Grad School Cafe provides fire safety education: A Foodie Review

Danny Schlink, owner of Grad School Cafe, delivers the Rasta Pasta with a smile that says, "this is going to light your a** up."

In seven words the look on Danny Schlink’s face grew from the focused work grin to pure glee. “As hot as you can make it,” I said while ordering the famous Rasta Pasta at Grad School Café. His eyes lit up and in the middle of a lunch rush which was a great foreshadow of what was to come. Grad School sits in the original Rasta Grill location – 434 S Jefferson – with a familiar laid back vibe. Schlink, owner, says the focus is tasty Caribbean-style grub with great service. “We want the food to be perfect every time,“ Schlink says, “and you’re cup to always be full.”

The patrons become regulars and often arrive early, eagerly lining up to grab an order of wings or one of their signature pastas. “We were closed over Christmas weekend, and people were mad,” Lucas, employee, laughs. Schlink was damn-near giggly when he placed the piping-hot mound of noodles and jerk chicken. The sauce looked hot, it smelled hot, hell, there were stripes of Sriracha – a fiery chili sauce – on the edge of the plate I would use to cool down. Not all of the dishes are hot – you can get any dish at any temperature – but this “as hot as you can make it” pasta made the areas under my eyes sweat just two bites in – and those two nibbles were nearly-naked noodles which had been barely touched by drops of sauce.

TAG's Scott Perket devours a Cezna

The TAG team started the lunch session with a couple piles of the Cezna wings, Scott Perket’s favorite in town. The Sezna wings are a mix of a couple different custom sauces – the house and the Micah, and the flavor is amazing. The Cezna and Adobe’s Pterodactyl wing are the two best in the city. Had we been familiar with the Sezna, Grad School likely would have fared better in our Top 5 wing spots in SGF – it’s a poll we will revisit soon.

The best spot in the house, is at the bar, to belly up with the staff.

Grad School’s tab normally ends up in the $8-15 range per person, but that cost is normally spread over two meals. With generous servings, there is normally something to take home. The décor combines bright Caribbean colors with touches of graffiti. In the main area is bar-front seating with a view of the cooks and flat-top grill. A few booths line the opposite wall, with additional seating in the back. You’re likely to hear non-Top 40 hip hop, reggae or local jams, pretty much whatever the staff wants to hear. If you catch Grad School after a rush, sit at the bar and talk to the staff. You can’t order anything that won’t be tasty, but be forewarned that when you say “hot”, you’ll need to quickly lose your jacket. “As hot as you can make it” means you’ll be wishing public indecency laws included amendments for running around naked when “it’s just too hot!”