Eating in: where to go and what to microwave

JOHN YI/YH The high ceilings in Silliman's dining hall make it a popular choice.

On my Yale tour, someone asked, "How's the food?" The tour guide looked apologetic and said, "It's fine. There's always a good selection of cereals." Not the most encouraging answer. College dining is college dining--but with a little creativity, you can certainly make do.

As far as venues go, you've got options. Each residential college has its own dining hall, complete with unique perks and drawbacks. Most students enjoy the familiar faces at their college's dining hall, but that's not to say commutes aren't made. High ceilings and well-spaced tables attract outsiders to Davenport and Silliman, while Cross Campus Library dwellers may prefer nearby Trumbull or Calhoun.

Commons dining hall, centrally located at Beinecke Plaza and open Sunday night to Friday afternoon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, offers the hungry Yalie an abundant range of options. Every day at breakfast Commons serves eggs, bacon, hash browns, and waffles in addition to the bagels, muffins, and cereals available at the residential college dining halls. At lunch and dinner, in addition to a well-stocked salad bar, Commons always has two kinds of soup, an overflowing sandwich bar, and several hot entrees. For Yalies with a sweet tooth, Commons offers many desserts and a soft-serve frozen yogurt machine.

New this year at Commons is a grill where entrees are prepared before your eyes and then presented in a self-serve style. As each residential college is renovated, its dining hall will acquire a similar grill. "Self-serve is the way of the future," Bob Alberino, Commons manager, said. "You don't get more than you want with self-serve, but if you can eat five pork chops, God bless you."

There will always be nights when you want to go out for dinner, but you won't always have the cash. The solution: the graduate school dining halls. With the best quality grub and a modern look, you'll feel like you're on a culinary adventure.

At Marigolds, the Medical School's dining hall, and Donaldson Commons at the School of Management, a swipe of your meal card gets you credit toward made-to-order grill offerings and chocolate-covered banana chips for dessert.

Finally, whether you're Jewish or not, try the Kosher Kitchen at the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life, which offers family-style dining on Friday nights and all-kosher food: dairy at lunch, meat at dinner. Slifka's selection includes pasta night on Wednesday, burger night on Thursday, pizza bagel lunch on Friday, and Shabbat dinner on Friday.

Now that we've covered where to eat, let's consider what to eat. The hot meals du jour range from edible to unrecognizable, but fear not--with a little ingenuity, anything's possible. Take a few liberties and extra moments with your sandwich. Choose your condiments with care. College is the time to expand your horizons, so go past mustard and mayo to hummus, barbecue sauce, or even cranberry relish. Vary your bread and always toast it.

Beyond the basics, be creative with the microwave. Raw veggies from the salad bar can be steamed with a bowl, a drop of water, and a one-minute zap. Suddenly you can eat your broccoli with a spoon. Hankering for a tuna melt? Toast your bread of choice (I recommend pita or a bagel) and add tomato, tuna, and cheese. Again, zap for one minute and heads will turn in admiration as you carry your tray to your seat.

Fine desserts are possible as well. For cookie dough ice cream, nuke your cookie for 30 seconds until it's as gooey as batter, then mix in any flavor of ice cream. To make an ice cream soda, put milk, chocolate syrup, and soda water in a tall glass, stir it, and plop in a few scoops of ice cream.

With that, I leave you to find your niche in the exciting world of Yale cuisine. Exercise your right to choose. Be wise, be prudent, be healthy--and be creative.

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