Currently in the airport waiting to go to
Curly fries can’t be bad…. unless it’s these. They were floppy and mealy. They didn’t change over the semester either. Disappointing.
Equally this chicken sandwich was lackluster at best. I swear it was cold in the center, combined with a hard bun this was horrible. I’ve no more words for it. NEXT!
Now were talking, the roast pork I adored last year is back and has made great strides in flavor. No longer just shriveled pieces of pork, no these were meaty. They weren’t overly saucy either, I know I say this a lot but they were perfect. Sadly this quality wasn’t consistent, some times being so sauced it was nauseating. Regardless it was a solid choice to fall back on. I also made the switch to white rice; the fried rice was very bland.
The quality of the boxed sandwiches was a bit higher, but still the bread was as stale as ever. Just a sandwich.
Beef stew and noodles: not bad, but not great either. Sure the flavor was there, in the stew at least, but the texture was all wrong. And the noodles were cooked well, but lacked any flavor whatsoever. Big hunks of beef are always nice, but the graininess of the liquid was unappetizing. I didn’t know what to make of this pair, definitely not one of the best that I've had that’s for certain.
Boxed buffalo chicken salad. Got me sick…. ‘Nuff said.
Ah, the old standby the steak burrito. Filling, tasty and most of all never ever bad. The burrito that I loved so dearly is back and retains its previous charm. This was a lifesaver.
Remember that Chinese buffet from a while back? We ended up going a lot this year, and now the pork buns have pork! What a concept! They were good, a little too chunky but none the less they had the flavor I was looking for. Not the best buns of the year however.
Spare ribs on the bone, extremely juicy. This was something that I only saw once, and it was a shame. These really hit the spot, I wonder why they disappeared. They were comparable to some you could get from a take out place.
It just started snowing, hopefully ill be taking off today.
Little packaged pastries: These showed up in every dining hall. Why? No idea, but I actually got to eat something in the mornings because of it. For being wrapped up in plastic these were surprisingly good, though a bit stale. The apple Danish actually tasted legitimate as did the sticky bun. These gave me the energy that I needed to get through the long mornings in my art class.
FINALLY MACARONI AND CHEESE. It took them two months, but at least they made a weekly date out of it. I was jonesin for some, and when the time finally came to get my fix, I was let down big time. Watery slimy noodles, I REJECT THEE. They got this so wrong, so wrong in fact I only ate them once. It was like having a nice sexy sports car right in front of you, and then after you buy it you realize there isn’t a motor inside. No words can describe that empty feeling.
On a lighter note, fish chips! I’m a big fan, so I was delighted when these turned out to be rather fantastic. Crispy crust, juicy fish that was coherent to the crust. It didn’t snake out; no it was there to stay! And the chips were fantastic as well. More like a steak fry cut, which is what chips should be. Extremely crispy with a center that was more like a mashed up baked potato, fantastic! I was really pleased with this one, and yet like the ribs before it, they were never seen again.
Meatloaf: now this was a good one, meatloaf mashed potatoes and… a… egg…roll.
What?! How did that get there!? Well I didn’t care it was fantastic. The cut of the vegetables inside was slightly different then I was used to, but it turned out to be better with the meatloaf. Speaking of which this was good meatloaf, not dry in the slightest and had traditional meatloaf flavor. It tasted as though someone’s mother had made it for me. Same goes for the potatoes; they were smashed with the skins on which is something I adore. Overall a very comforting meal in a sea of ordinary meals.
I’ve never eaten at a
The return of the mash potato bowl: This was a big event as it was highly demanded.
How does it stack up to the original? Nice try kid. First and foremost the lack of a bowl really kills the mash potato bowl. Secondly there’s much, much less. No longer is it the “one meal you need” powerhouse it once was. Now it’s lost its grandeur and is nothing more then mashed potatoes with a little extra. I miss my mountain!
Sens garden is a local Chinese take out joint. I find it to be very consistent in terms of flavor and the amount given. My usual is that of a combo order; Boneless spare ribs, fried rice and an egg roll for pennies. I like the fact that they cut the spare ribs differently. Most places would slice them into strips, but at Sen’s they cut them into more abstract shapes, almost like wedges. Not too sticky, not too chewy and just the right amount. The fried rice is a touch greasy, but it has way more flavor then any other I’ve had. The addition of bean sprouts really makes the rice seem alive and gives it a good crunch. The egg roll is average at best, kind of soggy but it has good flavor; take it or leave it.
I always find these sauces curious, I’ve never used them. Maybe next time ill give them a try.
Back at Benedict we have BBQ ribs mashed potatoes and fried yucca. Now I’ve never eaten yucca before so this was interesting. Very starchy, kind of like a potato with a strange aftertaste, I don’t quite know if I like it or not. The ribs were alright, too much fat, but the sauce was pretty good. Regardless this one filled my craving for meatiness. Mashed potatoes at this point were coming back more and more, and I was glad. They were creamy with a bit of chunkiness, it really hits the spot.
Remember this guy? This was the thing that got me so sick at the beginning of my first semester that I was afraid to eat anything. It hasn’t improved much, as a matter of fact I don’t think I’ve eaten a good cheese steak in a long while, kind of depressing isn’t it?
Salisbury steak! Wow this is quintessential cafeteria fare! In all honesty it was pretty solid. Nicely cooked, good sauce, really juicy and it had caramelized onions. It’s a shame this didn’t ever come back, I really enjoyed it. The rice was garbage, so utterly plain. The corn wasn’t bad when a little salt was added. It was a nice change from the usual sides offered, mainly rice. I’m getting sick and tired of rice…
I wrote about Hoshi Sushi before, but with my new love of chirashi sushi I figured I would give my thoughts on it. Accompanied with my friend rose we sat in the “alternate seating area”. Most Japanese places have something like this, where you sit on the ground with a table a little higher then usual.
My salad this time was served in a lacquer bowl instead of a glass one. I really do like that, something so very Japanese. I find that miso soup especially is suited to these kinds of bowls. As far as taste was concerned it was identical to when last I had it.
The same could be said for the miso soup, very basic
Now certainly this looks like an impressive meal. However, this isn’t what I was expecting when I ordered chirashi sushi. Chirashi is usually a bowl of rice with sashimi on top. You can see a few entries back in the summer an excellent example of chirashi sushi. This was kind of lazily done. The fish was good quality, but they just threw a hunk of rice down and called it chirashi. I was very disappointed with this dish.
Before I start on this, I’d like to give a big thanks to Volgey’s mom. Mrs. Warner thank you for this fantastic meal, I only wish you could have joined us!
Ruvo is a restaurant I passed up once, we were told the wait time and moved on. I am SO fortunate that I had returned. It’s a very nice Italian restaurant in Port Jefferson. The occasion was Volgey’s birthday and much to my pleasure there was a 3 course menu on that night! For the first course I chose the rice balls. These were perfection; crispy and creamy. Not greasy in the slightest and absolutely addicting. I liked the fact that it wasn’t just one big one, and that there were a trio of them. It allowed me to really enjoy the crispy shell around each and every one of them.
The main course was beef short ribs, and they were heavenly. My only complaint will be up front, it was very heavy. I tasted it the following day, it was an uncompromising flavor. With that said let me tell you, the best short ribs I have ever eaten. The flavor was so rich and the meat cooked perfectly. Look at this:
Desert was as equally devastatingly heavy… In a good way! A hot brownie ala mode with caramel and fudge. Yeah…. No other words needed really. Thanks again Mrs. Warner!
David’s cookies! These showed up in some of the dining halls and were pretty damn good. Chewy and cheap a good snack!
At some point in the final days of the semester I died. I had a fever, a cold and a stomach virus. Needless to say I wasn’t eating much. This spicy tortilla soup was one of the few things I could stomach. Spicy is key here, it cleared out my sinuses and soothed my throat. Not bad at all.
Benedict: The Mac’s cheese was the same as mentioned above, nasty. The steak wasn’t any better. Last semester a man named Nigel handled the steak, and he did them right. Now their burnt and I’m a man that likes his steak rare. Unacceptable.
One day for some reason Ankles, Volgey and I wound up in Fridays. I wound up getting chicken noodle soup. Aside from it having a grainy texture it was pretty good. The noodles were actually not bad at all. Not great, but better then expected that’s for sure. I’ve already spoken of the Jack Daniels burger before; it’s got a grasp on me.
My final meal at stony was my first at at a dining location called jasmine. Inside the
This desert bar pictured above was so damn tasty. It was like chocolate, brownie, mousse and peanut butter. It was so powerful I couldn’t stand to eat it all in one sitting. This is worth the trip, not the food before it.
And that’s it for my semester at Stony. The rest of ‘09 and the start of ’10 will be coming soon!
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