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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2009 9:46:23 GMT
Sodexo, a company that provides food services to more than 600 university campuses in the U.S. and Canada, has just released some of their long-term data monitoring taste preferences over the decades. Check out the list of students' favorite dining hall foods from this year, compared with the list from 1989. The results are pretty interesting.
Favorite foods in 2009:
1. Locally-grown fruits and vegetables
2. Crispy garlic-ginger chicken wings
3. Mac 'n five cheeses
4. Vietnamese Pho
5. Green tea and pomegranate smoothies
6. Crab cake sliders
7. Mini samosas
8. Tilapia Veracruz
9. Goat cheese salad
10. Chicken Molé
Favorite foods in 1989:
1. Fruit and cottage cheese plate
2. Chicken nuggets
3. Turkey Tetrazini
4. Chicken Chop Suey
5. Egg, bacon and cheese English muffin
6. Half sandwich and cup of soup
7. Taco bar
8. Spanish beef and rice
9. Vegetarian bean chili
10. Algerian lamb stew (I presume they mean couscous)
The "fruit and cottage cheese plate" is particularly 1980s, and the "chicken chop suey" is as retro as it gets.
The fact that Sodexo is a French company probably contributes to making the meal offerings considerably more inventive than they were in my day.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Mar 11, 2009 10:57:51 GMT
Back in my uni days, 1961-ish, we never had anything as interesting as either of those lists.
We were served pounded beef "steaks" 3 times a week, under various names and in various guises. "Country Steak", "Smothered Steak", etc.
There was also baked chicken, sometimes undercooked and slightly bleeding, and the cooks lived in mortal fear of any seasoning other than salt.
We may have had Turkey Terazzini and Chicken Chop Suey, but time has blotted out any clear memories of those.
I won't speak of the nasty breakfasts of frozen scrambled eggs and urn coffee made from a low grade instant powder.
(I do remember that back in grammar school, when the new "caf" opened, "Johnny Marzetti" was served. I was intrigued by that exotic dish, but as I'd brought my lunch that day, I didn't get to try it for a long time.
When I finally did, I was disappointed to find that it was what we today might call Hamburger Helper; ground beef and minced vegs mixed with elbow macaronis.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 11, 2009 11:14:37 GMT
I was at university even earlier than Don. The food served was so awful I preferred to go to the pub and have a pork pie and a pint of beer.
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 12, 2009 6:57:28 GMT
Ok, I was at university much later, started in '89. We had a regular lunch at my frat house. I hated eating at the cantine and avoided it as much as I could even though we had 4 or 5 choices and it was cheap.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 12, 2009 8:39:37 GMT
I truly can't remember the food in the university cafeteria, except that I think it's where I first had oatmeal. My mother had been traumatized by eating oatmeal in her university cafeteria so she never fed it to us. I do remember that the cafeteria was named the O.K. Allen Dining Hall, after the Louisiana governor who released Leadbelly from the penitentiary.
O.K. Allen was a staunch supporter of Huey Long and his yes-man governor when Long was in the US Senate. Long once famously said of Allen, "A leaf blew through the window one day and landed on his desk, and O.K. signed it."
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Post by tillystar on Mar 12, 2009 10:11:29 GMT
I was at uni in 1999 - 2001. Our halls were designed like shared houses with a big central kitchen so we all "cooked" at home. There was only one canteen on my campus and it was to be avoided at all costs, I think the list looked closer to the 1989 list than the 2009 list. It probably still does.
Thre was a pub in town that served an all day breakfast for £1.99, £2.99 with a pint, so we ate a late breakfast/early lunch there a few times a week. It was huge and kept us going all day.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 12, 2009 10:20:38 GMT
There was a greasy spoon cafe I used to go to for breakfast: fried egg, bacon, sauasage - and Spam fritters.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 12, 2009 10:23:21 GMT
Typing fritters I wondered for a moment if it would come up with: Congratulations! You have said the magic word and have won $500 etc etc. If Norman is reading this I think she should institute this straightaway.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 15, 2009 18:28:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2009 18:36:29 GMT
My mother and grandmother always fought over the rabbit head, to see who could suck the brains out. I did not inherit this trait.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 15, 2009 18:44:55 GMT
Orp!
I truly will try almost anything, but have never been tempted to try brains. (chorus of "funny" remarks on that sentence)
I do appreciate that my mother's example kept me from being a prissy, squeamish eater, but I didn't like seeing her eat the fish eyes.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2009 19:06:27 GMT
I quite like brains (particularly lamb or calf), but rabbit brains are not worth bothering over. They don't have much of a brain.
No, I never went for the eyes either.
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 16, 2009 11:38:30 GMT
I quite like brains (particularly lamb or calf), but rabbit brains are not worth bothering over. They don't have much of a brain.
... LOL! |
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Post by Don Cuevas on Mar 16, 2009 12:01:45 GMT
I quite like brains (particularly lamb or calf), but rabbit brains are not worth bothering over. They don't have much of a brain. No, I never went for the eyes either. Whatever. If you seso. |
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