A Cornell Dining Experiment
Had a day on the go – meetings all over campus no tim to sit and relax in a place like 104 west or North Star
Grabbed a Pastrami Sandwich from Kosher Grab N Go at Bear very good sandwich
Dinner Tonight at North Star – Had time to sit and enjoy a nice hot meal with many folks around
Lemon Mustard Chicken
Cajun Tofu – Black Bean Salsa – Very good flavor
Quinoa Pilaf – Very Good
Sliced Beets
Beef Barley Soup – Very Nice flavors
Had a great lunch at North Star
Stir Fry Chicken with lo Mein
Sticky Rice
Bean Casserole
Day three of my kosher week started strong. I had a bowl of dry cheerios along with some great starbuck’s coffee. I did however struggle a bit to get lunch in time before Northstar closed. I planned to be at Northstar around 1:30, giving me plenty of time to eat before the kosher station closed. As we all know, some of the best made plans do get turned around. I got busy here at my unit, and before I knew it, it was 1:53 and I didn’t have lunch yet. Normally I would just go to Bear Necessities for a quick bite, but all that was in the cooler was a few sandwich’s. I wanted a hot lunch on a cold day, so I scrambled to Northstar just in time for lunch. First time this week I felt the pressure of eating a specific diet, which is not always right at your fingertips.
What a treat! Pizza for lunch at North Star without cheese. I went to the pizza station to see how they could fulfill my pizza craving without breaking my Dairy Free diet. Chris at the pizza station ask what I wanted and I said surprise me. Surprise me he did. I did some forging at the Chefs Table, Asian Station and Kosher (luckily it was dairy free today) coming away with several dairy free options to my liking such as green bean, sprouts, and quiche. I got the sign that pizza was ready and returned to the pizza station. Chris had prepared a beautiful pie consisting of “secret sauce”, extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, and fresh basil finished with salt and pepper. Few ingredients, but more flavorful than you can imagine. This one definitely needs to be added into the pizza rotation.
I am on the VEGAN 5 day Cornell Dining TEAM and I had a great experience this week dining on only VEGAN items . I am an avid fan of meats cheese and other dairy products to I was interested to see how our Vegan students ate here at Cornell Dining . My first lunch was at Bear on North Campus and I had fresh baked pizza bread with herbs and a bowl of Vegan vegetable soup .I was very happy with my choices for my First meal . I could have also had a vegetarian burger and house made fries or a vegetable calzone but went with the vegetable soup and frsh baked bread ..YUM
Monday evening was Mardi Gras at RPCC and I always look forward to having some of my favorite items on Mardi Gras . Chef Hilda made it easy for all to eat wonderful foods from New Orleans . She had tranformed many items to be vegan and this made my day as I got all the smells and flavors of New Orlenas in my meal at RPCC .. Truth be told I really missed the grits and Grillades but after eating the other offering that were made with freshly ground spices and had so much depth of flavors I left happy and proud to be working for Cornell .
I had more great vegan Meals at Northstar with Chef Harold and his skilled culinary TEAM. Jean Tang made me a wonderful scrambled tofuand broccoli dish that would make anyone happy with flaovr added with fresh garlic and ginger .I could eat this all the time and be happy and satisfied . Chef Cathy at Keeton House had a special on Wednesday evening called Wizard of Oz and had so many vegan items I was very happy Vegan creamed corn with soy milk was one of my favorites of the evening along with Vegan Apple Crumble . I can see that it may not always be easy to eat Vegan but now my eyes have been opened by this process to look at every item and ask how can this be made for Vegans .Mashed potatoes are a very easy fix to make with EVOO and fresh herbs or roasted garlic or any number of other items to make the perfect mashed potatoes. We will look at food differently from now on. thats for sure . 
I had lunch on Monday at North star. Lot’s of Gluten free options. Home made gluten free dressing . Great Job Chef Harold for menu gluten free menu selection. Brandon eat all the gluten free brownies.
There are plenty of breakfast options at North Star for breakfast especially if you are a high-protein type. Two kinds of eggs, home fries, and pork sausage.
Eggs 2 ways
This afternoon was quite busy for me, so much that I almost forgot to go eat dinner tonight. It was about 640pm when I realized how hungry I was and that Kosher closes at 7pm. I arrived at Kosher to find a few people still there enjoying their meals. Tonight’s offerings were, Smashed Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans with Garlic and something called a Deli Roll. I will admit I was a bit intimidated by the Deli roll at first, it looked a bit unappetizing but upon speaking with the staff I was informed that it sells out every time they serve it at the NorthStar Kosher satellite station. I was very happy and surprised to find out the Deli Roll was a puff pastry shell filled with Pastrami, Corned beef and Turkey, it also had a bit of Dijon mustard in it that gave it a nice tangy taste. Since I was in a hurry to get back to West Campus to supervise House dinners, I completely forgot AGAIN to get some yummy Ice Cream novelties. Luckily I can eat some cookies at the houses tonight, since they are O/U certified.
I feel at odds because for me, traveling to nearby Kosher destinations not only takes me away from my duties, but it IS SO SO COLD outside-and there are (limited) kosher options at Bear Necessities-but they’re cold–and I’M COLD. A hot kosher lunch would be ideal and I know the selection at 104 West! is outstanding but I choose to stay in and keep warm. I had a variety of salads yesterday and tried the cabbage roll and a commissary salad today. I wonder..if the students feel limited as I did because I didn’t want to face the weather or if they’re just so used to enduring the walking that they don’t notice, and I’d like to ask.
Yesterday (Monday), I enjoyed lunch with our Gluten Free team at Northstar and I was happy to see there were several options available to choose from. My favorite area at NS is their salad bar and was delighted to see there were many items to choose from, including their dressings. The house made chicken & rice soup was delicious and I was happy when a FOH dining worker confirmed that indeed it was GF. I also tried a smidgeon of a GF brownie which was so good… worth every calorie! I’m happy to see the all to care to eat facilities offer a wide variety of items for our students to choose from.
Today (Tuesday), my team members Brandon, Matthew Stockton and I dined at Synapsis, which Kristin Beierle recommended. I chose their GF pasta with a variety of vegetables and garlic herb sauce. The texture of the pasta was firmer than my liking but the sauce & vegetables were very tasty. I also had a couple of Matthew’s sweet potato fries which were very good. I’m looking forward to another dining adventure tomorrow to see what other GF offerings are available to our students on campus.
