The Campus Epicurean: March 23 - 29

Welcome to another edition of the Campus Epicurean!  Spring Break has ended.  CMCers have returned to campus, some rejuvenated by the break, some worn out from a week of partying, others happy to return from Mexico alive.  As everybody gets back into the swing of things, everything old is new again.  Spring is in the air.  To quote The Zombies, "It's the time of the season for loving." Alas, the dining hall menus remain the same.  Students who have gotten used to home-cooked meals are in for a rude reawakening, but those who had to pay for their food over the break will welcome the return of free (or at least pre-paid) food. Before we turn to the menus for the week, here is a way to add some variety to your dining hall experience:

Mixed Drinks, Dining Hall Style

Spring Break has ended, so you can no longer sit on a Mexican beach sipping on a pina colada and be lulled to sleep by the soothing sound of gunshots, but your beverage at Collins doesn't have to be a complete bore.  While most diners eventually tire of Orange Passionfruit Guava juice, the combinations you can make on your own are virtually endless.  For example:

Cran-Orange Juice: Fill your cup with half cranberry juice and half orange juice.

Arnold Palmer: Half lemonade, half iced tea.

Tart Orange:  Two parts orange juice, one part lemonade.

These are just examples, experiment yourself to find your favorite combinations.  Now onto the weekly menus:

Monday

Discerning diners can choose between Mudd, Scripps and Frary tonight.  Frary has its Individual Pizzas on Mondays.  Scripps is offering a Caesar Salad Bar at the expo with a Crispy BLT Chicken Sandwich at the Grill and Chicken Noodle Soup at the soup station.  Mudd has its normal Muddgolian BBQ as well as a Nacho Bar.

Tuesday

Saunter on over to Collins tonight for a Southwest Chicken Wrap or a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich or Crepe Expectations - Cherry & Apple. Unfortunately for CMCers, Collins crepes are nowhere near as good as Mudd's.  Before the break when I went to go get crepes on a Tuesday night, I watched the serving guy rip three out of the four crepes he gave me an the other person in line.  Furthermore, he put so much filling on the crepe pancakes that I had to dig with my fork and knife for a few seconds to find them. While warming the final crepe he gave me, he realized that spraying the pan with PAM might be a good idea. Unfortunately, this seemed to be more easily said than done.  Rather than spray the pan and then place the crepe on the non-sticky pan, he put the crepe into the pan and sprayed the crepe.  While this might have worked to keep the crepe from sticking if he had flipped over the crepe, he just put the crepe on my plate after a few seconds and buried it in filling.

I continue to recommend Collins because the other stuff they serve on Tuesdays is good and because I still hope that Collins can shape up and finally figure out how to serve crepes.  Unfortunately, it isn't looking like this will happen anytime soon.

If you too are tired of botched crepes, try Scripps where there will be Cheese Tortellini and Breadsticks at the Expo and Lamb Tikka Masala in the main line.

Wednesday

Tonight is Collins sushi night!  Grab a pair of chopsticks and enjoy.

Thursday

Head up to Scripps tonight for Red Curry Stir Fry Pork at the Expo, a Sky Ranch Chicken Flatbread Sandwich at the grill and Pesto Chicken Breasts in the main line.

Friday

It's Cesar Chavez Day! Celebrate in style at Mudd with Individual Pizza's Made to Order, Carne Asada Tacos and Clam Chowder.

You can also get sushi at Scripps.

Saturday

Tonight Scripps is not only offering its weekly steak cooked to order night, but also serving Chicken, Chipotle & Cheese Quesadillas. Scripps is worth braving the lines for tonight.

Sunday

Ah, Sunday, isn't it strange that what is supposed to be a day of rest for many people is spent frantically working on papers and homework?  Collins essentially takes Sundays off, so try braving the lines at Mudd for Steak Made to Order (make sure to get there early) or you can head to Pitzer for pre-cooked steak and Pitzer's generally high-quality food.

That is all for this week.  Thank you for reading!