Morningside Heights/Amsterdam Ave.

Morningside Heights: Appetizing on Amsterdam

Morningside Heights, home to Columbia University and other educational institutions, has a large and diverse population of students. These affordable and equally diverse restaurants along Amsterdam Avenue serve the population well.

AWASH

(212) 961-1416; 947 Amsterdam Avenue (106th Street); $; Article: 2/28/01.

Awash, a small but crowded Ethiopian spot, excels at vegetarian dishes like shiro, spiced chickpeas with chopped onions, peppers and herbs; and at kitfo, a raw beef delicacy.

BISTRO TEN 18

(212) 662-7600; 1018 Amsterdam Avenue (110th Street); $; $25 and Under: 9/19/01.

With a welcoming staff and a stone fireplace, this neighborhood restaurant often succeeds. The menu of American regional and Continental dishes offers some fine renditions of familiar dishes, like meaty crab cakes just crisp enough to hold together, and a good Cobb salad with peppers, avocado and blue cheese.

MAX SOHA

(212) 531-2221; 1274 Amsterdam Avenue (123rd Street); $; $25 and Under: 10/17/01.

This small, boxy restaurant is always crowded. The draw is exactly what has always attracted people to neighborhood restaurants: well-prepared food served with warmth. Max’s fresh buffalo mozzarella is superb, soft and slightly granular, tasting of nuts and salt. It goes beautifully with thin slices of prosciutto or in a classic Caprese, with sweet fresh tomatoes and basil.

NOCHE MEXICANA

(212) 662-6900; 852 Amsterdam Avenue (102nd Street); $; $25 and Under: 1/16/02.

Noche Mexicana offers a full range of tacos and other antijitos, or street snacks. The tacos are made the authentic way, with two soft corn tortillas providing a gripping surface for the fillings like pork chunks and pineapple, augmented by lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cilantro.

PANINO SPORTIVO ROMA

(212) 662-2066; 1231 Amsterdam Avenue (120th Street); $; Article: 3/31/04.

In Italy, panini and soccer go together like hot dogs and baseball. This soccer cafe, with walls painted the burgundy and orange of the Roma team, offers 58 first-rate sandwiches layered with imported cheeses and meats like prosciutto and mortadella, on lightly toasted oval rolls, often garnished with arugula, hot peppers and tomato.

TURQUOISE GRILL

(212) 865-4745; 1270 Amsterdam Avenue (122nd Street); $; Article: 2/23/05.

This Middle Eastern cafe and takeout is a branch of the takeout restaurant Turquoise on the Upper East Side. The chef, Sharif And, offers appetizers like falafel and piyaz. Entrees include shish kebabs, lamb or chicken shwarma with red rice, and hunkar begendi, grilled eggplant with ground lamb and garlic butter.

Compiled by Kris Ensminger

E-mail: eating@nytimes.com