Regarding noms (or, "Freshman 15, here I come")

My first impression of the food at GCC was admittedly quite tainted. I was up for the Austrian Student Scholars Conference in 2008, where we ate quite well in the private dining room. When, a little over two years later, we came up again to actually attend the institution, we started off eating in the old MAP dining room, a formal hall underneath the women's dorm. This was also of the more formal/upscale bent, but for more people.

After that, it was eating normally. Orientation started on Friday, and it went until Saturday. People arrived on Sunday, and classes started Monday. While the transfers like me were having orientation, the rest of the campus was having intersession (wintermester), with about a quarter of the campus in attendance. The dining facilities were running about half-capacity. Having skipped on-campus breakfast both times, I became acquainted with the facilities at Hicks, which is one of two main dining halls. There is also the MAP dining hall (not the old MAP, but the regular MAP) and the GeDunk ("Gee"), but I had no occasion to go to those yet.

Hicks had four buffets running: a salad bar, a pizza/pasta bar, a cereal station, and a "homestyle" buffet, which served whatever Boston-Market-type stuff that didn't fit in the other locations. There were also a few dessert options, plus ice cream. It was genuinely okay overall, and I could tell that I wasn't in Texas anymore. The hot wings were decidedly mild, and there were a couple "Asian" dishes I didn't bother to try - they looked wrong. Still, the peach crisp was good, and the "wing bar" day was quite nice; they also had a good selection of juice and non-carbonated drinks in their dispensers, which was nice - chocolate milk on tap, even.

Then came breakfast today. I went to MAP, which has more of a cafeteria feel to it than Hicks does - Hicks is more of a "cafe." I missed most of it, admittedly, since I made a beeline for the waffles I liked. But, I sat with a friend from before, and he had a ginormous omelette with a whole bunch of stuff in it. Apparently, I'd missed the hugely-popular made-to-order omelette station (the tip was, come in on the hour precisely, so the people going to class have already done so, and the rest have not arrived yet to clog up the line). That's on the list to do tomorrow, if I have time. If not, that's why God made Wednesdays.

So, I came in to Hicks for lunch, and they had started up *all* of their facilities. In addition to the other stuff, they had the burger bar, the bagel-sandwich bar, another sandwich station (or two), a Chipotle-type burrito station, and HOLY COW THEY HAVE A WOK STATION! Made-to-order hunan beef stir-fry, with your choice of fresh veggies, which the guy stir-fries while you watch. Oh yeah. I think I know where I'll be spending a lot of time. They use long-grain rice, but the vegetables count for enough that I don't mind too much ;).*

I'm now in the Student Union (aka the "Sack"), next to the GeDunk. It's a somewhat nicer facility, where you can buy food separate from your meal plan. Probably won't eat there much, simply because I don't want to pay when I've got perfectly good selection elsewhere.

I'm still carrying around my Crimson so I can remember the hours for the various eateries. The schedule is a bit squirrelly, but I imagine it's probably better that way when you're trying to serve 2,500 students. They seem to keep one facility open in the off-hours before, then open them both for the peak, then close the first for the tail end. Really a good idea when you think about it.

Haven't had dinner yet, but I bet it will be good. Scuttlebutt says Sunday brunch is the best, so looking forward to it.


*Yes, I am a stickler for rice. All Asian dishes should use short-grain sticky rice; it's a major texture difference.