Macroscopic Bits
Daily adventures, from OPERS to the dining hall.
Photo by Amanda Guo
7/9 Dinner
After completing all the mandatory COSMOS introductory meetings on opening day, we were presented with dinner at the John R. Lewis Dining Hall. It was the first time I had food from a university dining hall so I didn’t know what to expect. I quickly filled up my plate with my choice out of all the options available, took a seat, and ate.
I grabbed white rice, chicken, and tofu and managed to snap a picture in the dying sunlight. After eating it, I have to say that it was all right. The rice was a bit dry, and the tofu and chicken were kind of underseasoned. The outer part of the chicken was very good though. I was kind of disappointed that day. But I think one of the good things that I noticed immediately was the proportion of rice to tofu and chicken that the dining hall staff gives you.
Overall, this opening day meal gets a 5/10 from me. I bumped up my score a bit after reflecting on the rest of the meals offered throughout the first week of COSMOS because they were so good that their scores leaked over to cover this one (the original score would be 4/10).
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7/10 Dinner
After opening day, I went to dinner with zero expectations still. I was really hoping that the dining hall would have food that fit my tastes. It was like the COSMOS dining staff heard my hopes and dreams and served Indian food as one of their options! Of course, as an Asian, I had to support my Asian counterparts so I grabbed a plate.
Again, in the dying sunlight, I took a picture of my dinner. There was a big improvement compared to yesterday’s dinner. The rice was still slightly dry but was much better than yesterday’s rice; the curry was amazingly seasoned with the right amount of flavor (I get hungry thinking about it); and the chicken was well-seasoned too! The samosa was pretty good too. The dining hall staff always give out great portions and are super friendly!
Overall, I give this dinner a 9/10. It was a really good meal that reminded me of Vietnamese curry.
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Every lunch and dinner, there is an option for cheese or pepperoni pizza if you are not interested in any other food offered, which I took on Tuesday lunch. Pizza is such a classic food that can never go wrong.
The pizza here is on the thinner side compared to other pizzas I have eaten, but it is still good. The crust of the pizza (please eat your crust) has what I think is garlic (??) or some green herb that makes it taste good. Also, because the pizza is thin, the crust is usually crunchy, which makes it even better. I recommend eating the pizza as soon as you get it because the fresher out of the oven it is, the better it tastes. Trust. The size of the pizza slices vary between humongous like above, or tiny, but you can always ask for another slice if you are given a small one.
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7/12 Lunch
As soon as I saw that the menu for July 12th’s lunch had fried rice in it, I was hooked. Like pizza, fried rice is also a classic dish that is hard to go wrong with. You can pair up so many other foods with fried rice, which makes the dish very versatile. And growing up Asian, I ate so much rice that it became a comfort food for me away from home.
In the end, I got fried rice, chicken, and a vegan dish of broccoli with Gardein, which is plant-based meat. From the picture, the chicken looks like it had been fried, but the entire piece of chicken was actually pretty soft. The outer skin was pretty flavorful, and the insides carried the same flavor but less strongly. It was very savory. The fried rice had Spam, eggs, carrots, and possibly some green onions. The vegan dish was fairly well done with the broccoli soft and flavorful. I think that the dishes I chose worked well together!
Overall, I rate this meal a 9/10.
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