“America’s already very accustomed to Chinese and Japanese food, so it’s time to bring in bolder flavors,” Tila said in the Los Angeles Times, “Indian flavors, Singaporean flavors, and of course, Thai – I think Thai has been misrepresented. I’m trying to bring it back to what it’s supposed to be.”

In this spirit, Tila has prepared the following menu: Vietnamese pork sandwiches, an Asian noodle bar containing vegetarian, chicken and beef  and stir fry, and wild salmon entrées at the Exhibition station.

But delicious  food is not Star Chef Night’s only attraction. Bon Appétit will also be raffling off a weekend for two at Las Vegas’ Encore Hotel along with dinner at Wazuzu. Raffle tickets will be sold following the dinner (around 7 pm) so plan on attending if you want to enter your name in the raffle. If this didn’t whet your appetite, check out Tila in action below.

At first, the inconvenience was limited to water faucets that barely dispense water at the Athenaeum, Collins, or Claremont Hall. Equipped with motion sensors or touchpads,  these faucets do not dispense enough water to wash their hands for the medically approved 15-20 seconds. This was an annoyance during the school year, but with the much publicized H1N1 virus, it is a public health threat. (I doubt the lost productivity of sickness of students and faculty was factored into the cost-savings.) Unfortunately, this is just one of the many ways in which “sustainability” ruins life on campus.

Contrary to what many of its supporters — among whom I include some members of the Board of Trustees — claim, I find little evidence that its version of sustainability actually saves costs. The most egregious instance of this occurred last year. In the name of sustainability, the school spent between $3100-$3900 each on four solar-powered trash cans. Was this a sustainable purchase? Now that the trashcans have been put in the shade, as if to add insult to injury, they can’t even power their own operation. (Humorously, a representative of Big Belly Solar informs me that the photovoltaic cells used to compact cans will be be a “revenue” stream – which means that it would take 70,000 cans to pay for just one machine, at $3500. I hope we don’t drink that much.)

Along those lines, do the many empty parking spots that remain unused in our parking lots serve our community as well as allowing some freshmen, somewhere to have access to their own vehicles? But Dean Huang, in an email to me, admitted that part of the reason freshmen were banned from having cars on campus was “environmental” and to wait until the college’s master plan was released. Now that it has been, we see that the stated mission of “sustainability” may even harm the environment. In a school with limited funds, why build parking lots that you aren’t going to operate at capacity?

Last Friday night at around 3 AM, I counted twenty empty spots in the South quad lot. Why didn’t the college try to strike some kind of deal with Scripps College, which has a mostly vacant parking lot just a block from our campus? Surely Scrippsies benefit from the parties we throw and would benefit from the money that freshman CMCers would-be drivers would provide. Scripps endowment fell between a quarter and a third last year. Are we really to believe that they wouldn’t sell parking spots?  Even worse, these allegedly “sustainable” policies have unintended and harmful consequences. By curtailing freshmen driving, the colleges make drinking that much more attractive. You don’t need to be an econ. major to understand that the college has changed the price of a night on the town. Instead of driving into LA with fellow freshmen for a night on the town, it’s much easier to buy some booze from a willing upperclassmen and wind up making some poor decisions.

Decisions — there’s that word again. Part of being out on your own and away from your parents is newfound freedom and responsibility. For the most part, you can choose what classes to take, when to eat, whom to sleep with, what clubs to join, and who you want to be. In fact, the college seems to promote more libertine policies — multiple days for free sexual disease testings, free condoms, and a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on alcohol. But part of those choices is whether or not you want to live a supposedly sustainable lifestyle. You’re supposed to be able to choose. From compelling students to install poorly illuminating light bulbs that make it difficult to read and do homework to now monitoring what its students eat, however, the college is overstepping its bounds.

Because a few students have wasted food, the Claremont colleges have decided that we are not responsible enough to decide what to eat. But if the colleges were really insistent that Claremont students waste food, why not allow them to self-police, as other colleges have done? The school could even set targets for the students to reduce their waste, if it were so inclined. Instead, they have undemocratically decided that Claremont students — among whom are some of the smartest students in America — must be treated as animals, incapable of choosing the portions and amount of their own food. As children we learn what to put into our bodies, but as college students, we apparently have lost that most elementary of lessons. While the college used to sell itself on the conversations students had over dinner and on the lessons they learned from each other in the dining room, one wonders how wise a policy it is that makes community that much less enjoyable. Never you mind the fact that eating disorders are apparently a real problem from young women — or so, at least, we are told at freshman orientation.

Worse yet, now that the college has done away with trays, it has simply makes life harder for the already overworked dining hall staff, whose pay has been frozen and whose hours have been artificially elongated by the extra cleaning they must do. The food that once fell onto trays now falls on the floor, on the table, and on chairs and must be washed. According to some of the dining hall women I interviewed at three of the dining halls, they spend an average additional 30 minutes each day cleaning the floors.

Pitzer and Claremont McKenna College have now offered a “reusable” container. The Claremont Portside and the Forum reported that the containers will be purchased by our Dean of Students, Dean Huang, for an untold sum of money. Now it appears as if Collins will be providing these containers gratis to each student on a meal plan. But this raises more questions than it answers: If the school — or Collins– is going to go to the effort of buying a whole bunch of takeout containers, why can’t they spare $1.75 for each student to have their own tray, weigh the remaining food refuse, and then charge the students who waste the food more? Remember, the supposedly environmentally friendly containers at the other colleges cost between $3 and $6. This cast doubts on the supposed savings that trayless dining is supposed to bring. Anyone who has worked as a dishwasher knows that it is a lot easier to wash a flat tray than a weirdly shaped takeout container. So not only will the college have to pay the initial costs of purchasing these containers, the perpetual costs of their cleaning will have to be sustained as well. How sustainable.

But “sustainability” was never really about the environment, after all. It’s about signaling. Gann signals to the Board of Trustees that she’s reducing costs and to the campus what values she thinks we ought to be promoting.

And the rest of the campus signals its apathy by going on its merry way.

Instituting snack on Friday and Saturday is important because it would help reduce the severity and number of alcohol-related incidents.  Thursday night snack already confers many of these benefits due to the popularity of TNC, which is why snack should be extended to the other two big drinking nights on campus.  Eating food, especially high protein foods, slows the absorption of alcohol into the body and thereby reduces the likelihood of people becoming intoxicated beyond their limit.  Drinking non-alcoholic liquids, particularly water or sports drinks, is an effective method to prevent hangovers.

Additionally, the institution of snack may slightly slow the rate of alcohol consumption, which can help prevent alcohol poisoning.  Certainly, people determined to continue drinking will sneak in alcohol or avoid snack altogether.  Nonetheless, many people interested in food, will avoid the hassle of smuggling in alcohol and stop drinking for at least the duration of their time in the dining hall.  Having snack on Friday/Saturday may also possibly reduce the frequency of drunk driving.  Yes, drunk people can currently always go to the Hub, Coop, or Mudd Hole instead of driving, but another option would make drunk driving in search of food even less rational, particularly when snack is “free.”  For the more sober-minded, snack on Friday and Saturday would provide another social opportunity for people who want to socialize at an event not dominated by the mutual consumption of alcohol (yes, these people do exist on campus).

Even if you think the public health benefits of Friday/Saturday snack are overstated, at the very least, people who are drinking would greatly appreciate convenient, “free” food and drinks.  In my experience, most believe the marginal utility of food increases when they have been drinking.  Similarly, the consumption of marijuana, another popular activity for CMCers on the weekend, is known to stimulate one’s hunger.[i] Furthermore, Gatorade and soda can serve as excellent mixers or chasers.  The priorities of drunk and stoned CMCers rightfully do not usually factor into discussions about campus policy, but it might seems reasonable to include those priorities when making snack policy.

I realize there may be some practical considerations against this proposal and I want to address a few of them here.  I can understand that many food service employees would not want to spend their Friday and Saturday nights working at snack, but perhaps overtime pay would entice them.  Maybe budget cuts make fewer snack nights a necessity.  If so, Friday and Saturday snack could replace Monday and Tuesday snack.  I can understand Bon Appetit being reluctant to let hordes of drunk CMCers into the dining hall on a weekend night and possibly messing up the place, but experience proves this concern is not warranted: Thursday night snack and TNC have coexisted peacefully.

Through a generous gift from the Bon Appetit Management Company, we will begin issuing one free container to every CMC student who is on a board plan. Distribution will be next week in Collins. The container we selected is currently in use at Pitzer College.

Free containers! We go to the best school ever! Free containers!  Incidentally, since we’ll be using the same containers as Pitzer, I suspect we might be able to use them at both cafeterias (unless insidious measures are devised to stop us).  As for why Bon Appetit was so eager to give us free containers, the administration explained that Bon Appetit’s greater buying power, “circle of responsibility” philosophy, and hopes of creating a prototypical green cafeteria for their marketing plans came on like a rush of generosity.

When I shared the news with students, reactions ranged from joyous to mysterious.  Elise Viebeck ‘10 described it as “lifechanging,” while Abhi Nemani ‘10 warned me that “freedom isn’t free.”  Wade Vaughan ‘13 said what I actually wanted to hear: “two thumbs up!”  Share your thoughts below.

All this is true, you say? Why do I need to write it again you say? Is it because I have a posting quota you say? No!

The Hub just got EVEN BETTER!

Remember how you could use meal replacements at the Hub to get one arbitrarily chosen (and possibly nachos) option a day?  Ya, it was a little dumb that subs were free one day and six dollars the next.  But no more!  Now every day features seven choices:

1. Any sub and a soda
2. Any burger, fries, and a soda (bacon is extra)
3. Chicken tenders and a soda
4. Cheese quesadilla and a soda
5. Chicken quesadilla and a soda
6. Caesar salad and a soda
7. Panini or wrap or salad of the day

Plus you can swap your soda for a coffee-like drink!

My editor thinks this article would have more pizazz if I ended it on a witty note.  I think that if I squeezed one more drop of pizazz into it, the article would burst in your face like an overfull water-balloon.  Luckily for you I decided not to risk it.  The reader comes first!

“The ‘Environmental Crusaders’ name wasn’t effectively portraying our mission,” Munro explained.  Indeed, the Crusaders have frequently been at the forefront of some of the more controversial environmental efforts on campus.  For Earth Day in 2008, the Crusaders constructed a pyramid of trash demonstrating the amount of food waste produced at Collins Dining Hall in a single day.  More recently, blogger Charles Johnson generated controversy when the Crusaders took a school-funded trip to Washington, DC for the Powershift 2009 conference.   “I believe that this new name is representative of a new direction we are taking the club, helping to make Claremont McKenna a more sustainable college.”

The last several years have seen Claremont Mckenna College take a number of steps to conserve waste and reduce the environmental footprint of the school.  The opening of Claremont Hall, the school’s first LEED Silver certified building, was hailed as a breakthrough for the college.  Additionally, CMC (as part of a consortium move), eliminated trays from dining halls for the 2009-2010 school year.  Club Vice President Ashley Scott says the change was not directly linked to her group.

“The administration made the call on their own.  I think that some people don’t realize that this is a beneficial move for our campus,” said Scott, a junior who has been involved with the group since her freshmen year.  “Students are being asked to trade a little inconvenience for a policy that saves the school money.  It’s a matter of environmental economics, not something that’s purely ideological.”

SPEAR plans to push several campaigns for environmental activism on campus.  Among these, Munro points to Take Back the Tap, a national effort to reduce bottled-water usage as an important effort for CMC students. Drinking bottled water comes at a high cost both in terms of trash produced and money spent he says and there are opportunities for students to both save money and reduce waste.

Starting this month, SPEAR hopes to involve itself in the school’s long-term conservation goals.  “The Administration is forming an ad-hoc committee that will include students to revisit some of the conservation policy the school is involved in,” said Munro. This includes goals to make CMC a carbon-reduced or even carbon-neutral institution, provided there are opportunities to do so.  Also on the docket is continued support by President Pamela Gann of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which she signed in 2007.

So far, both Munro and Scott see their club’s re-branding as a success.  Although the group may still serve as a lightning rod for environmental issues on campus, the new incarnation of the club is working towards a more moderate and professional image.  With a larger-than-usual turnout for the club’s first official meeting, the group will continue to partake in discourse at CMC and on the 5C campus, lest we forget global warming has the potential to affect even the very beer we drink.

But here’s the math just in case…

On the meal plan, you can choose from the 16, 12, or 8 meals per week options. The prices have risen ~4-5% per year in recent years, and in 2009-2010 the pricing schedule is as follows:

16 meal plan = $6055
12 meal plan = $5560
8 meal plan = $5185

Each plan comes with a little “flex money” that you can use at the school store on candy, snacks, soda, toothpaste, etc.  Let’s count that as cash back because many students use it on stuff they would have otherwise spent cash on.

So we’ll subtract flex money:

16 = $6055 – 160 = 5895
12 = $5560 – 120 = 5440
8 = $5185 – 80 = 5105

Based on these amounts and a 16 week semester, if you use all your meals (that’s a big “if”), each meal would cost:

16 meal plan = $5895 / 16 meals / 32 weeks = $11.51 per meal
12 meal plan = $5440 / 12 meals / 32 weeks = $14.17 per meal
8 meal plan = $5105 / 8 meals / 32 weeks = $19.94 per meal

Keep in mind that nobody actually uses 16 meals a week except Sean Wasserman, the CMS Water Polo starting goalie, because he is “The Body.” In fact, rumor has it that the dining hall discovered that almost nobody uses all 16 meals (those under that plan use 14 on average), which is why the price difference between the 16 and 12 plans is so low.

Alternatively, there’s the option to pay per meal as an outsider every time you go to the dining hall.  Those prices are:

Breakfast: $7.50
Lunch: $10.50
Dinner: $13.50

Bottom Line: It’s cheaper to just pay in cash (a la carte) every time you go to the dining halls than to get the 8 meal plan, 12 meal plan, or in some cases, any meal plan.

Franco attributed the addition charge to rising costs of eco-friendly containers, “The cost of one to go kit is about 3 to 4 times the cost of what it was last year when we switched from Styrofoam (very inexpensive at the time) to the compostable.” According to the notice outside Mallott, “…Scripps College spends $18,000 per semester on paper products for takeout,” and the new charge ($0.50 for a clam shell container, utensils, and a cup) should just cover expenditures. Plus, there is a sense that fewer boxes would be better generally for the colleges; apparently it would “help the environment, help contain costs to keep prices as low as possible and help encourage a sense of community at the dining halls.” So to keep pace with rising costs and to reduce take-out usage, the dining halls are adding a pay-as-you-go fee for take-out kits. They have discussed making the charge payable by cash, Claremont Cash, and flex, but are still working out the details and are considering paid but reusable alternatives.

However students end up having to pay the charge, having to pay it now is certain–though this fact seems largely unknown. The Student Life and Claremont Conservative have speculated on this possibility, but some initial reactions from CMC students suggest most still don’t know–and aren’t happy to find out now. CMCer Julie Smith ‘10 remarked, “This seems like the kind of thing they should have to tell students about before deciding. I mean, we pay over $50,000 per year for tuition, room, board and meals, but we still have to pay for takeout containers?”

Even at $0.50, the take-out charge could significantly impact students’ choices and day-to-day life, since the fee will have to be paid out of pocket, not through the total cost of the meal plan. If the change had been in effect this semester, those students with tight lunchtime schedules two days a week would have to pay at least $14 in takeout fees. Add in two more meals a week (maybe busy Monday and Wednesday dinners) and the total climbs to $28. A hypothetical hermit who ate every lunch and dinner in his or her own room would have to shell out $98 dollars to avoid the company of other human beings. Students with less flex to throw around might keep students from frequenting such student hangouts as the Muddhole, the Coop or the Hub.

Of course, the full impact of the change remains to be seen, but what’s certain now is that whether students are know it or not, come next year everybody will find that getting food from the 5C dining halls has just become a little more expensive.

Once you are at the table, a waiter brings the menus, you open yours… and your jaw hits the floor.  “Seventeen dollars!?” you think, “Seventeen dollars for some measly Lamb Kebabs?”  After you pass off your extreme case of sticker shock as a coughing fit, you carefully check the entrees.  Yep, there’s not a single entrée below $16.95.  If only you hadn’t spent so much money at Liquorama last weekend, if only ASCMC had processed your check request in a reasonable amount of time, everything would be fine, but as of this moment, you need to pay for an expensive dinner like you need a hole in your head.  You are now screwed, right?  Wrong, follow these steps and you will make it through the evening.

#1: Don’t get a drink

Most people will be familiar with this tactic.  Drinks in restaurants can be wildly overpriced.  I once ordered a Coca-Cola at a Pasadena restaurant only to realize when I got the check that they charged me $6 for the soda… and $6 for the refill.  Bastards.  While I am all for ordering a Coke when it is reasonably priced, if you are trying to save money, order water.

#2: Skip the appetizers

Appetizers are designed to sound, well, appetizing and they are easy to share.  Sound like a home run for a big group?  Think again.  Appetizers can ratchet up the price of a meal much more quickly than you think.  Most people tend to focus only on the price of their entrée and forget about the appetizers they ordered or shared.  At the end of the meal people then try to pay for the price of their entrée plus a couple of bucks that is supposed to cover tax, tip, and the appetizers.  Not only are appetizers expensive and often unnecessary (due to the size of the entrees), but they lead to who should pay what disputes that can sour an evening out on the town (or the village).  If somebody in the group asks “Anybody want some appetizers?” Try speaking up first and say “No, I think I’m fine, thanks.”  There is a good chance people will follow your lead.

Alternatively, if people do order appetizers, try ordering another appetizer as your main course.  They are often filling enough for one person with a little help and are almost always cheaper than entrees.  At some restaurants, like Casablanca, appetizers are their specialty or are better than their main courses so this tactic can be both cheaper and tastier than ordering an entrée.

#3: Order a dinner salad

Most people open up a menu and flip right to the “Entrées” page.  This is a mistake.  Entrées are usually the most expensive dishes on the menu.  Look under the “Salads” section for more reasonably priced alternatives.  At Casablanca I was able to get a dinner salad for under $10 dollars when entrées started at $17.  I could order a salad and an appetizer for the price of a main course.  The salad was big enough that I couldn’t finish it.  If you are unsure about the size of the salads at a restaurant, ask the waiter.  Also, if people aren’t ordering appetizers, ask the waiter to bring out the salad with everybody else’s dishes so you eat at the same time as everybody else.

#3: Go elsewhere for dessert

Lots of restaurants will scam you when it comes to dessert.  Restaurant desserts are often more expensive and lower quality than desserts offered by dedicated dessert joints like 21 Choices, Bert & Rocky’s etc.  The cheapest option would be to skip dessert entirely.  However, if people are calling for dessert, suggest going to 21 Choices.  Chances are it will be more affordable, more fun and more satisfying than overpaying for chocolate cake at the restaurant.

Hopefully these steps will come in handy if you ever find yourself unwittingly sitting in an expensive restaurant.  Now onto the menus for the week.

Monday:

Monday looks like an unexciting evening at the dining halls.  Collins beats out the decidedly mediocre bunch with BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Gyros and Turkey Casserole.  As I have noted previously, dining halls may have their weaknesses, but they also have their strengths and one of those strengths is making casseroles.

If you have an extreme visceral aversion to Collins gyros.  Try schlepping up to Scripps for Beef Fajitas, Indian Turkey Burgers, Vegetable Lasagna and Roasted Plum Tomatoes.

Tuesday:

Worried about finals?   Planning on studying hard during reading days?  Runners carbo-load before marathons.  Take a page out of their book and Burrito-load for your long study sessions at Frary’s Taco Tuesday.  Very few things relieve stress like a giant burrito.  In fact, very few things do most things like a giant burrito.

Wednesday:

I was so conflicted over whether to recommend Frary or Collins this week that I flipped a coin.  Heads was Frary’s Japanese Night, tails was Collins’s Sushi Night.  It was tails.  Go to Collins.

For those of you who don’t like sushi, never fear, Collins is also serving a Chicken Caesar Wrap.

Thursday:

Thursday traditionally marks the last night of the week when dining halls are free to experiment before the weekend menus kick in.  This Thursday the award for best menu goes to…drumroll please… Collins.  Collins will serve a Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wrap, Taste of Europe- Creamy Risotto, Mongolian Beef and Orange Chicken.

Friday:

No surprises in the menus for Friday night.  Mudd is cleaning up once again, mopping the floor with the opposition by offering Individual Pizzas Made to Order, Clam Chowder, Loaded Baked Potato Soup (who knows what it’s loaded with, but it’s loaded), and a Carne Asada Taco Bar.

Saturday:

Scripps is, once again, wooing CMCers and their meal cards up to the land of fragrant fruit trees and elegant Spanish colonial architecture.  Scripps will serve Grilled Steaks, a Chicken Mo Shu Lettuce Wrap, Herbed Baked Chicken, and Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos.

Sunday:

Try Mudd for Steak, Pitzer for Macaroni and Cheese, or Collins for a Stir Fry from the Exhibition.

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

While I personally think that trays make eating in the dining halls more convenient, Scripps has adopted a fairly user-friendly trayless system.  There is now silverware in each room near the drink dispensers.  This means students don’t have to try and balance a plate of food, a drink, and silverware when trying to find a seat.  The Scripps dining hall seems particularly well suited for going trayless because the drink dispensers are dispersed between the eating rooms.  This layout has always required students to put their food down on a table and then go get beverages.  Grabbing silverware while getting drinks is not too difficult.  If a dining hall like Collins or Frary went trayless, it would be much less convenient. Students would either have to make an additional trip back to the serving area to get drinks or find a way to master balancing drinks, plates and silverware all at once.

The second change was the demise of the Mudd brunch smoothie blenders.  According to signs at Mudd dining hall, students broke the blenders by using them improperly.  The blenders will be gone for the rest of the year.

Recipe of the Week: Jillian’s Snack Sandwich

This week’s recipe comes courtesy of Jillian Raftery ‘12.

1.       Obtain 2 slices of bread (Buttermilk or Sweet Hawaiian) and toast them.

2.       Lightly butter each slice of bread.

3.        Spread crunchy peanut butter on one slice of bread.

4.       Thinly slice some green apple and cover the half with peanut butter with the slices (you should use less than half of the apple)

5.       Drizzle honey over the apple

6.       (Optional) Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over the honey before you make it a sandwich.

7.       Place the other slice of bread on top to make it a sandwich

8.       Enjoy.

The end result is rich and creamy. Not only does the sandwich take advantage of the inherent apple-peanut butter synergy, but, as Jillian describes, “The peanut butter mixes with the butter to make it creamy and the honey sets it off so it isn’t too dry.”  This recipe can be replicated at Collins at lunch, dinner or snack.

And now, a look at the menus for the week.

Monday:

Start your week off right with a Grilled Three Cheese & Apple Sandwich from the Scripps Grille.  Scripps will also serve Beef Fajitas at the Expo, Buffalo Chicken Pizza at the Pizza Station and Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, as well as Baked Herb Crusted Cod in the home-style line.

If Scripps’s menu doesn’t whet your appetite, try Mudd’s Muddgolian BBQ or Pitzer’s Mongolian Stir Fry.

Tuesday:

Frary seems to have a headlock on Tuesday night.  Its Taco Tuesday blows everything else out of the water week after week.

Last Tuesday I highlighted Collins’s Prawn Crepes as one of the most creative dining hall dishes I have heard of.  I tried them and must report that they were actually good.  They were served with a peanut sauce, prawn, noodles and carrot.  If Collins offers them again, I recommend giving them a try.  This week, you can head to Collins for Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches, Shrimp Egg Rolls, and Crepes of an unknown flavor.

Wednesday:

For as long as I have been writing this column, Collins and Frary have combated each other for the title of “Best Japanese Cuisine on a Wednesday Night.”  This terrible conflict shall enter the annals of history to take its place among the other irreconcilable conflicts of our time like chocolate vs. vanilla, pulp vs. no pulp, crunchy vs. smooth and Pirates vs. Ninjas.   One can only hope that these two gastronomical gladiators agree to schedule their signature Japanese nights on different days of the week for next semester.  Until then, 5C students will be faced, weekly, with the existential choice: Chicken Teryaki or Sushi? When faced with such a weighty decision, the opinion of a Forum pundit means little.  Follow your heart, be yourself and pick whichever one you want.

Thursday:

After facing a soul-searching choice between Japanese cuisines on Wednesday, 5C students must decide between competing wraps on Thursday.  Indeed, there is no rest for the weary.  Scripps will serve a Turkey Bacon Club Wrap, as well as an Italian Melt and Chicken Ranch Bacon Pizza.  Collins on the other hand, will serve a South West Chicken Wrap, as well as Taste of Europe- Gnocchi and Chili Dogs.  While the Scripps wrap is better than the Collins wrap, I am a sucker for Gnocchi (Gnocchi is made of pasta dumplings filled with potato.  It is delicious).

Friday:

If Frary has a headlock on Tuesday nights, then Mudd has tamed, domesticated and now feeds Friday nights with delicious scraps from its table.  Individual Pizzas Made to Order, a Carne Asada Taco Bar, Clam Chowder, and a Wing Bar are just too good to miss.

Saturday:

There must be some sort of tacit oligopoly formed between the dining halls regarding weekend menus.  Scripps is still the best choice on Saturday with Grilled Steaks and Cheese Tortellini.  Scripps is only challenged by Mudd and its sushi night.

Sunday:

Mudd will serve Individual Steaks Cooked to Order, but Collins has been improving its Sunday offerings and will serve Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches and a Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry if you don’t want to deal with the lines at Mudd.

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