Housing Day: Dining Hall Edition

FlyBy beat me to their haus reviewz, but here's another look at the dining halls (as fast as I can write before my quiz and before I make posters extolling LOWELL HOUSE LOWELL HOUSE LOWELL HOUSE):

Adams: don't listen to FlyBy. Any place with draconian dining restrictions needs to go. And the high-backed chairs aren't suitable for those of us under 5' 6" -- it's like being on a high chair during Thanksgiving dinner with the big kids. Food's ok, though -- just try not to think of the roaches.

Cabot: I actually like their dining hall, carpeted as it may be -- it's my favorite in the Quad, having spent late nights there for psets. They most frequently have flavored coffee - hazelnut, baby - too, and the servery isn't particularly closed off when the kitchen closes (I was able to make a waffle one Friday afternoon). One time there was Chex Mix for brain break, too, and like, you know, I was like obvs going to jack the buffalo chips and stuff 'cause I liek them a lot. Grill is prompt, though salad bar and pasta stuff runs out fast.

Currier: I'll repeat what others have said: assisted living home. Not the bright, sunny kind, too -- the plants-in-corners let's-play-bridge kind. Which, I guess, is fine if you play bridge...Now I know that the Quad houses share a kitchen, but the Currier food just feels inferior. When I go (if I'm not at Cabot), it just tastes dry, and the kitchen/dining area feels too forcibly separated. Maybe this goes with the rationed-jello-theme of assisted living - which wouldn't jive with the one time they had Tazo. Oh, Tazo, where has HUDS taken you?

Dunster: Wait, why would I walk all the way down to eat there? You've confirmed it -- the only house I haven't eaten in. Though it is pretty on the inside, and you know, like, stuff.

Eliot: Meh. The whole thing is a meh. Feels like Adams, but trying too hard. Probably the dark interior, though bigger is not always better, and darker does not mean batcave. The setup for food inside is complicated (why is there a drink machine across from the food in that two person aisle?) and cramped.

Kirkland: Definite like. The white-themed, naturally-lit servery is excellent for breakfast, as is the room layout (you travel for hot food, then enter the next room for salad/soups/etc). It actually feels like a home, down to the little wooden "LOVE" letters above the silverware. As I mentioned before, loose with dining restrictions..and since IOP fellows have their dining privileges here, you might be able to catch one of them.

Leverett: Their brain break, with multiple trays of cookies, and the round tables in the dining hall redeems Lev. Otherwise, the meals, not so much. Like Kirkland, their dining hall has a split layout but isn't quite so successful - the salad bar is delegated to the back, and drinks and dessert are all cramped in the dining area. Having the dining hall staff directory and interviews in the actual area was a good idea, though.

Lowell: Overwhelmingly classy, though not just because of its residents. Who can't resist pastel-yellow walls and three chandeliers, plus the stylish chessboard tiling? Food is usually high quality, but goes quickly. Specialty make-your-own dishes are especially well made and organized, and I would argue that the Sunday brunch is the best of all the houses (tasty and classy!) But brain break only recently got our fair share of bagels, and unfortunately, hot water is always gone by 10:30. Blame Lowell House Opera.

Mather: After the fact, I would have wanted to be in Mather, had I not already gotten the best house. Bright - I've always liked the modern dining halls because they have enough lighting and nondescript design to study well - but Mather has those funky hairball pseudo-chandeliers on top, which make it classy too. Having had most of my Mather experience during late night Brain Break, the edge over Lowell is that hot water is still there at 2am. ZOMG, though the tea is limited. Food is a solid choice as well, though grille is on-and-off.

Pfoho: Cabot only recently surpassed Pfoho, which I liked for the two dining hall floors (I have yet to try the loveseat - the two-person table on its own second-floor platform - and I fear it will be awkward). This was because of Pfoho's lackluster Brain Break as well as its deadly-quiet night presence. Also, the L-shaped servery and the hidden desserts in the corner. Now that I think about it, the coffee/tea location is kind of random, too. Also, having gone to Pfoho's dances and seeing the second floor columns as the third pizzarty of some skizzank action kind of freaked out the Minnesota Lutheran in me.

Quincy: Modern meets 70s, or the downgraded version of Mather d-hall. Yes, we all agree that the mural is kind of crappy. I would also note why the heck the fireplace is there, especially if there are random seasonal pictures blocking it. A little too crowded at (unusually good) brain break night, though there is a nice back room to study in (it closes at midnight though). Not very conducive for a relaxing brunch, though their baked desserts are usually fresher than that of other houses'. Also, their grill is pretty fair in that you put your orders in a box and they take them out every few minutes (no manipulating the order by sliding your plate in front).

Winthrop: Another meh. At first I thought that metal ramp that they slid your grill orders on was kind of cool, but then I realized it was based on a simple machine, which was like, so fourth grade. The little back area where the drinks are is nice, but again, same complaints as I had for Lev about their dark kitchen. Winthrop can feel pubby, but I suppose that's only a realistic assumption after one has actually had a few. Otherwise, the equivalent of Adams' creepy tunnels.

If you're wondering what I said last year as a impressionable frosh:
Dinner at Lowell House
Quick Hits: Six Dining Halls
There's also a separate post on "Why we hate Adams House," but the reasoning behind that should be fairly obvious by now.

Reading period sans Sartre

"I obviously don't mean that when I choose between a cream-puff and a chocolate eclair I'm choosing in anguish" - Sartre (1948)

Nonexistential choice
I'm sure Sartre would have put cupcakes in a separate comparison, because while they're not always tasty and occasionally overpriced, they are rather pretty.

However, he wouldn't have needed to compare Finale to anything. For me, Finale has now become the equivalent of a long, hard final: a debatably (only because of their rewards program) necessary evil (read again: overrated). That said, the blockmate (Harvard lingo: the group of friends you house with) Secret Santa was more or less successful there, including but not limited to the fact that I got a Berryline card out of the deal.

Preference and choice
Meanwhile, it's reading period: the week before finals when you panic. Or marathon all your favorite TV shows, for those of you who have no exams and all papers.

(And for those of you who are randomly stumbling upon this site thanks to the search term "upperclassmen allowed in Annenberg during reading period" - which seems to happen every January and May - yes, it's true, okay? Note to freshmen: this means that it'll be a lot more awkward if you introduce yourself to the new stranger at the table after you ask if you can sit across from them. It's just odd after a year or so to answer the same questions about concentration, hometown and dorm - I mean, house. Also, didn't the introducing thing stop in November? Not to be snarky or anything, because you know, I enjoyed it...anyway, if you're a newcomer to Foodivia, welcome.)

I'm studying for my economics midterm, hence why I'm thinking about choices. I personally find it funny that the wiki quote has a specific different definition for food within economic choices:

Personal factors of determine food choice. They are preference, associations, habit, ethnic heritage, tradition, values, social pressure, emotional comfort, availability, convenience, economy, image, medical conditions, and nutrition.

Rather than the straight up preferences we've been modeling for twelve weeks. More relevantly, I present my own food preferences, brainstormed with the assistance of my study group and in no particular order.

• Muffins over cupcakes (I know, right, I dressed up as a cupcake. But muffin tops are so much better.)
• Maguro (raw tuna) over sake (raw salmon)
• Broccoli over broccolini and Chinese broccoli
• Cooked spinach over raw spinach
• Feta cheese over bleu cheese (On a side note, crumbled over sliced cheese.)
  
• Rice over noodles
• Broth over chowder
• Chicken over beef
• White over green asparagus
• McDonald's over Burger King (There, I said it.)
• Garlic over onion
• Lobster over crab, shrimp and squid

Gradually, the discussion deteriorated into how much we missed food at home, even though it's only been about a week at most since we left. Also, how the Greenhouse Cafe is not providing us with garlic knots and tomato sauce, an essential part of any mathematical discussion and quite possibly the best thing offered there (I didn't learn about them until late last spring). In the meantime, I have another nonexistential choice: the HUDS menu. Sigh.

Happy reading period?

Now, the fall '08 photo rundown

places I ate and pictures I took (that will hopefully improve, thanks to those photography books I got for Christmas...)

Blue Ginger (Wellesley). Ming Tsai's (didn't anyone watch East meets West in the 90s?) restaurant. Tasty, though carb-heavy, entrees, and a long trip. Above: the Filipino-style pulled pork sandwich.

Rialto (Cambridge). Touted on all the student email listservs around Restaurant Week as "the best restaurant in Cambridge." I took advantage of a 15% student discount I had, and went...we were easily the youngest people in the restaurant. Service was wonderful (possibly because it wasn't Restaurant Week), Jody Adams came out to talk to us - and not just about food, she's super nice - and recommended the honey ricotta cheesecake that most people get on their first time. That's not pictured here, but the second course of truffle pasta, and third courses of pork tenderloin with fig and seared sea scallop with stuffed butternut squash pasta are, respectively. The latter two courses are still on the December menu.




Incidentally, this meal marked the start of the weekend where I gained - and lost - six pounds.
Two reasons: a harrowing midterm and Columbus Day weekend, when some family visited. Meal number 2 that weekend: Harvard Faculty Club (Cambridge). Having dealt with Rialto the previous night, I wasn't as impressed as I could have been (the seared beef-blueberry vinagrette salad was a winner, though), and the entrees, per a faculty club, seemed a little overpriced. Below, a picture of the beef medallion:


Yankee Seafood (Boston). We indulged next day with some seafood - the fried kind. Enter Yankee Seafood, next to Bank of America Pavilion, which we found on Yelp. Best fried scallops ever. Also, during lunch, it was pointed out that good seafood places have bad fries. This proved to be no exception.


Minsok (Brookline) was our dinner that night. We struggled through the amount of Korean food we ordered but were delighted at the seafood pancake and the stir-fried seafood. This, however, is a picture of the japchae - sweet potato noodles. And that concludes my food-intensive weekend for the semester.

Fireplace (Brookline). A repeat visit for brunch over the semester. My first time, I ordered the challah french toast, which although rich and pretty to look at, made my stomach hurt afterward. The fried duck hash was the unanimous favorite, though - especially slathered with the yolk from the accompanying fried eggs. Later, I would try eating the fried goat cheese and walnut salad, but it elicited the same physiological response I had from the challah.
I also confirmed my findings that salad was not meant to be one of the food groups of brunch.

Giacomo's (Back Bay and North End). Remained the place to bring out-of-town friends for food. Secret: don't wait at North End - they don't take reservations - go to Back Bay. The quantity of the small fried calamari place (at $7) was huge, and the best entree remained their specialty seafood pasta - whose quantity was also enough for two (though I opt for the fra diavolo over the overly-rich eponymous lobster based sauce).

Cheesecake Factory (Cambridge, Boston). Surprisingly, a repeat visit this semester - if only for the cheesecake. Among my classmates, it has become "the place where we go out somewhere nice for dinner" - despite the fact that there are so many good places near Harvard Square to eat. Rather, I think Cheesecake Factory has attained the dubious award of "restaurant where we can escape." In any case, if you look past the overly-rich (again) and possibly overpriced Asian-fusion pasta (though pretty good - and definitely more reasonably priced than California Pizza Kitchen's Kung Pao Spaghetti), it's actually okay, and a good place to find steaks. Also, it's called Cheesecake Factory for a reason. Below, the pumpkin cheesecake:

Shabu-Zen (Chinatown and Allston) might be the restaurant I most frequently visit, by way of my sister's influence on my taste (she goes there about five times as often as I do).

Finale took a smaller hit (or should I say drain?) on my wallet on this year. The blocking group's Finale fund (let's pay for the birthday girl's preferred Finale dessert) was still in effect, and yes, I like the tiramisu, but as I've previously said, ov-er-rat-ed. I've taken advantage of our walking distance from two Whole Foods though, and I am now requesting this beast of a cake:

Note that it also contains berries, something difficult to find in the Harvard dining halls. And now that I've definitely gone over my usual photo quota, go forth and eat.

I need my Taiwanese food fix

What you do with thirty-six hours before a midterm:
1. You blog.
2. Or you go to Taiwan and eat.
3. Or you wait an extra week to hit up Winterfest: Taste of Taiwan during midterm season.

We know more than we thought we did?

Last weekend, I met up with Hank, who was in the Yard for a quiz bowl tournament. I was able to stick around to watch one of the rounds, and was proud that I recognized the plot of Fargo without ever having seen it (Minnesota, represent!). I became even more elated when I recognized Anthony Bourdain from various quotes, before the "clincher hint" that referenced his television show and book of the same name, Kitchen Confidential.

After dinner, I tagged along with him and a few of his teammates for dinner. Apparently all restaurants in Harvard Square are crowded at 8 pm on Saturday nights, or the influx of high school debaters (and coaches) that weekend just decided to fill up all the seats there (and those visiting prefrosh at Annenberg). After checking out Le's, Uno's, and Bartley's (still taking orders in a twenty-person line outside!), we settled on Bertucci's for the legit pizza and the free bread.

But Bertucci's was no exception to the horrors of a dinner line. When we asked for the wait, we were told "typically twenty-five minutes, but thirty-five for all of you" - which makes sense because we weren't the only seven-person group queuing up. So it was a long wait which became equally ridiculous when we realized that a) they only had one large-sized table, b) that thirty-five minute wait approached fifty-five minutes, and c) the servers told us that "we're running out of chairs" and couldn't put a spare chair up against a booth.

Service was fairly prompt - for having to deal with seven starving students who had to wait that long - although somewhat disparate; one waiter was significantly more helpful than the other. Good, but not ridiculously delicious, Bertucci's appeal lies in the free bread - hot, soft and not doughy with a crunchy crust - and the consistency of the food (although the tomato sauce is a little thin, the pizza crust was remarkably similar to the bread - which was a good thing).

The best part of the meal: not having to figure out how much to pay or how to calculate tip with six MIT students around - three of them who were math majors. Whew.

Is this one step up, or one step behind?

Yale is switching from Aramark (huge corporation; by my count, I must have eaten in about fifteen of their organizational cafeterias. They can be bland, but if you find one with sweet potato fries, go.) to its own in-house kitchens for dining halls...of course, Harvard had that system already.

But it looks like Yale's getting Stanford's dining head to come over (and if there's one thing I really wanted from Stanford, it was the fresh, sun-kissed ingredients. Or maybe I'm romanticizing that. I just wonder if it's as good as they say).

Oh, the politic.

The view from Berryline

(strawberry and kiwi on coconut froyo)

Three or four trips later, we're nearing the end of official finals week. Whew.

Why we hate Adams House

(our schedule yesterday)
10:30-12:30 pm: pwnage on finals (hopefully)
9:00 - 10:00 pm: waiting outside
Adams House after rejection :(

One thing about Harvard is that we are over-fed
during reading period and finals. For instance, "Sweet and Savory" marked the beginning of reading period, and tonight will mark chocolate fountain night. Meanwhile, dinner was "Southern night," consisting of your typical standards: beef brisket, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, cornbread, pecan pie...everything except the collard greens (which for me, make the meal). When I mentioned this to someone, they asked if they were trying to kill us - whether calorically or by making better food, I don't know. In any case, I thought of it more as one (nay, the) last meal before finals.

Back to Adams: traditionally known as the artsy house (it has a theater converted from a pool, and underground tunnel murals), it also happens to be closer to the Yard, making it a convenient location. And as I've briefly mentioned before, it is notoriously strict about keeping doors shut to outsiders during peak dining times. Upperclassmen from other houses can usually get away with eating there - Pfoho residents have access anytime - but freshmen are a little bit more recognizable (though it's never impossible).

In any case, an email with Adams House's special Brain Breaks (basically, free food at night, aka sandwiches, leftover desserts and cereal) for finals week came over several email lists:

Mon - 50s Diner night with an open grill
Tues - Smoothies
Wed - Chocolate in all its forms
Thurs - Baked Potato bar
Fri - Ice cream bash
Mon - Nacho bar

My dormmates and I decided to crash Tuesday night's break; it had been a while since we had had smoothies. I ended up going a few minutes later, but on the way to Adams, I got a call where Kat promptly informed me that they had been...rejected. Their outsider status had been signaled by the fact that they wore coats.

As such, I decided to pretend I was a resident; after all, everyone had done it before. But upon entering Adams, I was greeted by another dormmate at the door.
"Take off your coat, walk in - get those mittens off! - and go meet everyone else at the door. Bring them in as your guests. Get an extra smoothie for me. Walk fast, act cool."
I thought I was being briefed on a CIA mission, so I followed her instructions exactly. But I was carded (by hand - not swiped) and promptly rejected as a freshman...and we grumbled (though we made a trip to Berryline) on our return, hopes smashed to the ground.

In short, grr.

Recipe: Nancy and Kat's Guacamole

Brief notes from the past two d-hall dins before I begin:

• After its lull in the two-week menu rotation, sweet potato souffle appeared Sunday night. Delicious and so ridiculously unhealthy that my roommate barely convinced me that sweet potato was a vegetable.
• Meanwhile, tonight featured 8-spice jerk chicken, which my dormmates proclaimed as good. They're right, it wasn't that bad. But it was misleading - the jerk chicken was basically a saltier version of the "Mollie Katzen Moroccan chicken" that we're served every two weeks. (Yes, The Moosewood Cookbook author consults for Harvard. Wait, I thought she was vegetarian...guess not.)
  
• Last Friday in the 'Berg was a hodgepodge of leftovers gathered from the previous few days. This upcoming Friday proves to be the same, as jerk chicken reappears on the menu.
  
• Finally, due to reading period...upperclassmen are allowed to eat inside Annenberg during reading period. Coupled with the nearby presence of the Science Center, this means it's getting pretty crowded, especially when people are nearly camping out in the Cabot Library inside.

And now...the featured recipe. We actually thought this deal - with ingredients entirely from the salad bar - would taste kind of gross (especially given the fact that the avocados are partially frozen and generally damp at the bar). The guac was a stale split-pea-soup color, but turned out to be the sleeper hit of dinner. Initially, Nancy and Kat had made a small bowl, but the whole table ended up having a taste and Nancy ended up making more. Since there weren't tortilla chips leftover from Sweet and Savory, we used potato chips from the sandwich bar as scoops. This was actually a tasty substitution - the sodium-laced chip compensated for us not adding salt to the guac.

• 1.5 cups avocados
• 5 rings of red onion, sliced into cubes
• 2 tablespoons of diced tomatoes (preferably fresh...but ours was canned)

Mash the avocados with a fork until they retain a paste-like consistency. Add the red onion and tomatoes gradually and mix. Add lemon juice and pepper to taste.

Happy eating.

Updates on the site

As a few of you might have noticed, I've been tweaking some odds 'n ends on Foodivia. Some highlights:

- Foodivia is now available in RSS subscription, so you'll be able to read posts as soon as they're up.

- More posts, more often.

Specifically, in addition to "Did you know?" you'll be seeing a new feature: The Annenberg Cookbook. The dormmates and I have been experimenting with the dining hall food - we're figuring out how to add a little punch to the entree and to make do with what we have. Stuff that college students in d-halls (or people overwhelmed by their refrigerator contents - both descriptions fit me well) are still learning.

I've been impressed with the number of recipes we've made in this week alone (one a meal!). If we're especially ambitious, I daresay that we might be able to beat Rachael Ray's proliferation of recipes in Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats. While we're at it, I'll point out that unless there's a line for trays and silverware, we also go faster than 30-Minute Meals and eat for less than $40 a Day. Bring it, Ms. Ray.

That said, do bring your comments - active readership encouraged, too.

Happy reading!

"My Courses," indeed

Maybe it's Food 2.0 (...think Web 2.0).

Instead of another rehash of the "My Courses" third-party application on Facebook, a Harvard freshman has created another Facebook profile add-on. Instead of stalking people by figuring out what classes they're in, now you can instead stalk Harvard University Dining Services (henceforth referred to as HUDS). And thankfully, you don't have to send another fake "pastry" using the "Bakery Shop" application. "MyPlate" features the next two days' dining hall menu on your profile and includes stats on which foods pop up in Annenberg most often. More intriguingly, the application allows users to rate menu items (leading to a collaborative, Amazon-style review).

I also know of one other menu-related program in development out there. It looks very promising, so I'll be sure to let you guys know when that comes out.

Where gluttony might be tolerated: Sweet and Savory

"Dear Members of the Class of 2011:

You are warmly invited to attend...
A Study Break hosted by President Drew Faust
"Sweet and Savory"

This is an opportunity you do not want to miss!
Come enjoy the amazing food, the company of your fellow freshmen, music, dancing, and a chance to mix and mingle with President Faust!

For those who like SWEET - it's a dessert lover's dream!
Including chocolate covered strawberries, fresh fruit, cheesecake with strawberry sauce, fudge layer cake, chocolate raspberry cake, and more!

For those who prefer SAVORY - it's munchies madness!
Including a potato skins bar, a nacho bar, and all the fixings you could imagine!

Music provided by DJ BC."

My friends had been buzzing about the study break a few days ago, and even ate less for dinner in hopes of indulging themselves on nachos. Needless to say, the hype extended to the freshman class, and by 9:15, there were crowds filling their plates with cake. A quick summary:

The amount of available sugar was astounding. While the advertised chocolate raspberry cake was a no-show, petits fours did take its place. Out of boxes, the cake was somewhat dry; in particular, the frosting was slightly hardened. The sweets weren't the high point - but the fruit was. Thankfully, my dorm entryway came early to grab chocolate-covered strawberries before they ran out. Actually, my roommate enjoyed getting fruit besides typical mealy apples and gladly went for blueberries.

The potato skins were my favorite, admittedly because I hadn't had any since I had left for college. I was impressed by the fact that dining services did carve out the potato flesh, resulting a nice hollow for my mushrooms-and-cheese-sauce filling. The consensus among my table was that this was the best pseudo-meal since Drew Faust's inauguration dinner (which involved sparkling cider, Grape-Nuts ice cream, and butternut squash tortellini, all made within 100 miles of Cambridge. Fortunately, the latter has made several appearances since October).

And yes, some people did dance...though the mood in the 'Berg was like orientation all over again.

A fitting attempt to compensate for the finals week looming in the background?

Upon return, false expectations

Where dinner and theatre meet...a video from 2006.



...so that's why they call it dinner theatre. (Again, the Annenberg in question is the freshman dining hall.)

The elusive Veritaffle...

...in its natural habitat: my plate.

Quick hits: six dining halls

Although I'm currently sitting in a real kitchen (and therefore, not in my Cambridge dorm), I've finally compiled my thoughts on a few upperclass dining halls. As I've briefly explained before, Harvard has twelve houses (thirteen if you count Dudley House) which serve as residential communities. Residents take pride in each of their houses' vibe - even as they are randomly sorted into it.

In any case, my friends and I - as well as probably a good portion of the freshman class - have made it a goal to try all twelve upperclass houses before we are assigned to our official houses in February. Of course, our opinions of the dining halls have influenced our current opinions of the houses. We won't lie - the dining hall decor plays a big role. After all, who wants their claustrophobia to overpower their omelet? So expect some candid reviews until February, because come then, my house will naturally have the best food. Brief reviews for five of the d-halls follow.

1. Annenberg
Oh, Annenberg. The dream of overeager prefrosh: "Oh-my-goodness-I'm-in-the-Harry-Potter-dining-hall!" The fact that Annenberg is a freshman-exclusive dining hall during lunch and dinner - not to mention the gorgeous views from the third-floor classrooms above the cafeteria - only adds to its allure.
But sooner or later, freshmen (including me) soon discover that there is a tradeoff between proximity of classes and quality of food. (A perfect example for Ec10.) Given that it's meant for 1600+ freshmen, food is served in large batches and is neither as warm nor appetizing any other cafeteria. (On any given day, the same menu is served across all dining halls.) To its credit, the salad bar is much larger than other houses - but after three weeks of drizzling Thai Peanut dressing over spinach, the sodium overload might kill you. As for dessert, we get fewer occurrences of cake, and when it is there, it's usually dry - one horror story: we found mold on my chocolate cake in September, which I almost mistook for "green dust." Despite that, the rocky road bars (s'more bars without the overly-buttery graham cracker crust) are worth standing in the usual thirty-person line. The line only gets bigger, especially when people are waiting for one of the six Veritaffles irons at Sunday brunch.

2. Adams
Admittedly, I have a small bias towards the Adams dining hall. My host treated me to Sunday brunch at Adams, where I first encountered the elusive Veritaffle. I am not (entirely) kidding when I say that the Veritaffle was the other major factor in my college choice, although little did I know that I would be waiting forty-five minutes for one at Annenberg weekly. I also discovered the wonders of rosemary-crusted chicken at Adams, although since I have been here, I have not found it since.

I would argue that Adams has the best desserts, the nicest salad bar and one of the more freshly cooked hot bars. And not only are they also the closest upperclassman house to the Yard, they have gold-and-wood-paneled walls. This might make it the best of both worlds - were it not for the fact that freshmen are not allowed in Adams from 6-7 pm, on Sunday brunch, and during lunch too.

I'll take this time to elaborate on interhouse restrictions. Each house is allowed to set its own rules on whether non-residents are allowed to eat in the dining halls, and for the most part, every house has some restriction. Adams is by far the strictest, and my entryway never goes there to eat together based on the knowledge that we will never be able to enter together. That said, Adams is awfully good. They just happen to be awfully mean.

3. Quincy
Quincy, like Lowell, is one of my "backup" house decisions for dinner, as they don't really have any interhouse restrictions. The food is decent, though lacking at the salad bar, and it isn't as warm as Adams food. In addition, the layout of the dining hall is a little strange, because you have to go back and around the side for drinks and dessert, while the froyo machine is located in the opposite corner of the cafeteria. As for seating, the dining hall is more modern than other houses. But when I mean modern, I mean tapestries and murals that look like they should be upholstered and a dimly lit dining hall on top of concrete legs. The plus of Quincy? They have a flavored water machine like the one in my high school cafeteria, except Quincy isn't constantly running out of strawberry-kiwi syrup. They have green tea with honey ginseng in the water machine as well. Rumor has it that Quincy is the pilot project for the flavored water machine, so hopefully it'll be installed in the other houses next year.

4. Kirkland
A small secret: Kirkland is where my floormates and I go for brunch. Why? Like Lowell - again - there is no line for Veritaffles on Sundays. Located closer to the river in the cul-de-sac, you might expect freshmen to be heading the other direction towards A-Berg, but the detour is worth it. Kirkland, by far, is the most homelike dining hall that I've been in so far. The interior is white and full of light, and the cafeteria is partitioned into several rooms: a room for the grill and hot entrees, and then another room for the salad bar and everything else. Little encouraging decorations ("dream," "love") add to the "awww" factor. Kirkland's hot food quality stands between Adams and Quincy, although their desserts leave something to be asked for. In previous visits, the only desserts were a strangely flavored and fluorescent whipped cream concoction as well as a cherry pie with a hard crust.

5. Pfoho
Short for Pforzheimer, Pfoho forms the Quad houses with Currier and Cabot. In general, Quad houses are supposed to have better rooms and better food, given their desperate distance from everywhere else (3/4 mile away from the Yard), and yes - Pfoho has better food. The food is warm and flavorful without being too oily - in fact, it might have been the best so far. In one visit, the pasta and pesto was a standout. And although the Pfoho dining room is more modern, it is, after Kirkland, the coziest; the second level that surrounds the main dining room from above is also a neat feature. To boot: they are the only dining hall so far to have large marshmallows for their hot chocolate.

6. Currier
On the other hand, Currier did not reinforce the negative correlation between distance from the Square and tasty food. To their credit, they do have Tazo chai, and their drink bar is in a convenient location. But everything else isn't quite as good - the food is dimly lit and oily, though warm. Furthermore, the night I visited, the majority of the food was mislabeled, and I couldn't recognize some of the food until I tasted it (it was a dry chicken breast, too). And while the food was visually unappetizing, the only food I was willing to eat at the salad bar - mandarin oranges - had run out, as did the dessert. I ended up scrounging for cookies that were only made better by the chai.

Two Good Meals, One Great Day

Fresh off of eight hours of sleep, I started off with brunch at Lowell House again. (Apparently Lowell was a after-party battleground the night before, but I didn't see any broken chairs.) While Lowell brunch was pretty good, the point was that I got my Veritaffles with no wait at all.

(Veritaffles (n.): 1. Waffles stamped with the Harvard Veritas crest. 2. Why freshmen stand in a thirty minute line at Annenberg. 3. The subject of a future post, not to mention shout-outs every Sunday.)

I then headed down to Chinatown. For those of you who have heard of the "Harvard bubble": yes, this was my first time to Boston in a very long while. I managed to stock up on Asian cookies (including a new member of my Pocky collection - more on that later) and followed that up with a bakery trip for sponge cake (tomorrow's breakfast!) and sesame balls (deep fried rice flour balls, coated with sesame seeds and stuffed with sweet red bean).

Four hours later, I stumbled onto mindblowingly fresh sushi. Teaser: let's just say that sometime this week, there will be a post comparing two of Boston's sushi superpowers.

And then I topped that off with another visit to Berryline.

-----

Since I'm all hyper from the Yard-wide cheering for the Red Sox victory sweep, I thought a good trivia fact would be a good way to close: Did you know that Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima has his own cocktail named after him at Boston's InterContinental Hotel? It's called the "Oki Doki Mojarita."

Dinner at Lowell House

At the risk of sleep deprivation (that is, my necessary eight hours), I'm a-catching up on my reviews, so here we go.

Tonight I went to Lowell House to meet a friend for dinner. (One of Harvard's twelve upper-class houses, it's probably best known for its set of Russian bells.) Of course, the company was better than the food, but surprisingly enough, the food wasn't that bad either. In general, the houses tend to have better food than the 'Berg (more on that later), the general assumption being that there are culinary consequences of cooking for 1500+ freshmen instead of about 400 upperclassmen.

Each dining hall has its own distinct vibe, and like most freshmen, I've made it my goal to eat at least a few meals at each house. Lowell House's dining room, like any other house, is relatively cozy for its size, and it's got a yellow-mustard tinge to its walls. But the long windows that face the courtyard are lovely.

Back to the meal. I went for the salmon, spinach-apple-onion mixture of my obligatory vegetable serving and some canned mandarin oranges. The salmon was pretty good, and the spinach wasn't bad as it sounds. In fact, the sour-sweet apples helped pep up the somewhat bland flavor.
And no one can complain about canned oranges.

Then I found my heart's desire: the cheese table.

I should probably point out at this point that I have never really had a connection to cheese. My sister's adolescent addiction to mac-and-cheese (and none of that Velveeta stuff, kay-thanks-bye) never really spread to me. In fact, except for pizza, I would vehemently scrape the stuff off of my plate.

After several minutes of pacing and rationalizing to myself that "blue cheese isn't always evil," I hesitantly took a cracker with cheese. It crumbled in my mouth. Mmm, good; I took a plate. Ditto for the cheddar, and for the Swiss.

Two more things about the Lowell dining hall that I don't want to forget:

1. They have Tazo tea (at least sometimes, my friend explained). I've become a tea addict over the past year, partially because I really don't think the caffeine kick is that high and then, it actually turns out to be that way (this blog post sponsored by green tea, thanks!). My brew of choice was Tazo lotus tea, but after it suddenly disappeared from the grocery shelves, I was left leave-less this fall. Lowell doesn't have Tazo lotus, but they have the next best thing: Tazo green ginger. With or without honey, it leaves a spicy tingle in your throat that somehow manages to soothe it as well.

2. The froyo situation. My dormmates know that I'm addicted to frozen yogurt. In fact, the first thing I do upon entering an upperclass dining hall is check the froyo flavors. I was really excited when I went into Lowell because the choices were "German" chocolate and "strawberry with real strawberries"...and then I was warned.

"You should probably eat it with a blindfold," my friend informed me.
"Why...is it mushy?"
"It just...doesn't look very appetizing," someone jumped in.
"Can I eat it in a cone? Is it liquidy?"
"Well..."

Indeed, they were right - the froyo was ugly. And by the way? Melty strawberry and chocolate don't mix. Luckily, coconut ice cream (another reason why I go to upperclass dining halls: real ice cream, if you're lucky) was there to save the day. I don't even like coconut - I fully intend on donating any earned Almond Joys to my roommate on Wednesday - but it was good. It was like frothy coconut milk...and with that in mind, I left my tray on the dumbwaiter and stumbled out to the courtyard with another green ginger tea.