The Bowdoin Gourmet

Tonight in Thorne I enjoyed this brilliant dinner:

Salmon is one of my favorite foods, and it was particularly well done tonight. I liked how the spiciness of salsa contrasted with the rich flesh of the fish, as well as the brilliant red color that it lent to the dish. The sliced cucumber and minced parsley were both artful and delicious garnishes.

The vegetable side was also a standout; it defied the reputation of zucchinis as flavorless vegetables and demonstrated their full culinary potential. The key, I think, was that they were roasted just the right amount of time: long enough to make them tender-crisp and to bring out their savory flavor, but not so long as to destroy their integrity. That timing in combination with some superb seasoning made for a tasty side.

The pesto-tossed pasta with roasted vegetables, in the rear of the dish, was also excellent. I loved the earthy flavor of broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and asparagus that dotted the pasta, as well as the bright, savory flavor of the fresh pesto. Its almost a metaphor for the Maine spring; at the same time having elements of both winter (the roasted vegetables) and summer (the basil pesto).

Altogether, I’d say that tonight’s great meal was one fitting with which to close the year. This dinner was a classic example of the delicious and healthful food that distinguishes Bowdoin’s foodservice.

I’ve had a great time writing the Bowdoin Gourmet, and your readership has made it a particularly special experience. Thanks for reading, for commenting, and for your interest in Bowdoin’s dining services and food at colleges in general. Campus dining is experiencing a sea change nationwide, and I’m thrilled to have been able to chronicle some of the leaders of that change right here at Bowdoin.

As I close out this blog’s last post, I’d like to offer a final thanks to the Bowdoin Dining Service employees. I’ve spent most of the space here this past year writing about the food, but my experience has taught me that its the employees in Thorne and Moulton that are ultimately responsible for Bowdoin’s great dining experience.

In a recent post, Bowdoin Gourmet reader Julie suggested that I try one of her personal favorite salads. I’m really glad that she made the suggestion and that I gave it a try, because this salad is awesome.

Julie’s original suggestion called for greens, sliced grilled chicken, sliced apples, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, craisins, balsamic vinegar, and a pesto topping. I mostly followed Julie’s suggestions in making this salad, but I substituted raisins for craisins (no craisins in Moulton), omitted the sunflower seeds (I have a strong aversion), and left out the balsamic vinegar (I wanted to try the salad first without this very strong flavor). The net result:

What a brilliant mix of ingredients! I honestly didn’t have high expectations for this eclectic combination, but it really does make for a great salad. The pesto topping in particular was delicious and I especially liked it with the red apples. When I make this at home in the future (and I will), I think I’ll trade the red delicious apples you see in the picture for my personal favorite variety - the pink lady. The pink ladies are sweeter, crisper, and have the added bonus of not browning after being cut. Their almost magic. Like this salad.

Moulton had a rather unusual offering at lunch today: ‘handmade oatmeal pancakes with blueberry and apple raisin sauce’.  This dish would seem to make more sense as a breakfast item or even as a desert, but I wasn’t about to let culinary semantics stop me from trying it:

Now when the Moulton chefs said blueberry and apple raisin sauce, they probably assumed that students would pick one or the other.  They both looked really good to me, so I just grabbed a bit of both.

The dish was surprisingly delicious.  The pancakes themselves were substantial and independently flavorful; the mixed-in oatmeal gave the pancakes the flavor and texture to hold their own against the two sauces.  The sauces in turn were not to sweet, as fruit sauces often are, but instead balanced, semi-sweet complements to the savory pancakes.

The two main courses at Thorne tonight were “spicy Thai steamed mussels” and “grilled steak au Poivre with Dijon sauce”. Both were delicious.

Starting with the steak, I particularly enjoyed the presentation and taste of the Dijon sauce. The sauce was piped in a neat criss-cross over the steak, which was then sprinkled with some sliced green onions - very appetizing. I can’t recall ever having steak with a Dijon sauce, but now that I’ve tried it I realize that it makes perfect sense. I have Dijon mustard with roast beef sandwiches all the time; why not apply the same savory, spicy condiment to steak as well? I should also mention that the steak itself was very good (it was so tender that I was able to cut it with the standard-issue, safety-first knife, which is essentially a butter knife.)

The mussels were also very good. I enjoyed both the spicy Thai sauce and the generous sprinkling of onions and tomatoes in with the mussels. The sea-water brininess of the mussels, the spiciness of the sauce, and the bright, fresh flavor of the vegetables were all made more delicious by their suggestion of the coming summer.

Bowdoin’s Dining Services is featured in the May issue of Restaurants and Institutions as a winner of the magazine’s 2007 “Ivy Awards” for excellence in foodservice. The award is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious in the industry. According to R&I Editor-in-Chief Patricia Dailey,

“It is truly a privilege to spotlight [the Ivy Award winners]. These operations set standards of excellence the entire restaurant and foodservice community recognize and respect.”

I’m thrilled for Bowdoin’s Dining Services and I believe that the recognition is very well-deserved. R&I’s profile of Bowdoin also perfectly captures why the college’s foodservice is so great; its managed and staffed by excellent people.

The profile highlights how conscious Dining Services is of students’ input, which I agree is one of the great qualities of the program. Consider, for example, the ubiquitous comment cards that are posted outside of every dining operation on campus. The staff reads, responds to, and publicly display every single comment that students write; the staff’s openness and responsiveness dramatically improves the dining experience for students and invests us in the success of the operation.

The profile also discusses how involved the Dining Services staff is with the greater foodservice community. Dining Services invites local chefs to offer lessons at the college and to prepare guest meals, hosts other college foodservice managers so that they can learn more about Bowdoin’s operation, and encourages the staff to pursue external professional training and certification. As students we don’t directly experience these activities, but the well-trained staff that they help develop are the ultimate reason that the food here is so good.

I think that we will really see the capabilities of the Bowdoin Dining Services staff highlighted in the next few weeks, as we approach the end of the spring semester. The staff will be preparing and serving food for a lot of special end-of-year events; hopefully I’ll be able to share some of those events on this blog.

Congratulations again to Bowdoin, to Dining Services, and to all of the full-time and student employees on the 2007 Ivy Award.

Thorne served up a memorable dinner this evening:

I thought that the main course - “baked fish with parsley sauce”, was very well done; the parsley in the sparingly applied white sauce accented the fish without overpowering it. The Thorne chefs continue to demonstrate great attention to detail.

The crisp, cool, and refreshing “tomato and cucumber salad” perfectly completed the warm day that we had up here in Maine (70 degrees!).

The falafel balls were the most surprising aspect of tonight’s dinner. I’d never had falafel before and, to be honest, I wasn’t necessarily expecting to like it. My expectation wavered when I cracked open one of the balls, exposing the bright yellow filling and releasing an appetizing, curry-like scent. I ascertained falafel’s true deliciousness with my first bite. I only learned after the fact, when I Googled falafel, that they are usually eaten as filling in pita sandwiches. I’ll have to give that a try next time.

Tonight Thorne was serving “Tuscan chicken with tomato basil relish” along with bowtie pasta in a “Provencal vegetable” sauce:

True to the Italian culinary tradition, these courses highlighted and relied on the freshness of their simple ingredients. I especially like the tomato basil relish - the sweet tomatoes, tangy red onions, and herbaceous basil deliciously complemented the grilled chicken breast.

Its been a while since I’ve had sushi here at Bowdoin, so I was particularly excited to pick some up at the cafe this afternoon:

This is the “Starburst Combo”, featuring cucumber, tuna, and California rolls, and two giant spicy-shrimp rolls. The tuna and California rolls, which I’ve had before here, were pretty good. The cucumber rolls were OK, but they needed more actual cucumber. Look at them; they’re little more than rice balls wrapped in seaweed. Its one thing to skimp on expensive sushi-grade fish, but cucumbers?

The highlight of the selection was the pair of spicy-shrimp rolls. I’ve had a fair amount of sushi over the years, and I do believe that these were the single largest pieces I’ve ever encountered. These weren’t one-biters - they weren’t even two-bitters - they took three full bites to get down. Their size introduced some logistical troubles in picking them up with the chop sticks, dipping them in the soy sauce, and then eating them over several bites. In the end, however, I was willing to endure the awkwardness because the rolls were so delicious.

Tonight at Moulton I enjoyed a nice Easter dinner of leg of lamb with gravy, stuffing, fettucini with tomato and bail sauce, and steamed asparagus:

The lamb was surprisingly good; moist, tender, and flavorful. It did have a bit of a gammy edge, but from what I understand thats basically inevitable in anything but the youngest of lamb. I almost never eat lamb and therefore have not really acquired the taste, but tonight’s lamb was certainly good enough to make me glad that I had tried it.

I also think that the tomato sauce deserves special attention. The sauce was filed with big slices of tomato, giving it an authentic and substantial feel. It was also seasoned generously with basil and appropriately savory, not sweet. All of these aspects separate it from the liquidy, flat, excessively sweet sauce one so often finds commercially. I continue to be grateful that Bowdoin provides such a delicious alternative.

Finally, I should note that asparagus is my single favorite vegetable, and I’m excited both that Bowdoin served it tonight and that we will probably see more of it as we come into the spring season.

On the side, I had some deviled eggs:

These were quite tasty, though I had to scoop out some of the mayonnaise-and-mustard filling to tone down the richness. The paprika was a nice touch - it added some visual interest and provided a needed contrast to both the egg and filling. After eating these, I’ve had a thought for a refinement to the traditional deviled eggs recipe; include finely minced chives in the filling. I think that they would both add nice color and provide some freshness and sharpness to an otherwise very rich dish.

Now it would be a shame to end a post about such a great dinner with anything but a very positive comment, so I leave you with this exclamation from a fellow Bowdoin student about the meal:

“It’s even better than Thanksgiving!”

When I was younger, our family made a dish called “mac and cheese and peas”, which was regular mac and cheese with steamed peas mixed in.  I always preferred the combination of those two ingredients to either in isolation; the flavors, textures, and appearances contrasted nicely to give a uniquely tasty dish.

Tonight’s dinner of seafood paella and peas recalled those childhood memories of mine:

The paella and peas were served separately, but in a moment of inspiration I mixed the two together.  The result was, as I anticipated from my past experiences, delicious.

I also enjoyed tonight’s roast beef, hand carved on the serving line from a huge piece of beef round.  As usual, the chefs did a great job of cooking the meat just right - keeping it pink throughout - to preserve the juiciness.

I think that the success of this roast beef dish reflects Bowdoin’s commitment to offering great food to its students; a commitment they fulfill by investing in quality ingredients, employing a talented and enthusiastic culinary staff, and serving the food in creative ways.

The mandarin chicken salad offered at McGee’s pub is one of my absolute favorite meals on campus.  Doesn’t it look delicious:

Recently I’ve wanted to be able to have a salad like this outside of the pub (and without the expense).  The logical place to try was the Thorne dining hall salad bar.  Here is what I came up with:

This version conspicuously lacks mandarin oranges, slivered almonds, and the sliced chicken, and has some new ingredients tossed in, but it ended up tasting quite good.  One key is to top it with the oriental-style dressing at the salad bar, which has the toasted-nut flavor that was so characteristic of the original.

This salad probably won’t displace the pub’s version as my campus favorite, but its nice to know that I have this tasty alternative at Thorne.

I couldn’t decide what to put in my salad, so I just included everything that looked tasty:

The Thorne dining hall has a particularly bountiful salad bar. Some of my favorites from among the offerings are the green peas and the ‘3 bean salad’ of marinated chickpeas, kidney beans, and string beans. These items might not be typical for salads, but I can assure you that they make for a delicious combination. A final thought: the crumbled feta cheese pairs very well with the ‘light caesar’ dressing.

Hey, I’m back from spring break and looking forward to blogging about some more delicious Bowdoin food over the next few weeks. Tonight’s combination of grilled steak and broiled haddock is a great meal to start with - it was one of the more spectacular dinners I’ve had at Bowdoin:

Today is Wednesday, which is ‘Catch of the Week’ day at the Bowdoin dining halls. This week’s catch was haddock, and the Thorne crew made particularly good use of it in this dish; they glazed it with a light lime ginger sauce and topped it with steamed Asian vegetables, allowing the flavor of the fish come through and keeping the dish light and healthy. I definitely prefer this approach to the more traditional ones that rely on dairy-based white sauces.

The steak was a perfect complement to the seafood, just as it should be in a surf and turf dish. The meat was juicy and perfectly cooked to medium rare, and I particularly liked the ‘blue cheese and herb crust’. Whereas the haddock needed a subtle sauce, the steak can stand up to the strong savory and tangy flavors of the blue cheese.

I hope that tonight’s dinner was a sign of things to come for the rest of the semester!

I just wanted to let The Bowdoin Gourmet readers know that I’ll be on spring break until March 27th.  There won’t be any new posts between now and then, but you can always browse previous posts if you’re looking for some collegiate culinary inspiration.

See you in a few weeks,
- Mark

The key to this jambalaya was the plentiful sausage chunks; their exuded seasonings infused the the dish with a rich, spicy flavor. The shrimp were so sparse as to be more like a garnish than an ingredient, but they were nonetheless tasty when I did come across them. The steamed vegetables were quite good on their own (and very colorful) as well as being an ideal complement to the spicy jambalaya.

I continue to enjoy the delicious variety of specialty salads prepared at both Moulton and Throne.  This “fruity rice salad” is yet another example:

Its loaded with an eclectic variety of fruit including tomatoes, Granny Smith apples, dried cherries, and slices of some sort of diminutive citrus fruit. You might suspect that the sweet fruit and the savory rice would make for awkward taste,  but I can assure that, to the contrary, the two blend together to form surprisingly tasty salad.