Friday lunches at 104West are known as the “man” (with a pardon from the ladies) lunch, it’s a festival of meat. All the other days of the week are typically dairy. So it would seem risky for someone from team vegetarian. Actually I found a Dr. Praeger’s vegetable burger with all the toppings including guacamole. I added some French fries, mixed vegetables and a salad from their salad garden. I finished the meal with a great baklava. Who knew on a double meat day.
Day 5 Kosher Lunch
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Had a great lunch at 104 west today
Nice spicy Kosher Chili
Hand cut Fries
Kosher BBQ wings
Kosher Dog .
Salad Bar
Of course great company , Chef Kevin came and greated us along with some Gluten free friends vegan friends . This has been a great experiance for all . Great team building experiance between all folks involved .Had many folks asking” what we are doing “? Why we are doing this ? When answered everyone was very happy to hear what we were doing .
I have really enjoyed the experiance and now off to Shabbat at 104 West .
Kosher Diet
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
It has been a challenging week. The breakfast and lunch options are very few if you are not eating at 104 west or Appel… I’m looking forward to my last kosher dinner and reporting my dining experience to our Dining Leadership.
Gluten Free at the Ivy Room
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Made with 100% Awesome. No Gluten. ‘Nuff Said.
Lunch yesterday was at the Ivy Room in Willard Straight. Normally I like to go with the burrito station, so I was wondering what I would find here without gluten. It took me very little time to find a quality bowl of rice noodles, chicken broth, tofu, and assorted veggies! Yum!
One last Gluten-Free lunch on campus
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
“Finally Friday” has even more meaning for me than usual, as it’s the last of 5 Days eating all my meals and snacks without gluten. This has been a tremendous education for me, and I can tell from the dozens of other blog posts this week that it has been for my colleagues in Cornell Dining, as well.
No bun? No problem!
For my last 5 Days lunch, on such a nice day, I decided to head to West Campus and 104West!, Cornell’s remarkable multicultural dining room. It’s not just Kosher but Halal, as well, and I’ve enjoyed my meal every time I’ve been there. Best of all, Friday is burgers and dogs day!
Unfortunately, unlike some of the eateries I’ve been to this week, 104West! doesn’t have any gluten-free alternative bread, such as hamburger rolls, available. There is such a thing as Kosher gluten-free bread, but that may be too niche a market for Cornell Dining to stock it. No worries, I’ve had a burger without a bun before! This time, I topped the delicious hand-ground beef patty with some tomatoes and fresh guacamole.
One nice thing about eating Kosher meat is you know there are no fillers added. This was a great burger! Veggieburgers are available, too, but those are labeled as containing wheat, so that’s out for today.
Great salad bar at 104West!… but none of these faux “bacon” bits or crispies for me!
I also availed myself of 104West!’s extensive salad bar, which includes tofu and hard-boiled eggs to boost the protein of your meal if you’re not having meat. But wait! Are those bacon bits?! Bacon wouldn’t be Kosher even at a meat meal, such as Friday lunch here, so the 104West! salad bar features soy “bacon” bits! I was curious to try these, but since they’re processed or manufactured food, I figured I’d better ask if they were gluten-free. Sure enough, they’re not. They contain wheat flour.
The dessert table also had lots of temptation, including some beautiful-looking baklava, but I had to pass. I’ll come back for some of that baklava another time, though. Of course, I realize hundreds of people on the Cornell campus can’t just stop eating gluten-free, the way I can after this week. I’m lucky, and after 5 Days, much better informed.
Gluten Free at Synapsis
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
A couple days ago, I got the chance to eat at Synapsis… but what can a person with a gluten intolerance eat here? I took the advice of my fellow teammates from their experience the day before and went with the pasta bake prepared with pasta lacking gluten. I must say that I was impressed with the quality of the penne! Food science has come a long way over the years in improving on the textural experience with gluten free pasta. In the past, I have experienced lesser products- ranging from grainy to rubbery, but I can honestly say that I didn’t miss the wheat this time.
This Vegans last meal…or is it?
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
I decided to get back to Trillium this morning to try that breakfast burrito with tofu scramble instead of eggs. Matt helped me navigate the options to have in addition to my tofu…I added potatoes, roasted peppers & onions, salsa, and some vegan cheese. This breakfast burrito is one that will satisfy! Additionally there was a fresh cut fruit bar, hot cereal station, as well as some whole fresh fruit and cold cereal options to be had…Nice job Chef Jacob and Jill! Trillium has plenty of options for a vegan breakfast and the entire staff was very friendly and helpful!
Vegan vegetable Soup at Synapsis.
So on campus we serve a lot of fish on Friday and did you know almost everyone has Clam Chowder? But wheres the vegan minestrone? Well Synapsis delivered this afternoon and with the help of Sarah and her team I was able to find lots of options when I originally thought there wasn’t much to be had.
But seriously was I wrong. Sarah pointed out that there were lots of options for a vegan lunch. She directed me towards the soup crocks and told me they were serving a vegan vegetable soup jam packed with veggies which smelled and tasted great. She told me that they can make vegan versions of almost all of the pizzas and pastas as well as with the magic of some vegan cheese they make a vegan grilled cheese sandwich as well. A nice selection of salads were available for additional choices along with fresh cut fruit, vegan snacks, and some veggies and hummus from the grab and go area.
Tuscan Vegan Pizza from Synapsis. Lots of veggies, tomato sauce, and vegan cheese on a crispy thin crust.
I ended up deciding on the Tuscan flat bread pizza with fresh tomatoes, red peppers, onions, & artichoke hearts and some melted vegan cheese. I have to say it was good combination of veggies on the wood fired thin crust, but I would probably save the vegan cheese for the grilled cheese sandwich as it had more the texture for that application. I do want to go back at some point for the grilled “cheese” and try with a cup of tomato soup.
Well in closing on our last day I wanted to say thanks to Cornell Dining for allowing me to participate in this experiment. I loved this experience! It has opened my eyes to how great of a job Cornell Dining is doing already and also made me aware of those areas of where we can improve to help our dining community! I look forward to hearing everyone’s feedback and experiences. I do have to admit I am OK its day 5, and while I enjoyed my entire experience and will continue to eat certain vegan meals…I will also be enjoying a big juicy burger that I will be grillin’ up tonight…along with some chocolate chip cookies and a big glass of milk!
Grand Finale Lunch
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Members of the “Gluten & Diary-free Team” and the “Vegetarian” team trying to have lunch and test the staff’s knowledge in WSH. What an eye-opening experience the 5 DAY experiment has been.
Levon Brewer, Susan Whitaker, & Therese O’Connor dine in the Ivy room on day 5.
Vegetarian Lunch, Day Four
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
More Beans Please! That’s right, I chose more beans for lunch on Day Four of the 5 Days Challenge. Not only was this Burrito Salad from Martha’s vegetarian, but it was vegan and gluten free! So, many of my fellow participants could eat this delicious option. It’s kind of like a Burrito, without the tortilla. Or like a Taco Salad, without the chips. Thus….a Burrito Salad! Layers of beans, rice, lettuce, tomato, and jalapenos were topped with tofu. The gluten free could choose beef or chicken too.
(I added a bunch of tabasco sauce to bump up the spiciness).
Kosher living day 4
March 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
You know, I knew there would be options but today really lifted me up! After whining all day yesterday about being cold, I stepped out with some of my (Catering) team and headed to Appel. At the Kosher station I was greeted with a big smile, hot lamb stew, Matzo Ball soup, Spinach & Mushroom quiche, barbecued beans and roasted potatoes-and I..ATE..IT..ALL. HA! A colleague from the Bronx shared with me an insightful story and reminded me of the meaning behind Unleavened Bread and I was further lifted up by some of the conversation and knowledge of kosher practices at my table. Oh-and the picture? I was so hungry I remembered halfway through-and it would not have looked as appetizing as it was!
I left lunch feeling fulfilled by the meal and the friendship-maybe I should make time for a good lunch more often….after Reunions.