After a month of campus buzz about Culture Shock, a new restaurant on South Cayuga Street, I finally ventured downtown to check it out. My expectations were tepid at best. After a semester in Paris and a slew of gustatory adventures, I assumed the café couldn’t live up to its name.
But when I ducked into the neon-lit doorway on a rainy Friday night, I couldn’t think of a better phrase to describe my reaction. I saw no tables and chairs, only a hodgepodge of plush velvet couches, rickety barstools, and various other pieces of furniture. Adults, college students, and children played with an assortment of toys and games as a band began warming up onstage. One corner held a children’s ball pit, like you’d find in a Chuck E. Cheese’s.
It took me a moment to get my bearings and confirm that I was not in fact at a very cool five-year-old’s birthday party. I turned to my right to find a full bar, where a mustached bartender held court.
Culture Shock specializes in organic, local, gluten-free foods. The bar serves cocktails made with kombucha, a bubbly live-cultured beverage that’s believed to improve digestion, strengthen the immune system, and increase metabolism. You can order a variety of salads and other seasonal dishes, as well as an array of gluten-free, dairy-free, organic baked goods.
Despite these tantalizing options, I headed straight for the frozen yogurt counter; Culture Shock offers tasty gourmet fro-yo in both dairy and vegan varieties. I also grabbed a glass of kombucha, which tasted sweet and biting, and settled in to enjoy the band.
An hour later, I wandered back out into the rainy street in a daze. The loud music, flashing lights, and (frankly, bewildering) variety of food, drinks, and entertainment, made me feel like I’d returned from a foreign country. Culture Shock had managed to shock me after all.
— Amanda First ’12