photo // the-vine-cafe.com

I started out on South Grand Ave Friday night with a reservation at a Vietnamese restaurant, but the place had a 20-minute wait. I needed to make a movie showing, so the next option was to walk up the street to City Diner. As I walked, the luminescent neon sign served as a beacon to hungry college students everywhere: “All-You-Can-Eat.” I ended up eating at a cozy restaurant called The Vine, which serves authentic Lebanese food.

After I was seated in my window seat of silk pillows, I ordered a pot of tea infused with Cardamom, which is a delicious spice that has a nutty, spicy quality that goes well with black tea. To begin the meal, I tried a plate of their Baba Ganoush, which is similar to hummus because it has Tahini paste in it, but has a base of roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. Theirs was epic because instead of just roasting the eggplant, they also smoked it. This gave the whole spread a smoky flavor that highlighted the nutty accents of the eggplant.

My choice of main course was influenced by my visits to my sister in the Mission District in San Francisco, during which our outings always focused around the food famous in that area. We constantly gorged on a kind of Middle Eastern dish called a shawarma. Three words: Go, Shawarma, go! This Middle Eastern burrito is party in one’s mouth when one bites into it. Naturally, when I saw that The Vine had not one shawarma option, but two, I ditched the all-I-could-eat option and instead tried one of each kind of shawarma: the beef and the chicken.

The chicken shawarma was made of a thin piece of pita bread filled with succulent shredded chicken, different Lebanese pickles, tomatoes and a garlic sauce. Since I have an epic love affair with garlic, this creamy, tangy sauce overflowing with the flavor of fresh, as well as roasted garlic, brought our relationship to an even deeper level. The beef shawarma was as amazing as it was different from the chicken, which was nice because it is easy to have too much of the same thing. The beef shawarma was made of the same pita bread as the chicken shawarma on the outside, but the innards were completely different. The beef was perfectly tender and flavored by a marinade that contained hints of cumin. The filling also contained Lebanese pickles, which gave it a bit of a twang, and fresh mint, which really gave the dish its kick.

The desserts here were a bit of a letdown, which was unfortunate because I definitely have a sweet tooth. I tried an assortment of different pastries from behind the counter, and all of them were dry and lack-luster. Everything had rosewater in it, but they weren’t just infused with a hint of rose like you would expect. It felt like I was gnawing on a bar of soap you would find in your grandma’s powder room.

The moral of the story is that one must always allow for spontaneity when choosing restaurants because you never really know what place you will find that will meet all of your food needs.

The Vine is located on 3171 S. Grand Ave in St. Louis, and is open from Sunday to Wednesday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, and from Thursday to Saturday from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm.The food is cheap: the shawarmas only cost $3.99 each, so no need to load your pockets with extra cash because this place is college-budget friendly.

Buffet line at the Gokul, Indian restaurant. photo // Laura Ainsworth

For some people, the question of what their favorite movie is can be almost unanswerable. For others, that question pertains to their favorite song or color. My question is “what is your favorite cuisine?” My usual answer is, whatever one I am eating at the moment. Right now my favorite cuisine is Indian food, and I have found just the place to supply that need.

The two times I have been to Gokul restaurant, I have felt both out of place and right at home. The customer base consists of locals, families and married couples all conversing in Hindi. The décor is very simple without screaming “Hey look at us; we’re Indian!” like many other restaurants do. On the wall in the far corner, a Bollywood movie is projected onto the wall. This adds a bit of music to the meal and provides a place to look if the company you are with becomes a bit dull.

The $10 vegetarian buffet makes the drive worthwhile. First of all, that is a price that any college student can afford, and the buffet style enables you to eat as much as your stomach can handle, without feeling it in your wallet. There are usually 15 or so main courses in the hot line, and my three favorites are the vegetable korma, the mutter mushroom and the Saag Paneer.

The vegetable korma is unique to Gokul because vegetables used in this dish are unlike any I have had before–one of them is pumpkin. What an awesome idea: pumpkin in a korma! Since korma is an Indian dish that has a very sweet sauce with coconut and ginger, and spices like cinnamon and turmeric, the pumpkin works well with the sweet components of the dish. Along with the korma, I recommend the Tamrind Chutney, which has a sweet and almost grape-like taste.

The Saag Paneer is a staple in Indian food, so it is easy to assume it’s generic and therefore look right past it. But at Gokul, however, they pay tribute to this classic dish and by making it just as an Indian grandmother would. The spices are perfect with the creamy spinach base and there is just enough paneer, a type of cheese that is very ricotta-like in flavor, to make the dish feel hearty and filling. It’s like creamed spinach gone exotic.

My favorite condiment in the buffet is the cilantro chutney for two reasons: the heat and the cilantro. To me, the greatest gift to mankind was the creation of herbs, because without them, food would have no flavor. Cilantro is one of those herbs that lights up my palette whenever it is present in a dish. This chutney is basically an ode to the cilantro. This sauce has a kick, so be warned if you do not enjoy heat in your meal. Luckily, a dish is improved when spice is added, so this chutney adds an extra special touch to my plate.

Place all these foods and a scoop of masala rice on a plate and sit down. Grab a piece of their freshly baked Naan bread and savor the meal. It’s Indian food at its best: frank and delicious.
Gokul is located on Page Ave. in St. Louis at 10633 Suite B. They are open seven days a week from 11 am to 9 pm and have a vegan buffet the first and third Monday of every month from 5pm to 9pm.

“We want to cater to Principia students!” said owners Ryan Baird and Sammy Da Rosa, “We are planning to stay open 24 hours a day during finals.”

With free wireless internet, it’s hard to pass up some monkey bread with Chai tea or a fresh Italian grinder sandwich with a mocha latte.  They are still developing their menu and taking suggestions for what they might offer, but the chalkboard tells the story for now. They have just posted a dinner menu listing a variety of gourmet pizzas and will also be offering hot wings, breadsticks and Caesar salad.

LaSalle offers a variety of menu options including soups, sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and pies. photo // Graham Thatcher

“We are so excited to be able to deliver pizza to the Principia College campus and Elsah area,” said Baird.  “We have already been delivering on campus with great success.  A lot of Prin folks are also excited that we are carrying Bongo Billy’s Gourmet Coffee, which is from Buena Vista, Colorado, right next to A/U Ranches!”

They spent most of the summer remodeling what used to be a bakery in the 1920s.  They stripped several layers of vinyl flooring to reveal the old wood floors beneath.  They also built wooden booths with tables that surround the small front room of the store.  The old-fashioned glass case full of baked goods catches your eye when you enter, not to mention the fresh scents of coffee and cookies wafting through the air.

“No one can imagine how much work and money we’ve spent just getting this far.”  Baird’s mother taught them how to do most of the baking. ”We couldn’t have done this without Mom,” said Baird.  “She took a month off from work in Montana to show us how to bake from scratch and make most of what we offer.  It is a lot of work but all of our customers really appreciate what we make.”

They are planning their grand opening for October 16, which is the date of the Elsah Village Book & Bake Sale.  They are located at 20 LaSalle Street, just a few blocks from the Mississippi River, and their phone number is 374-9900.  They are currently open Wednesday through Sunday from 6:00 AM until 11:00 PM, although they always seem to be there.

Ryan Bird tells a customer about LaSalle's menu and how he and Sammy De Rosa started the bakery. photo // Graham Thatcher

“We’re married to the place,” said Baird, “I’m devoted to make this place into something special – a place that students enjoy coming to study, relax or just get away from the stress of college life.  This place is my life.”

They start baking at 2:00 AM and continue throughout the day, making pizzas in the evening.  Da Rosa sleeps in all day on Mondays to catch up on rest but said, “It is a lot of work but we really love working together and making people happy.  We make everything from scratch every day.”

photo // restaurantpi.com

“When the moon hit’s your eye, like a big pizza pie, that’s amore!”

Ok, so now with that out of my system, this review is for the restaurant Pi, a pizza restaurant in St. Louis with a love for the number 3.141592…(fill in the rest of the numbers here). I went on a Saturday night around 5:30 pm, and already the wait was a good twenty minutes, with the hostess prepping other groups for the dinner rush that was about to swarm. After the twenty minutes of awkward standing in the middle of a room, the clicker vibrated and the evening commenced. My three dinner guests and I were seated in the middle of one of the two dining rooms. Our extremely perky waitress brought us our drinks, one of which was a mango iced tea that was quite refreshing and flavorful without being sweet.

Pros of the meal: the garlic bread and the salad. The garlic bread was an experience that still makes me melt into a garlic heaven on a sea of butter. See, most places bring you the bread with the garlic and cheese melted onto it already, but not Pi. They bring a platter out that has half a loaf of warm, yeasty French bread, with a small tureen of butter. On the other side of the bread is a head of garlic that has been roasted for a long time, which gives each of the cloves a sliky smooth quality. This makes it a joy to spread on the piece of bread. Whenever I eat, I use my hands a lot, which makes meals a very tactile experience for me–so the ability to make my own piece of garlic bread was joyful for me.

My mom always says I have the diet of a rabbit, and the eating capacity of a horse, which means that salads and I go together like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, Burt and Ernie. The salad I ordered was the “k squared,” which had a field greens base, shredded raw beets, goat cheese and pine nuts, surrounded by slices of Clementine, dressed with a lemon poppy seed vinaigrette. All of the ingredients combined to taste so “earthy” that you could see the plants growing on some organic farm. Beets already have a delicious “dirt” flavor to them, and with the tang of the goat cheese and the sweetness of the dressing, it tasted like a garden on a plate. Usually I am anti-fruit in my salad, but the Clementine slices provided a unique texture that complimented the other components of the salad and really contributed to the harmony of the dish.

Cons of the meal: the pizza itself. I have a theory that each person’s opinion of the “perfect” pizza is quite unique, and I can’t decide whether or not this is just one of those situations where it just wasn’t my “perfect pizza.” I split the deep-dish create your own Pi, and the toppings we chose were onions, roasted red bell peppers, fresh basil, goat cheese and roasted garlic. The deep-dish crust was cornmeal based, which gave it a unique texture and nutty flavor. However, no amount of creative baking can hide the lack of a very basic ingredient: salt. When a bread product, or any baked good for that matter, is lacking in salt, the item just becomes flat. Inside of the deep crust, the toppings were thrown in with a very smooth mozzarella cheese and baked in a pizza oven. Now for the part that confused me: the sauce. Personally, I am not a big sauce person when it comes to pizza, and a little goes a long way in my book. It felt like once the pizza was all bubbly and baked, the cook proceeded to dump a ladle full of the pizza sauce, which felt more like spaghetti sauce, onto the pizza before sending it. It was like there were two different components: the pizza itself and the sauce. Sadly, they didn’t “work.” When the crust was lacking and the sauce was confusing, it’s hard to say that it was a good pie. I give them points for using organic and local ingredients, and props for originality, but if I ever went back I’d stick with the salad.

Pi Pizzeria has four different locations, all in the St. Louis area, and are open for lunch and dinner every day. For those of you who don’t rock the dairy, their pizza can be substituted with non-dairy cheese, making the pies vegan approved! The prices aren’t cheap, so be prepared to either empty your wallet or find a generous dinner buddy.

When I was 18, I maintained my position that vegetarianism wasn’t for everyone, but I did decide it was for me. I made a commitment to stop eating meat in 2006, and I made a simultaneous commitment to never become one of those “annoying vegetarians.” I never wanted anyone to be uncomfortable or dislike me because of my diet. As a result of this type of thinking, I cringe when anyone asks me why I am a vegetarian. I give short answers. I don’t want to draw attention to the morality of what my meal partners are eating. In fact, I go above and beyond to make sure people around me are comfortable. Sometimes I purposely tell others how good their meat looks, how delightful it smells.

flickr.com

The subtext of all these comments is, “Please don’t think I think eating meat is wrong!” But, the truth is I do think eating factory-farmed meat is wrong. Actually, I am so sure of my opinion that I have permanently augmented my life’s diet. Actually, I am so sure of my opinion that I will augment my opinion from saying “I think eating meat is wrong” to saying “Eating factory-farmed meat is wrong.”

Here’s the deal: eating meat is wrong on a few levels. It is understandable if you don’t care about one or two of those levels, but unless you are a total nihilist, you probably care about at least one of these things: cruelty, environmental collapse, governmental corruption, or the deterioration of people’s general health. The U.S. meat industry is hugely guilty when it comes to all of these issues. Every single piece of factory-farmed meat we buy was treated inhumanely in some way, caused some pollution, contributed to corruption, and is by no standard natural or healthy for us to eat.

There is not a single animal on a factory farm that lives a humane life, and a huge majority of them die treacherous deaths. Environmentally speaking, it is a proven fact that meat farms produce just as much carbon monoxide (if not more) than all the transportation worldwide. The meat industry also perpetuates insane amounts of waste with its products — concerned only with profit, meat factories use the absolute shoddiest measures of disposing of their carcasses and manure —inherently leaking into the ecosystem and directly into neighboring towns’ water and air.

Why does this happen?  Because we give the meat industry so much money, and the industry uses part of that giant income to support the government. Thus, federal regulation for farms is nearly impossible, and the media is cornered into promoting meat.

As far as physical health goes, factory-farmed meat is stuffed with drugs and feces. And then we eat it.  And if you care about the mental health of others, consider the scarring experience of being forced to work at a slaughterhouse because the factory has taken over your entire town, and your family needs food to eat. Imagine waking up and slitting chickens’ necks for a full work day. Would you ever ask anyone to do that for you? Chances are, you already have. Eating factory-farmed meat IS wrong.

So, clearly, I know eating meat is wrong, and yet, I have been too cowardly to stick up for myself. If I saw one of my friends, or anyone for that matter, chucking their garbage out their window, bribing a senator, putting steroids in a child’s food, or cutting a dog’s face open, I would scream, “JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” And yet, at dinner I smile and say, “Your chicken smells so good.” So, here’s my resolution after four years of polite vegetarianism: No more Mr. Nice Guy. But, you say, we need protein! Well, there are lots of ways to get protein. Even for a powerful athlete, protein can be easily gathered through nuts, beans, and vegetables. It is scientifically proven. Look it up. But, you say, it’s hard for some people to give up the ease of meat! Yeah, and slavery made fieldwork a picnic, but we thank God for those brave folks who learned to live without it! We thank God for those who told others to think about their actions.

With this new resolution under my belt, I am in a tight space. Of course I always hate the sin and not the sinner. Just because someone I love continues to eat meat does not mean I will hate them or constantly guilt them. It just means I will make sure he or she knows exactly what they are doing with their money, knowledge, and support. I still remain non-judgmental of meat-eaters, but I refuse to let information go unsaid anymore. I hope whatever you find passion in, dear reader, you fight for it — maybe you already do. Society commends you for that courage.  That said, when others are passionate about something, like my passion for winning power away from the U.S. factory farm, think about changing your ways!

My sister is a veggie, but my parents are not. I know they love me, and they want to value what I value, but vegetarianism just isn’t for them. This year for my birthday, I told them all I wanted was a promise that they would be meat-free for a month. They are in the middle of the process and finding that maybe veggie-life isn’t as hard as it had once looked. I have come to realize that people might not care about your causes (because everyone has his or her own worries), but they might care about you, and through that you can promote change that our world so needs.

If you have just read this article, and you want to lessen the meat in your diet, do I have a treat for you! Over the years, I have created a menu of my very own veggie meal creations all made quickly and easily in the Scramble Room. I now share my ten favorites with you:

Alice’s Alternate Scramble Room Veggie Menu

-Veggie Cheesy Pasta: get plain pasta and add cheese, broccoli, and fake bacon bits from the salad bar. For vegans: trade cheese with lemon juice.

-Fruit Torte Quesadilla: spread strawberry cream cheese on a tortilla and add chopped fruit (banana, orange, kiwi — whatever is available). Put another tortilla on top and Panini to perfection. For vegans: substitute cream cheese with honey.

-Banana Burrito: spread peanut butter on a tortilla. Place sliced banana and chocolate chips on top. Drizzle on honey and wrap it up.

-Pita Pizza: grab some mozzarella from the salad bar, meatless sauce from the pasta bar, and spread on a warm pita.

-Protein-Packed Potato: when sweet potatoes are served, mash one up with black beans and cinnamon sugar. If desired, enjoy with sour cream.

-Ants on a Log: travel back to kindergarten with peanut butter spread on celery and raisins on top.

-Stir-Fry: get rice from the pasta bar and gather up any veggies from the salad bar. Microwave veggies and add to rice with soy sauce (always available near the check-out line).

-Bean Burrito: tortilla, black or pinto beans, cheese, and salsa.

-Tea-Time Sandwich: bagel with cream cheese and cucumber, tomato, and lettuce.

-Go-Pita: when you’re on-the-go, grab a pita, cut in half, pour in yogurt and a soft cereal like Special K. Munch and walk.

Bon appétit!

*All general facts about the meat industry can be found from hundreds of sources, but I got mine in particular from Jonathan Safron Foer’s book Eating Animals.

LOCAL FARM BENEFITS FROM PRINCIPIA INTERNS: Three Rivers Community Farm, located in Elsah, has been helping Principia students better understand organic farming, while interns spend time with one of the farm’s owner, Amy Cloud. (L-R) Senior Janet Irvine getting ready to eat a freshly picked radish. / The group of interns tour the farm’s greenhouse. / Sophomore Lulu Mosman fertilizes field greens with organic fish emulsion. photos / Benjamin Chernivsky

Twice a week, senior Molly Hayes, junior Jenn Odell, sophomore Lulu Mosman, and freshman Emma Lowenberg venture into Elsah, where they learn about organic agriculture as interns on the Three Rivers Community Farm. Dirty knees and dusty pants are hallmarks of their work.

On any given farm day, these students can be seen weeding, mowing, planting seedlings or seeds, or doing anything else that the farm needs that day.

Farmer Amy Cloud runs the Three Rivers Community Farm with her husband Segue Lara. Started in 2006, this organic operation rests uphill from Elsah proper, just off of Chautauqua Road. Cloud and Lara live with their eight-month-old son Diego on this small-scale, chemical-free operation, which is a form of community-supported agriculture (CSA) that is located just a couple minutes from the Principia campus.

Lowenberg loved the opportunity to jump right into work. “Amy started us out right away, and we were weeding on the first day,” she said.

Mosman applied for the internship, inspired by author Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which records the Kingsolver family’s year of eating only locally or homegrown food. “I love the local aspect of organic farming,” said Mosman. “Farming and gardening takes skill and a little bit of knowledge, but once you figure it out, it’s easy, fun, and active.” As for weeding, Mosman does not see the task as a chore. “I look at it as ‘eradicating evil from the soil,’” she said.

Tractor training is an essential skill that interns need to acquire. The machine is an intern favorite; the dated tractor from ’73 sports a bright orange mower, which jostles as its blades whir over the pasture. “It’s crotchety and has a lot of personality,” said Lowenberg.

Mosman said she has loved her internship and has learned much about sustainable agriculture. “It’s a lot of work, but we’re making it more productive for [Amy and Segue],” said Mosman, “I love the idea of fresh food without pesticides, fresh from the earth. I love supporting small businesses. I mean, this is their passion.”

Cloud said she thinks internships are great opportunities that provide personal knowledge about a particular line of work. After all, internships helped steer her away from a Windy City desk job back to life on the farm.

As a senior in college, organic farmer Amy Cloud completed a publishing internship in Chicago as a Literature major. “After high school, I didn’t want anything to do with farming,” Cloud said. Having grown up on a corn, soybean, and dairy farm in Michigan, she had witnessed first-hand the struggle to make ends meet. But the noisy, crowded, big city environment of Chicago did not suit her. “It was not my cup of tea,” she said. “I was living downtown, and I felt out of place.”

After meeting a farmer in Kentucky who was using sustainable methods, and after interning on an organic farm, Cloud knew right away that she had found her passion. After first leasing land from Principia in 2006, Cloud found a way to make her passion profitable in the village of Elsah. “I love the direct relationship with the community,” Cloud said. “I love the small scale.”

In addition to biweekly visits to the farm, the internships contain academic components. The intern group meets weekly with Biology professor Mike Rechlin over lunch to discuss readings from Michael Pollan’s book Omnivore’s Dilemma, which examines the American food industry. “Reading the book goes hand-in-hand with what we’re doing,” said Hayes. “Being out on the farm, seeing how everything grows, and how we have an impact.”

Interns will also complete an individual project which allows them to examine in depth a particular facet of organic farming. Mosman brightened as she explained her topic of choice: heirloom vegetable varieties: “They come in all different colors, varieties, flavors. They’re better for the soil, because they use different nutrients than conventional varieties do.”

Hayes is exploring how a farmer could actually start and establish their own organic farm. After graduation, Hayes is thinking about starting her own farm back home in Montana. “People have lost that connection to supply for themselves,” said Hayes. “To be given those tools and know how to use them in the future is a unique opportunity.”

Mosman agreed, and said she appreciates this understanding. “They’re teaching us to be self-sufficient, because we’re not shipping things from a long way away,” Mosman said. “It’s a responsibility, but not a weighty responsibility.”

The Principia interns work part-time alongside two full-time interns, Liberty Hunter and Leslie Touzeau, who previously interned at another organic farm in Kansas City. Touzeau said people need to change their perception about farming. “People think farming is an uneducated, blue-collar job, but that’s a misconception. Actually, a lot of strategy and planning goes into farming,” said Touzeau. “Education doesn’t matter. All it takes is awareness and appreciation.”

Hunter agreed, saying that understanding that vegetables actually come from nature and not the supermarket is a big first step. “People need to know real vegetables are not perfect,” she said.

These internships provide an opportunity to learn as well as volunteer, and Cloud gladly takes volunteers who want to help at the farm. Cloud loves the student involvement, and said she hopes that by participating at the farm, students come away knowing how to care for their own garden. “Our internship is a hands-on learning experience,” Cloud said. “Best way to learn is just to get your hands dirty and do it.”

Set the Tone: Assume the serious voice that is commonly used to say “we need to talk,” and reference a sensitive issue from the recent past.

Example:  “Remember when I secretly had that poppy seed ‘energy’ bar made and I gave it to your sister right before she competed in Vancouver this past winter?  I swear I didn’t think it would work.  But that incident got me thinking…”

Reasons this is good: The voice prepares him or her for something bad, and something bad does come up — you deliberately made him or her mad or sad so your compliment could make them happy again.  You have his or her attention.

Bigger is Not Better: Only say something that you wouldn’t mind doing if you really had to.  Forget the crap you hear on the radio and in poetry.  We’ve heard the song lyric “I would walk 500 miles” — this is a bad thing to say.  The bar of love is raised too high.  If the bar is continually raised, people will become unsatisfied in life. Bus drivers would spit in your face, clocks would stop ticking, threads in clothes would fall apart, and the mullet would come back into style.  Keep the bar low to make it easier on fellow lovers, and ensure the mullet stays dead. 

Example:  “I’d give up watching those stupid infomercials that I stay up all night watching if it meant that we could make out for like twelve minutes straight with optional water breaks, not only to lubricate our lips but also to hydrate ourselves because although making out can occur while laying down, which is the typical position that one sleeps in, it is a physical activity that requires energy and when I use energy I tend to sweat, and when I sweat I get thirsty.  Therefore I’m thinking ahead about the optional water breaks.  That is assuming I give up watching those infomercials I hate.”

Reasons this is good: you would neither die nor be greatly discomforted by giving up the infomercials because you don’t even like them; you express your desire to make out, and honesty is key to a solid relationship; you show the person that you care for his or her welfare in regard to keeping his or her lips lubricated (because even if you initially only thought about whether your own lips would chap, the water break would include the other person’s lips too).

Honesty: Say something blatantly true that she cannot deny.  You are establishing trust.  Love is built on trust.

Example:  “I would rather sit in the shade with you and drink lemonade while [his or her favorite band] plays for us than mow this lawn because it is nearly 100 degrees and my skin is extremely sensitive to UV rays.  Also I’d rather not work.” 

If there is a possibility that she may not believe you because you two just had a fight or because you are a pathological liar, step up your game.  Make the alternative so terrible that it is logical for you to choose her.  Possible options for the alternative to him or her are suffering bodily dismemberment, disease, bankruptcy, public humiliation which results in the loss of your job and your pride, losing the capacity to speak at an appropriate level, having a purple cloud float over your head for an hour after you released gas, or even being disowned by your family because you didn’t finish your Thanksgiving meal.

Long, Long, Long: Everyone is their own favorite subject, so your compliment is talking about the person until even s/he is tired.

If during your compliment s/he falls asleep, you have succeeded because s/he felt so comfortable that s/he chose you to watch over them while they went unconscious and were vulnerable.  But don’t feel obligated to watch over them.  That’s not your responsibility.

If she or he tells you to stop talking, remember that you are talking about him or her, which is his or her favorite subject, and this is a empty request.  Of course s/he doesn’t want you to stop talking but s/he feels compelled to do it, just like saying thank you while being served food.  Without the food, s/he would die.  Your compliment is what keeps him or her alive.

Many future changes are a result of the Dining Services survey emailed in February to students, faculty and staff members.  The changes include serving student-grown produce from the greenhouse, adding more “grab and go” items to the dining room, and opening the much-anticipated convenience store.

The newest addition to Dining Services is the Baby Greens Program, headed by sophomore Austin Kingsbery.  Kingsbery is working to harvest salad greens in the Science Center’s greenhouse to be served to students.

The program will debut today during either lunch or dinner as a “test drive,” Kingsbery said.  The greens will be marked with a special Baby Greens logo.

Kingsbery said the program originated from conversations between Biology professor Mike Rechlin and Trey McCartt, Assistant Director of Dining Services.  Kingsbery said the issue was that the greenhouse was essentially without a purpose, and Rechlin wanted to find one.

“[It] wasn’t serving as the tool it was designed to be, so we cleaned it out a good portion,” Kingsbery said.  He used the extra space to plant the Five Star Greenhouse Lettuce Mix from local company Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

Kingsbery wrote the proposal for this program on March 12 and returned to campus a week early to begin planting.  He said that once the program gets going, students can expect fresh greenhouse lettuce every two weeks.

The next time students can expect to be served Baby Greens lettuce is in their “Sizzlin’ Salads” on May 7.

Thornton said he plans to present the survey results and his subsequent plans to the campus in an open meeting “in the very near future.”

During this presentation, Thornton will also award prizes related to completion of the survey: a Nintendo Wii for the house with the highest percentage of survey responses and two gift certificates to the College Bookstore valued at $25 and $50, awarded to randomly selected students who completed the survey.

“We highly encourage customer feedback through comments on our website and the comment board in the serving room,” said Thornton.  He explained that the survey was a way to further investigate community members’ opinions about Dining Services.

Roughly one-third of the student body completed the survey along with 56 staff members, 25 faculty members, and two administrators.  Thornton said he is waiting until the all-campus meeting to unveil the results of the survey.

He did reveal, however, that he will be implementing smaller scale changes as time goes on.  One of the main purposes for his survey, Thornton said, was to see if there was a better meal plan for students.  If there is one, students can expect the change in their meal plans to coincide with the switch to semesters.

One option for a future meal plan could be all-you-can-eat, all the time, said Thornton.  But he said he is ultimately searching for a solution that is economical and right for students.

“We want to make as many people happy as we can,” Thornton said.  One way he plans to make students happy is by opening the convenience store this quarter.

He said the tentative plan is to have a grand opening May 5.  The store will be in the old Student Government Office next to the Pub, and will undergo minor renovations before opening, Thornton explained.

Thornton said that meal cards will be accepted as payment in the convenience store.

“I want it to be an additional and true service,” Thornton said. “The goal is to make it convenient.”

Thornton has asked student government to make a list of items to keep in stock.  He said the store will carry drinks, snacks and refrigerated items that can be heated in the store or taken back to houses.  Bulk items such as gallons of milk and cartons of eggs will also be available as well as fresh produce.

While the store’s hours have yet to be nailed down, Thornton said the store will be staffed by students and that Dining Services will try to keep it open during hours that other food options are not available.

This week I ventured into a town called Edwardsville to try out the food at Sacred Grounds Café. Located in the downtown area, this cozy neighborhood joint has a weekend brunch special that changes each weekend based on the chef’s desires. Upon entering the building, I noticed that the brick walls gave the room a warm, red-hued feel, and every table was filled with happy people drinking coffee and enjoying the morning. When I reached the counter and was deciding what to order, my experience was soured a bit by the pretentious cashier. Instead of helping me out as an obvious newcomer, the cashier basically gave me a metaphorical eye roll. I felt snubbed and small, yet I was still able to order a cappuccino, a piece of the weekend’s special quiche, and a banana walnut waffle. 

After waiting for a family of five to finish up and buckle the tots into their strollers, I sat down and waited for my food. First came my hot soy cappuccino in a white cup and saucer. It was not the best cappuccino I have ever had, but since it was coffee and it was hot, there is not too much to complain about there. Looking back, the drink was a hint of what I should have expected for the rest of the meal. The quiche was light and egg-y, filled with red bell peppers, corn and basil, on a whole wheat crust. Yet again, it was good, but not the best I have ever had. Personally, I felt like the quiche was lacking the “oomph” that makes food exciting for me. The best part was the crispy and flavorful pear on the side.

Sadly, the banana nut waffle was even more of a letdown. The waffle was visually appealing, steaming with a pitcher full of silky maple syrup on a blue and white china plate. But once I bit into it my taste buds screamed that something was not right. In the world of taste, to make something sweet, you need salt, to make something savory, you need a sour, almost spicy element to make it pop. Pretty simple logic, right? This waffle didn’t seem to understand; it tasted like there was not a pinch of salt in the batter. The waffle was bland, pretty wimpy on the bananas, and needed massive amounts of syrup to add flavor. I went so far as to grab a salt shaker just to try and salvage the meal. I feel like the chefs must know what they are doing based on the number of customers I saw. I hope this batch of waffles was more a fluke than anything else. 

Looking around at the tables next to me, I caught a glimpse of a gorgeous breakfast burrito filled with some yummy looking ingredients. After asking, I learned it was filled with eggs, beans, pieces of butternut squash, and a bunch of spices. The items in the bakery counter also looked appetizing, and once I glimpsed the lunch menu hidden behind the breakfast chalkboard, a couple of items really caught my eye. So, although my first experience at Sacred Grounds Café was less than thrilling, I am willing to give the place a second chance. Sacred Grounds Café is located at 233 N. Main St, Edwardsville, IL 62025 and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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Hungry diners enjoy a meal at Duff’s restaurant.

Duff’s has two separate dining rooms and a banquet hall in the back. The first dining room, where I was seated, has wood-covered walls, a cozy fireplace, and a floor-length window with stained glass, which made for excellent ambiance.

After being seated and looking over the menu, I realized that Duff’s has a special fixed-price option, so that for $25, you can order an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. This seemed to be a bargain for someone looking for a good meal at a low price. I tried two appetizers: the bruschetta and a pate served in a “country” French style with mustard, an onion jam, and pickles.

Pate isn’t a delicacy I order too often, so it was a treat to have this smooth liver spread on a piece of baguette topped with spicy mustard and sweet onion jam. It was a perfect bite, although I’m not sure if it was an authentic French culinary experience.

The bruschetta reminded me of a dish I enjoy at home, with onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant cooked in olive oil and lemon, covering a piece of bread with a walnut oil-based lemon sauce. It was so good, I decided to throw the etiquette book out the window, and used my finger to lick the last of the sauce off the plate.

For an entrée, I enjoyed the lamb (medium-rare, of course) with a lemon cream sauce and potatoes au gratin. It’s very rare for me to order red meat of any kind, so this lamb was a treat as well. It was cooked perfectly, and tasted just like lamb should: gamey and tender. The juniper berries in the sauce worked beautifully with the meat. With the acidic smoothness of the sauce, each bite of the dish was amazing. The potatoes were nothing to write home about though, and one sad piece of broccoli was the only thing left on the plate. The other entrée I tried was the smoked salmon quiche with a mixed green salad. The flavor of smoked salmon isn’t always my favorite, but wrapped in the pillow of egg and crust, it was light and pleasant. The salad was a simple field green with lemon vinaigrette and capers on top, which gave it a salty twist.

For dessert, I tried the apple walnut bread pudding with a caramel liqueur sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I love bread pudding, and the gooey bread and sugary caramel sauce lived up to my expectations. The other dessert I tried was the hazelnut chocolate torte with coffee ice cream. The torte was heated, which initially caught me off guard, and had a delicious orange flavor that took this simple dessert to the next level.

The restaurant has great décor and feels like a local favorite in the Central West End, and the fixed price menu is a great option for the financially sensitive student. Duff’s is located on 392 N. Euclid Ave, and is open for brunch, lunch, and dinner.

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