Article By: John Holsenback, Contributing Writer, Photos by Chandler Pittman

In our contemporary American ethos of dining out, it is a rarity to find a restaurant that meets all the criteria we are looking for. We want the cuisine to be served quickly, to be healthy as well as taste good, and we want it to be fairly priced. It is not a stretch to consider that most students at our university have limited time and resources. So, when an opportunity to share a situation that meets all three of our dining criteria presents itself, I have an obligation to share it with my classmates. I present The Jerusalem Café to the student body for review. Located at 5817 Old Shell Road, adjacent to campus. I will present my findings to you via the Good, Fast, & Cheap Triangle so that you may make your own decisions on how to spend your time and resources in culinary pursuits. 

I have found the Good, Fast, & Cheap Triangle to be very helpful when choosing where to eat with my family, as cooking at home every night while maintaining a job and a full course load just isn’t feasible. 

The idea behind the triangle is that the three criteria for eating out cannot be achieved at the same time. You can have two of the criteria at most at once. That is, you can have your food good and cheap, but it won’t be fast; you can have it good and fast, but it won’t be cheap; fast and cheap, but it won’t be good, etc. Considering the triangle, let’s take a look at the Jerusalem Café. 

What does good mean to us as consumers? To me, it means quality. The Jerusalem Café offers a Mediterranean-style menu. It serves food from all over the Mediterranean, not just the standard fare stereotyped by Greek establishments. The menu has a strong focus on quality, locally sourced ingredients, with healthy considerations. Much of the menu is diabetic and heart-friendly and has no fried options. Grilling and searing are the main methods of preparation, and traditional dish-specific spices are used in place of salt and sugar. The owner does not purchase from Sysco, which is a positive as far as quality is concerned, and has a strong health code score of 97. The Jerusalem Café has won awards for both its vegan and vegetarian menus.

Food preparation and service in a timely manner is the second arm of the triangle. When we ate at the café, we were seated, served, and presented with the bill within thirty minutes of walking in the door. We had Turkish coffee before our meal and ordered from the lunch menu. When compared with dining in at fast food chains, the time spent is similar. There is plenty of parking, and the lot is easily accessible. 

The third constituent of the triangle is termed to be cheap, but I consider it to be value. The cost of the food is on par with a combo meal from any fast-food chain or sandwich shop. The option to eat clean and healthy food for the same price as garbage food exhibits the charitable mindset of the owner. The prices reflect the concept of revenue and community responsibility in terms of student health and assets. In my opinion, the Jerusalem Café is an extremely rare occurrence of all the conditions in the Good, Fast, Cheap Triangle being met.  

The Jerusalem Café offers several student-friendly options that I consider to be relevant to student life. The restaurant accepts cash and cards for payment, which is helpful as campus is card only. There is a 10% student discount applied when showing your student ID. Catering is available, as well as DoorDash and Uber Eats. Alcohol is served at the appropriate times. The restaurant is American and locally owned. The Jerusalem Café appears to want to be part of the South Alabama community and offers healthy, delicious food in a timely manner.