Strudel

 Asking immigrant Jews fresh off the boat from Europe, if they are familiar with the dish strudel, is like asking an American if they are familiar with the staple dessert, apple pie. Though I am third generation Texan, I am like one of these immigrants. When my great-grandmother, Libby Plantowsky, arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1910, she brought along her European ancestors’ culinary skills. Upon arrival in Galveston, my great-grandmother planted two fig trees. From the figs that her fig trees nurtured, her famous strudel recipe was born.

My great-grandmother’s strudel consists of three layers of dough that sandwich preserves, nuts, and lots of cinnamon and sugar. I recently discovered that the dessert that my family has been calling strudel for almost one hundred years does not fit the criteria of a typical strudel, which is a spiral shaped pastry consisting of dough and filling. I learned that our strudel is actually more similar to another European pastry called fluden, which is a layered pastry also made up of dough and filling. After researching both pastries and then comparing them to my family’s strudel, I concluded that neither of their descriptions match the dish that I am familiar with. Strudel and fluden, possibly having evolved from the same dish, contain many similarities. I realized that my great-grandmother’s strudel recipe might in fact be a combination of both.

American Jews consist primarily of two groups—Ashkenazim, who originated in Germany and France, and Sephardim, who originated in the Iberian Peninsula. When both groups were forced out of their respective homelands, the majority of Ashkenazic Jews settled in Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, like Poland and the Ukraine, carrying their culinary knowledge with them (The World of Jewish Cooking 2).

A central theme of Jewish cooking in the Diaspora is adaption. While Sephardic Jews swiftly picked up culinary techniques from their new residing countries, Ashkenazic Jews were faced with a greater difficulty. Jews of medieval France and Germany found themselves in a difficult situation because their non-Jewish neighbors ate an ample amount of pork and shellfish, fried their food in lard, and often times prepared dishes that contained both meat and dairy products—all which are forbidden according to the Jewish Bible (The World of Jewish Cooking 3). As a result, the Jews of the area had to be creative in accommodating their food restrictions in accordance to the available resources. Thus they were less influenced by the surrounding peoples’ culinary practices. The variety of recipes created, became what Americans call today, typical “Jewish food.”

Jewish life consists primarily of rituals and traditions. Linked to these Jewish rituals is food; in the Jewish culture food is considered both a physical and spiritual support. Food has a major role in the weekly observance of the Jewish Sabbath, holidays, and festivities by elevating each of these momentous occasions. These traditional recipes provide the new generation with a connection to the past. Nowadays, the once vibrant and large Jewish communities that existed throughout Eastern Europe exist primarily in the traditions and recipes continued by their descendents.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines strudel as “a baked sweet of Austrian origin, made of very thin layers of pastry with a filling, usually of fruit.” The OED also notes that the etymology of the word, strudel, is German and translates to an “eddy” or “whirlpool.” This translation is suitable to the pastry’s appearance since strudel looks like a spiral of dough and filling. The roots of the pastry, presently known as strudel, emerged in Asia over a thousand years ago. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food provides an anecdote regarding nomads of central Asia. The nomads would roll out the dough of unleavened bread into very thin sheets and shape them into loaves. Since these loaves would last for long periods of time, the women would prepare them in large batches to last their families while on their month long journeys. The Turks then named these loaves yuvgha and brought them along the Silk Road.

Picture of strudel by: http://www.listoid.com/image/105/list_2_105_20101125_062527_623.jpg.

Towards the end of the 15^th century the Ottoman bakers began improving the recipe by adding oil and stretching the dough even thinner and renamed the dough yufka. Turks continued modifying the dough by adding more butter, oil, and various fillings and eventually introduced the new pastry throughout Europe. The pastry’s popularity spread to Austria where it was renamed strudel, “perhaps inspired by a large vortex in the Danube River upriver of Vienna” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food). Strudel’s adaption into Jewish cuisine arose “since many of the professional bakers of Austria were Jewish, strudel early on became a part of the Ashkenazic repertoire” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food). According to the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, the earliest strudel recipe is a handwritten recipe from Vienna, Austria, dating back to 1696. As the dish began to grow in popularity, recipes began making their way into many German cookbooks in the early 1800’s. In close to a century, the pastry became almost ubiquitous amongst Jews of German origin.

Strudel makers take their strudel making very seriously “working the dough with gentle precision until stretched thin enough to read a newspaper” (The World of Jewish Cooking 342). Some even say that “the ultimate quality of a housewife’s culinary skills was judged by her ability to make strudel ausgezogen (pulled by hand)” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food). There are many varieties of strudel ranging from savory to sweet and the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food notes that both the Hungarians and Austrians claim to have invented the famous apple strudel. Because of the laborious work that strudel making entails, housewives typically only bake strudel for special occasions. Occasionally strudel can be found in American bakeries today however, the popularity of the dish has vastly decreased. Today strudel is commonly associated with Pillsbury’s toaster strudel and bears little resemblance to the European strudel.

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food defines fluden as a “layered pastry with filling” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food). Fluden originated in France and is also known as Hungarian, flodni and Romanian, flandi. Fluden “derived from the Late Latin fladon (flat cake), itself from the Old High German word flado (flat cake), which is also the source of the name of the French flan (an open-faced tart) and Spanish flan (baked custard)” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food). The Encyclopedia notes that the earliest mention of fluden appeared in the writings of Rabbi Yehuda of Mainz around the year 1000 C.E. In his writings, he analyzes a dispute between two great Rabbis who were arguing whether it was permissible “to eat bread with meat if it (the bread) was baked in an oven with a cheese dish called fluden” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food).

Picture of fluden by: http://www.jwi.org/view.image?Id=3029.

The World of Jewish Cooking mentions that fluden is related to another Ashkenazic dish, pashtida: a double-crusted meat-filled Sabbath pie (339). The thick upper and lower layers serve as a method of keeping the filling moist as well as a base to eat the filling. The layers symbolize the double portion of manna that the Jews collected for the Sabbath and as the upper and lower layers of dew protecting the manna, while they traveled through the Sinai desert.

The World of Jewish Cooking provides a timeline of how the meat filled pashtida morphed into the cheese filled fluden and eventually into the current fruit filled pastry (339). The hard, thick pastry dough of the pashtida was later replaced with thin layers of soft dough. The Franco-German Jews then began filling the layers with a sweet cheese filling. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food adds, “Cooks eventually developed several other fillings besides cheese, as it was not always available or affordable.” Cooks began using variations of fillings corresponding the different fillings according to occasion.

Unlike other Jewish dishes that migrated with the large mass of Eastern European Jews to America, the once famous fluden was lost in transit, “perhaps because it was replaced with the similar but easier apple pie” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food).  In 2005 an article on Passover appeared was written in the New York Times. The article included a recipe for “Cashew Nut Strudel with Guava and Lime (Fluden de Pesach)” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Food). Although the title does not explicitly state that strudel and fluden are the same dish, it hints that their origins might be the same or that they are variations of one another.  

My family's strudel

My grandmother, Shirley Mucasey, has been preparing her mothers strudel recipe since my mother was a child. At important family functions, like Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, there is never a question if there will be strudel. My grandmother prepares her strudel weeks in advance and always in bulk

I was told that strudel takes a while to prepare, but I never realized how long and tedious the job really is. A few years ago, before my brother’s Bar Mitzvah, I asked my grandmother if I could help bake the strudel and she gladly accepted. She told me to set aside the whole day for the preparation. At the time I was a bit skeptical and wondered how long can strudel making really take, as they are simply little pastry squares. However, this is where I was mistaken. I arrived at my grandmother’s early in the morning and we got to work immediately. Even with the homemade fig preserves prepared the previous night, there was still a long road ahead of us. While the recipe itself is not so difficult, the steps require time and precision.

During my interview with my grandmother, she shared with me the story of the birth of our family’s strudel recipe; “when she came here from Europe, when they got their first house, which was that two story house in Galveston, she liked to grow things. She planted two fig trees along with vegetables in her yard. When the fig trees grew, they gave off a lot of figs. She didn’t know what to do with them when they were ripe, so she decided that she might as well preserve them. So, she preserved them and thought, ‘now what can I do with all these preserved figs’ and then she decided to make this recipe of making strudel with the fig preserves serving as the base of the recipe.” I asked if it took her a while to perfect the recipe to which my grandmother responded, “oh no! She was an excellent cook and the first time she made it, it was the same and it was great.”

Not only has strudel become an important part of my family; the tradition of planting two fig trees started. When my great-grandmother moved to a smaller house in Galveston, she again planted two more fig trees. My grandmother continued telling me, “oh, and when I got married she told me you MUST plant two fig trees in your back yard, which I did. And then when we moved to Lemac (her street name) I planted two more fig trees. She wouldn’t let me go without planting fig trees, two of them.” I am not sure of the significance of planting two fig trees, but I was once told that my great -grandmother was convinced that the only way a fig tree could grow was if it was growing along side another fig tree.

Although I never met my great-grandmother, I have been told repeatedly of her phenomenal cooking and baking skills. She created multiple recipes and cooked and baked based on feeling and instinct rather than following recipes. I can believe my family when they rave of her cooking skills since the recipes of hers that we still make not only involve multiple steps and unique techniques but also taste delicious. My grandmother told me that her mother was “very famous for her strudel amongst her friends. They had different meetings: Hadassah meetings, synagogue meetings, and whatever. She would bring strudel and they would raffle it off and that is how they made money.”

My grandmother came across an article from the Galveston Jewish community’s newspaper written about my great-grandmother. The article opens with “If she knows you are coming, there will be some kind of baked delight awaiting you. In that one sentence, we have told you quite a bit about the personality and character of Libby Plantowsky.” The article continues, “Great Grandma Plantowsky likes to bake. She bakes for teas, Bar Mitzvahs (Bas Mitzvahs, too), parties, weddings, —. She bakes from recipes handed down from grandmothers to mothers and she is absolutely famous for her mandel bread, strudel, challah, etc… We have told you that Libby bakes like a dream, makes a five cent cucumber taste like it was worth its weight in gold.” With the stories I have heard, the article, and having tasted many of her recipes, I am thoroughly convinced that my great-grandmother was a phenomenal baker.

Both my grandparents laughed when reminiscing the day that my grandmother learned how to bake strudel. She proceeded to share with me the entertaining, yet exhausting, process of acquiring the recipe from her mother. “She was coming in to stay with us when we lived on Lemac and I had told her that I would like to bake strudel, would she make it up and teach me how to make it. She said, ‘sure’. She said, ‘okay, I need a sifty of flour’ and I said, ‘mom, a sifty of flour, how much is that? I need to know the amount’ and she said, ‘vell I don’t know, a sifty.’ So, a sifty to her was a sifter. So I got her a sifty, put it in a pan, and I started pouring the flour gradually, gradually. I said, ‘is that enough?’ ‘No a little a bit more,’ ‘is that enough?’ ‘No a little bit more’ and we kept going on till she decided it was right amount in the sifty, and then we stopped. I took the sifty over and I measured the flour that she had me pour in there and I had five cups. So that is how I came to where I use five cups of flour. Then we went to the sugar. The sugar, she said a cup of sugar. Thank god that was all!”

My great-grandmother baked by adding ingredients solely on instinct and “every time she’d pour a sifty of flour, the sifty wasn’t necessarily the same as the last time she made it.” My grandmother’s style varies greatly from her mother’s, as she measures each ingredient out in an extremely precise manner, making sure that each time it is exactly the same as the last. Her need for perfection served extremely useful when recording my great-grandmothers strudel recipe. Without her preciseness, there would be no written records of the strudel recipe. Through the detailed, step-by-step, recipe card that she compiled, my great-grandmother’s legacy will live on for many generations to come.

The recipe serves as great importance since my grandmother is the only one of her six siblings who learned how to bake strudel. She said the reason was “that they were all too busy, it’s a big job, it’s like a two day job and nobody was interested.” Since baking strudel is such a big job and requires a lot of time my grandmother “just makes it for special occasions and I make a lot of it and freeze it. Like for everybody’s Bat Mitzvah and everybody’s Bar Mitzvah.”

Strudel’s long process begins with the mixing of the fig preserves days in advance so that the flavors have time to absorb. For the filling the recipe calls for a variety of other preserves, tiny pieces of maraschino cherries, raisins, a grated lemon, and breadcrumbs. The dough calls for flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, Crisco, and warm water. The dough is a crucial part of the recipe and must be cared for and kneaded thoroughly. The dough is rolled out very thin and cut to fit the pan’s rectangular shape. It is then placed at the bottom of the pan and the layering begins.

The preserve mixture is spread over the dough, the chopped pecans over the preserves, and then lots of cinnamon and sugar on top. The process repeats and on the top sheet of dough extra cinnamon and sugar is added. Before the strudel is baked, the pan of strudel is cut into small squares and more cinnamon and sugar is sprinkled on top so no dough is visible, and then oil is poured over the entire pan. The work does not end there; the strudel must be watched closely while in the oven and the ends must be flipped midway to prevent them from burning. The process as a whole, including the preparation of the fig preserves takes about 5-6 hours.

During a recent interview with my Grandmother, she revealed a bit of information that helps explain why all strudel pastries that I have seen look so different from the strudel she bakes. She said that she “hasn’t seen really any recipes in any cookbooks, but I think maybe in one cookbook. It usually is called fluden, F-L-U-D-E-N, and it’s more like two layers. It is similar to my strudel but I have never seen a recipe where it’s called strudel.” This new revelation initiated my research of the histories of both strudel and fluden to discover the true identify of the dish that my family has been calling strudel.

My research revealed that my family’s pastry closely resembles fluden, more than it does strudel. Despite its resemblance to fluden, our strudel does not fully meet the description of the dessert. All three pastries call for similar ingredients and preparation however, key differences between the three are: strudel is rolled; fluden consists of two layers; my great-grandmother’s recipe consists of three layers.  I suspect that strudel and fluden most likely originated from the same European dish. Due to different preferences in variations of rolling styles, baking techniques, and fillings, the original dish evolved into two separate dishes. From this, I assume that my great-grandmother must have used her knowledge of both dishes to create her own pastry, which she called strudel.


*At the request of my grandmother, I did not post my family's strudel recipe.

An article written about my great-grandmother

My great-grandmother Libby Plantowsky

Clips from an interview with my grandmother:

Works Cited

Marks, Gil. Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.

Marks, Gil. The World of Jewish Cooking. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print.

Mucasey, Shirley. Personal interview. 24 Nov. 2011.

Second edition, 1989; online version September 2011. <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/191908>; accessed 02 December 2011. First published in A Supplement to the OED IV, 1986.

A Home Away From Home

After many long weeks and numerous stomachaches, I FINALLY found my go to station at the DUC, the stir-fry station. Despite the long line that usually forms along side the pizza station for customized stir fries, I never mind the wait since I know that it is one of the only options in the DUC that both my stomach and taste buds can handle. By now the man operating the large skillets knows me by name and always greets me with a friendly smile and says, “will you be having the usual?” at which I respond with a smile and say, “of course.”

The stir-fry station is the perfect station for me since I am extremely picky about what I eat and since many foods tend to upset my stomach. Each night I march right up to the station and the man immediately knows what I want and the quantity of everything for the stir-fry. What I truly enjoy about this station and stir-fries in general is the ability to customize the dish to my liking rather than eat what is already prepared. I am given the ability to choose exactly which vegetables are added and I can monitor the amount of oil and sauce being added. My typical stir-fry at the DUC consists of: tofu, broccoli, red onions, squash (the days they have it), baby corn, and water chestnuts. I then ask if he can fry it up with no oil and no sauce in which he responds “like usual.” Once fried up for about a minute or so the man scoops the prepared stir-fry into my bowl and hands it to me, smiles, and says “see you tomorrow."

While still steaming and hot, I take my bowl of stir-fry and head towards the condiment station where I add a bit of soy sauce, drop sriracha (a type of thai hot sauce made of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt), and a pinch of salt. Although the dish is rather simple it fulfills both my health needs and taste needs. I get my protein from the tofu and the nutrients and vitamins from the vegetables. Although it is not the most intricate meal, I would rather this option as opposed to anything else that the DUC offers. Having my go to station insures that each time I walk into the DUC I know that I will never be disappointed.

 At home I prepare stir-fries on a normal basis, experimenting with all sorts of unique vegetables, sauces, different proteins, and occasionally adding a carbohydrate to the mix. Despite the fact that the DUC does not offer me what I am accustomed to preparing for my self, the stir-fry station is as close as I am going to get. The dish is adequate and tastes as if someone just poured soy sauce on to mask the blandness of the plain vegetables and tofu (which it basically is) but it is always filling and edible which is what matters after a long day of school. After discovering the stir-fry station I now feel as if I am discovering my “food home” here at Emory.

A Taste of Home

In our Health class we were assigned to break up into small groups and design projects revolving around four pillars of balance: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional/social. My group chose to combine both physical and social, and for our project we decided to go shopping at the farmers market on campus and then prepare dinner with the ingredients we bought.

Farmers markets have always been one of my favorite places because the vendors are usually extremely genuine and I can tell that they put their hearts and souls into selling their homemade products. Also, since I love food it elevates my experience by being able to taste test the food that I am buying and also makes it far more difficult to resist the temptation of buying even though I usually do not need anything. One girl from my group and I went to the farmers market on Cox bridge to purchase a variety of ingredients to use in the dinner we were preparing for our health project. As we walked down the market we were captivated by all of the delicious looking foods being sold and when we finally were forced to make up our minds so we could get to class on time, we opted on purchasing homemade ginger infused orzo, homemade arugula pecan pesto, and an assortment of locally grown vegetables.

Since we are freshman and are stuck on campus without access to a grocery store, we were forced to improvise when preparing our dinner. We decided to make an orzo vegetable stir-fry. We began by cooking the orzo for 12 minutes in boiling water. Once it was no longer tender, we transferred it onto a plate to cool. We sprayed the pan with some Pam and threw in some cut up red onions, red and green bell peppers, broccoli, and baby corn. We fried up the vegetables until the onions became transparent and the rest of the vegetables were slightly browned. Next, we mixed the orzo back in with the vegetables and tossed on the stove until it was mixed and hot. We then added a pinch of garlic salt, a few tablespoons of Annie Chung’s Pad Thai sauce, and some of the pesto that we purchased at the farmers market.

Despite our limited ingredients, our stir-fry dish actually turned out to be extremely flavorful and delicious (definitely a nice break from the DUC). The assortment of ingredients, which one might not assume would complement each other, surprisingly did. The pesto’s slightly overwhelming garlicky taste gave the predominately tangy Asian dish a nice boost with out taking away from it. There was also a nice balance between the amount of orzo and vegetables and the dish was not swimming in sauce, which is something I hate.

Preparing dinner with a group of friends and eating a freshly made meal was an experience that made me feel like I was at home. It was nice to be eating a homemade meal using local ingredients purchased at the farmers market. After clearing our plates, we kept saying over and over again how much we preferred preparing our own food to eating the DUC and even though we knew it was not realistic to do this nightly, we made a plan to start doing this about once every week or every other week since not only did we have a good time eating it, it was also nice to prepare our own meal and to know where our ingredients came from. 

A Sweet and Delicious New Year

Every year prior to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, my mom retrieves my great grandmother, Libby Plantowsky’s, cherry apple pie recipe from deep in her recipe box.  The yellowed page of the recipe itself evokes such strong memories of food and family, and is aptly fit for this time of year.  It is appropriate that this is the one time of year that my mother bakes this pie, not only because it is customary to eat apples on Rosh Hashanah, but also, my whole family all comes together to celebrate the holiday together.

As soon as she arrives home with the sacks of apples and cans of cherry filling, my mouth already begins watering with anticipation that soon I will be eating the delicious pie once again. This pie not only tastes great, but it also has sentimental value, since my great grandmother developed this recipe herself, and it has remained in the family ever since. The recipe requires tedious work including the preparation of the dough from scratch, the precise slicing the apples, and other laborious processes. Also, feeding twenty-six family members one cherry apple pie simply does not cut it; we demand at least three, especially since we only get this treat once a year.

Although I do enjoy eating the pie, I appreciate it much more when I am involved in the preparation. We begin by peeling an insane number of big shiny red apples, coring them, and then slicing them each into paper-thin triangular slices.  We then mix the apple slice with Comstock cherry filling, as well as a few other secret ingredients. Once that is done, we set the filling aside, allowing the flavors to all come together, and then we begin mixing the dough, combining all the ingredients into a mixer. Once the dough is ready for rolling we divide the dough in half setting one half aside for the top layer of the pie and one for the bottom layer. We carefully roll out the bottom layer of dough into a perfect circle and lay it down onto the pie pan. We then scoop the cherry apple mixture into the pan and sprinkle lots of cinnamon and sugar on top. We then roll out the top layer and carefully place it on top, pinching the ends of the bottom and top together. The last touch before putting it into the oven is once again sprinkling loads of cinnamon and sugar on top. As per Plantowsky family tradition, there can never be enough cinnamon and sugar, in this pie or in any of our other family desserts; it is what gives the pie its sweet delicious taste!

As the pies bake, the aroma of hot cinnamon apples baking in the oven fills the entire house. It requires much self-restraint not to dig into the as soon as they are finished baking!

During the traditional Rosh Hashanah lunch, I can tell that although the whole family is enjoying the meal and each others company, everyone is also trying to rush through each course and willing to help clear and serve (which does not usually happen at family meals), eager to enjoy their slice, or slices, of cherry apple pie.

The pie’s crust slightly burns on the outside rim, but as progresses towards the middle, the crust becomes fluffy and sweet. The oozing cherry apple goo in the center as well as the slightly soggy yet delicious crust on the bottom, compliments the cinnamon and sugar infused crust. There is an equal amount of crust and filling that each bite contains the two. Although often times the slices do not keep their shape before reaching the plate, it does not matter because the second it reaches our mouths the presentation is disregarded.

As the pies are devoured, it is evident how one simple dessert can bring my whole family together. Each of us looks forward to this delicacy every year. The recipe is filled with family history.  On this annual occasion, it is very special to me to be able to welcome the Jewish New Year together, with my family and my great grandmother’s sweet and delicious cherry apple pie.

Breakfast Delight?

Every week I eagerly wait for Sunday to come. Sundays have always been my favorite day for many reasons: I am off from school, I can wake up at whatever time I want, and most importantly I always eat way too much delicious food.    A majority of people, myself included, tends to not have time to enjoy breakfast during the week and either skip it or just grab something small to eat while on the go. Sundays, however, are a completely different story since I have all day to indulge myself in this amazing, and often underrated, meal.

At home, my typical Sunday routine includes me rolling out of bed at sometime around noon, walking to my kitchen, while still in my pajamas, and making myself a big delicious breakfast. I love pretty much all breakfast foods, but I would have to say omelets are hands down my favorite breakfast options, and one of my favorite foods in general. I believe that you can never go wrong with an omelet since you can put pretty much whatever you want in it, changing it according to what you are in the mood for that day. Omelets are also an extremely healthy breakfast option, as opposed to pancakes or French toast, since the eggs are filled with protein and vegetables add an extra nutritional bonus!

In my opinion what a person chooses to eat defines who they are.   It is easy get a glimpse into a person’s personality by their food choices. This is especially true at an omelet station when everyone has specific requests and can have a completely customized meal. Some people approach the omelet station and ask for “a little of everything”, not really particular about what they eat. Then there are others, including myself, who are specific when it comes to creating the perfect omelet.  

Omelets can be simple with just eggs and maybe some cheese, for people who do not like vegetables, or they can be complex, with an array of different vegetables, cheeses, meats, and fish. A typical Sunday morning routine for me at home goes as follows:

·      I wander into my kitchen still in my pajamas and head straight to the refrigerator to pick out what I want in my omelet.

·      Then, I cut up the vegetables into small pieces and fry them in a pan.

·      When they slightly cooked I add the egg whites in as well as some seasonings.

·      Then after a minute or so I flip the egg over and allow the other side to cook.

·      When the omelet has slightly browned I sprinkle some cheese (usually goat or cheddar) on top.

·      Last, I slide it onto my plate, fold it in half, and there I have a good looking and delicious omelet.

Ever since I arrived on campus I long for this Sunday morning routine. Without having a kitchen to make my own food, I was forced to make my way over to the DUC to indulge in their bland unappealing food. As I wandered around from station to station, I saw nothing that looked even remotely edible. As I contemplated what to eat I noticed a station in the back with a long line. My interest was peaked and I maneuvered my way to the front of the line in hopes of finding something good to eat.

There it was: an omelet station! I was so excited that I was even willing to wait in the fifteen-minute line. Finally, my turn arrived. The lady making the omelets asked, in dull monotone voice, what I wanted in my omelet. The options were scarce, but based on past experiences, I did not expect much from the DUC. I opted for an egg white omelet with diced onions, roasted red peppers, fresh spinach, and black olives. I watched as the lady ladled the egg whites with absolutely no enthusiasm and then when she asked if I wanted cheese on top she sprinkled on about two grates of orange cheddar cheese, without looking where the strands were falling. When the eggs started to brown she poured the vegetables onto the center of the omelet, folded it in half, and handed it to me. (Luckily I noticed some salsa on the side and took a small bowl of it on my tray.)

 It is pretty hard thing to completely mess up an omelet. Even my little brother who is 14 has been making omelets for years and can make better ones then I had at the DUC. The egg around the omelet was paper thin, had no fluffiness like omelets usually have, and the egg was burnt on one side and not the other. The vegetables were piled in the middle and since they never directly touched the grill they were still raw. As I bit into the omelet, my mouth was over come with the unpleasant taste of the still raw onions. Not only were the eggs paper thin, and the vegetables completely raw, the omelet completely lacked seasoning! Not even a pinch of salt was added. Both the eggs and the vegetables were bland and oily. Luckily, I had spotted the salsa since I was forced smother it all over the omelet in order to make it remotely edible. As I was making my way through the horror that the DUC calls an omelet I was struggling with remembering if I had ordered cheese due to the fact that there was no trace of any cheese.

        I do want to give the DUC props for attempting an omelet station. However; they managed to take something relatively easy to make, and create something almost inedible. Even with just a touch of salt it could have significantly improved the omelet. My hopes of having my Sunday omelet routine will simply not happen here at the DUC, since I am not sure if both my stomach and taste buds can handle another round of the DUC’s so called attempt of an omelet.

Thai Outing

Image by: http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/vegetarian-pad-thai-fid-325558

After only a week of trying out the numerous dining halls around campus, I was already starting to get sick of the same selections being offered every day at the DUC and Cox.  So, on Sunday evening, my roommate and I decided to grab dinner off campus.  Luckily, we both immediately agreed upon Thai food, since Thai is both of our favorite cuisines.  After driving around for a while, right off of campus, we spotted a Thai restaurant called Thai Chili in a strip center on 2169 Briarcliff Road.  I was a bit skeptical at first since its façade resembled any ordinary Asian fast food restaurant however, once we stepped in, the atmosphere reflected something completely different.  The décor had a very authentic Asian theme and what caught my eye was the private room in the back with tables and chair low to the ground that looked like they were bought straight from a market in Thailand and placed in the back room. It would be an ideal space for a small dinner party!  The wait staff was extremely nice, sat us immediately, and did not leave us waiting to long before taking our orders.  As I looked through the menu I was extremely excited to see that they had such an array of options ranging from numerous selections of appetizers, soups, salads, meats, poultries, seafood, rice dishes, noodle dishes and had a large selection vegetarian.  When I asked the waitress her opinion on which tofu option was the best, since they all sounded so good, she graciously offered me her opinion and steered me in just the right direction of ordering the veggie and tofu delight. My roommate opted for the cashew nut chicken and the two of us decided to split the Pad Thai. Our food arrived relatively quickly, smelled delicious, and was letting off so much steam as if it had just come straight from the wok and placed right in front of us.  As I dug into my tofu dish I was surprised by the burst of flavors the dish had. The veggies were cooked perfectly, however, I felt that the tofu was a little too tough and chewy. The stir-fry was tossed in a light, flavorful soy sauce, which was a nice balance and not to overwhelming nor did it take away from the tofu and vegetables. I poured the extra sauce from my dish over the white rice that came with my entrée (which was in a petite silver bowl with a lid on it), which gave the bland rice a nice flavor. My roommate also seemed to enjoy her chicken dish as she finished most of her plate. Next, I dove into the Pad Thai, which happens to be one of my favorite foods.  The soft vermicelli rice noodles were lightly coated with sauce, mixed with the egg and tofu (which I could not taste), and lightly sprinkled with crushed peanuts. The Pad Thai was pretty good, not to saucy or soggy like other Pad Thais.  My roommate and I left the meal feeling extremely full and satisfied, we couldn’t even finish our whole plates. The prices were decent about $8-$15 an entrée.  Although it wasn’t the best Thai food I have ever had and I thought the dishes could use a bit more heat, I feel like I’ll be back again, since Thai Chili most certainly did satisfy my Thai Food craving. 

Thai Chili's website: www.thaichilicuisine.com/ includes images, contact information, and lunch and dinner menus.