Napkin Board Responses
November 20th
Q: Dear Commons,
Thank you so much for Harvest Dinner! I am a senior and every year it is so much fun. The food was fantastic (as always), and all of the trees and decorations looked wonderful in New Commons! I really appreciate all of the hard work you always do and how at-home you always make the students feel at every meal.
Thank you!
p.s. (This year the pumpkin soup and the mississippi mud pie were particularly memorable...would it be possible to add these to the rotation?!)
A: Thanks for your kind words and yes we can add both the pumpkin soup and the Mississippi mud to the menu cycle.
November 19th
Q: Commons, how do you cook your mashed squash? I'm sorry, I'm a big fan of Commons and applaud most of your creations, but the mashed squash really is terrible, as in *very* terrible. Do you cook the squash until fork tender, then simply drain and mash? Or do you add extra water or something? If you add extra water, please don't; instead, please
reserve some of the cooking water and add that back in instead. And if this is all you do to the squash... well done! Thank you for practicing such fine squash culinary expertise, but please seriously consider offering a different squash variety, because the current squash offering is *very* terrible. I can't bring myself to eat it, it's that bad. It's thin, watery, and flavorless, almost like reconstituted glue and cardboard flakes. I'm sorry, but I thought you should know, and I'd be surprised if other Bates students did not feel the same. Thank you.
A: Thanks for your thoughts, but this is actually a very popular dish . In fact I had it last night, and to be honest I'm not a huge squash fan, and found it just delightful. I will check the cooking procedures to see if they need to be tweaked.
November 17th
Q: Is there anyway we could have greens available during breakfast? Having tomatoes is awesome, but it would also be great to have some spinach or green peppers to put on an egg sandwich! Thanks!
A: You will be seeing this.
Q: The Cashew Chicken the other night was absolutely delicious (Despite, or maybe becauseof the substitution of peanuts for cashews?) Those kinds of complex flavors really stand out from the regular "Asian" food served. Thanks!
A: Thanks for letting us know.
November 13th
Q:My napkin in commons was recently flamed for suggesting commons serve "buttercup" squash. The flame implied that I didn't even know what type of squash I was talking about, as the comment told me it was "butterNUT." Well, I know my squash, and they are definitely distinct varieties, and butterCUP is still better than the lousy variety commons chooses to serve. Check out the link here for some squash nomenclature:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm
A: The napkin responses, per tradition, have always been sarcastic in nature while still providing an answer so please do not take it personally. We serve many varieties of squash and in fact just served spaghetti squash yesterday. We can look at alternatives, but in order to get the volume we need for a meal period out options are limited.
Q: Why would Bates fork over a few thousand dollars to hear Michael Pollan speak, but still serve synthetic food imitations like high-fructose corn syrup breads and partially-hydrogenated peanut butter? Hell, Pollan even said that these were truly the most life-threatening substances on the market today.
A: Dining Services responsibility is to provide a wide range of options and it is up to the individual to choose which of those option they would like. While I personally support Micheal's position, there are those who do not. Dining Services is not here to impose eating restrictions/styles on the population rather that is why you come to Liberal Arts school to learn to make decisions for yourself.
Q: The Grilled Lime Chicken today (11/13) at lunch was just wonderful! Even better than usual. Can we have it (or similar grilled chicken dishes) more often?
A: I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Q: Regardless of what a few people say, the vegan food (including desserts) is always delicious! Thank you so much for always having a wide variety of healthy, delicious food.
A: Your welcome!
November 12th
Q:What are the ingredients for pureed squash? Any butter, cream, dairy, etc.?
A:If you are referring to the butternut squash casserole it has 2% milk , butter and eggs in it.
Q: Hi, I just at at Commons for the first time. The food was great! The only complaint was that we ate upstairs and there was no ice in either drink machine. The biggest thing that I noticed is the big empty white walls. Are there plans to ever put artwork, decorations, or at least a non-sterile paint color on the walls? The walls are HUGE so the emptiness really stands out. Likewise for the meeting rooms --- super bland and boring looking, surprising for such a new facility.
A: Yes there is a plan to take care of the "blank walls". There is a committee which is meeting to determine how to best address this issue. As for the ice machine, I will check into that and have that fixed ASAP.
November 11th
Q: The squash & crab bisque today was delicious :)
A: Glad you liked it.
Q: Is the white vegetable lasagna and ricotta pie still on the menu? They were so delcious.
A: Yes it is still on the menu.
Q: Could we have garlic and herb spread at the sandwhich bar more often? It was almost always there in old commons and I miss it. It's delicious!
A: We can make this happen.
November 10th
Q:Could i get the recipe for the butternut squash casserole? it's sooooooo good :)
A: Yes , just tell me how many you want it sized for and where to send it.
Q: Is the cottage cheese that's out for breakfast fat free or low fat?
A: Low fat.
Q: is butter or milk added to the scrambled eggs in the morning?
A: No it is not.
Q: Can we have roasted bunnies sometime? mmmm.
A: Sorry, no roasting of bunnies.
November 6th
Q:Can we have less fish on rotation...they're a little weird tasting...but thanks for always having a whole wheat pasta option.
A:Fish is a very popular option and perhaps you think that they are a little "weird tasting" because you do not like fish.
Q:What kind of oatmeal do you use and how do you prepare it? its my favorite in the morning and want to try and recreate it at home. thanks!
A: Quaker and it is made with water.
Q:Are the Baby carrots washed before they go in the salad bar? I express this concern
because of an article I read:
The following is information from a farmer who grows and packages carrots for IGA,
METRO, LOBLAWS, etc.
The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the
larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a
machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots . Most people probably know
this already.
What you may not know and should know is the following:
Once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution
of water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used your
pool) since they do not have their
skin or natural protective covering, they give them a higher dose of chlorine. You will
notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for
a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots, this is the chlorine which
resurfaces. Chlorine is a very well known carcinogen.
Here is a link to information about baby carrots and chlorine.
http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp I notice the carrots at the salad bar
are often white as described in this article...perhaps they need to be washed more
thouroughly before going into the salad bar.
Thanks
A: Yes we are aware of this. We wash, soak and then wash again all our carrots.
Q:would like to have bobcat sandwiches more often
A:Sure can.
Q:2 things commons does so well this year:
1) Oreo brownies and oreo mint brownies. The best commons desserts. Thanks for serving them so often this year!
2) The Alfredo sauce. It seems much better than previous years. Do you use a different kind now?
A:Thanks. No we make the Alfredo sauce.
Q:Is there anyway we could get calzones out of the brick oven? I think maybe some buffalo chicken, chicken broccoli, chicken parmasean calzones would be unreal out of the brick oven.
A:We have been experimenting with a dough for this , but at this point we are not ready top move forward.
Q:Last year we had a chicken in peanut sauce dish that was absolutely fantastic. Can we please have it again this year? I love it so much!
A:Can do.
