Karamba Cafe
185 Main St
White Plains, NY 10601(Map it!)
Attendees: Pat, Jeffrey, Sylvia
What I Had: Bacon and American Cheese Omelette, coffee, bites of fried plantains
What It Cost: 8-10 bucks
Worth It: Sure
The Rating: 3/5
The Details: I don’t have very much to say about Karamba Cafe. The best thing I ate was the fried plantain, which I stole off Sylvia’s plate. It was not seasoned in any way, but it’s a delicious product. Everything else–from the service to the decor to the food–was mediocre, but came at a reasonable price. They offer standard diner fare, plus some Caribbean options whose authenticity I cannot verify. I would recommend a quick, cheap breakfast here over anywhere else we ate in White Plains, and of the cheaper places we’ve been, only The Patio is better.
The Bottom Line: Adequate Choice for a workman-like, inexpensive breakfast
These small meetings are nice. It’s a good way to catch up in a more intimate setting. On the other hand, these small meetings are horrid. You’re forced to catch up. But on to the food!
So, Karamba Cafe is a peculiar place. I’d call it an upscale hole in the wall. Not a lot of people know about it other than the Latin population and the local White Plains workers. That’s how we ended up here. Sylvia works next door in one of the big office buildings. Who knows what she does there. I’m sure she doesn’t even know.
Am I still not talking about the food? I’m sorry. I get distracted. So what did I have to eat? Well I had the same as Sylvia. If you want the name, go to her post. All I know is that it was scrambled eggs with fried salami, fried cheese all over some sort of goopy plantain porridge that Sylvia was dying to have. My thoughts on it were different. I thought the meal was just a plate of various grease items on a bed of what I can only assume is what plantains vomit. It was filling, I guess. I also had some sort of tamarind juice drink which was overly sweet and left a weird after taste. I also ordered a plate of homefries. The plate came out with french fries. I was upset.
My upsetness aside, the food was cheap, in price and quality. There must be a better alternative that’s just as good to your wallet in White Plains.
I work just one block away from Karamba Cafe, and I quite enjoy the lunch specials they have. You literally get a huge plateful of very delicious Latin American food for $7. So, I was excited to come here for breakfast.
Besides the usual diner fare available, they also offered a dish called Mangu. What is Mangu? According to Wikipedia, it is typically found in the Dominican Republic, and consists of basically boiled, mashed plaintains. Many different cultures have a similar stick to your ribs starchy staple. In Hawaii, it’s poi; in China, rice; elsewhere it can be beans or potatoes. In the Dominican Republic, it’s plantains. I had to try this.
I went in whole hog and got Mangu with one scrambled egg, fried salami, and fried cheese (Mangu con huevo, salami y queso frito). Also with a side of fried sweet plaintains (Maduros), well, because I really like them. To go with all this food, I had a cafe con leche (regular American coffee is also available).
It was definitely hearty. I actually quite enjoyed the Mangu, and paired with a little of the vinegared onion, egg, salami, and cheese, it was pretty delicious. I could have finished off my plate if it weren’t for the fried sweet plaintains (which were also delicious). At the end of that meal, I was satiated, but not overwhelmingly full.
The czar says: a good place to go for something a little out of the ordinary, with enough choices available to satiate the non-adventurous eaters in your party. Try it!