXII: Mike’s Unicorn Diner (Bulls Head)

Part XXIII: Melt Shop (New Springville)

Part XXIV: Da Noi (Travis)

Part XXV: Big Nose Kate’s Saloon (Rossville)

Part XXVI: The Manor (Manor Heights)

Part XXVII: Luk & Bart Homemade Food (Mariners Harbor)

If you’re enjoying the Staten Island Restaurant Tour, please follow my blog by clicking follow next to my name at the top. Then subscribe to get emails on new episodes. You can also subscribe to the SIRT channel on YouTube. For offline reading, the first 21 episodes of the SIRT are available as an ebook. See you soon!