Informed Diner's Tip #3: Landes Dining Hall Survival Guide.

While all of IU's dining halls have their own distinguishing quirks and characteristics, Landes Dining Hall in Read stands alone as the only all-you-can-eat buffet. While widely known for their french fries, which many consider the best on campus, Landes Dining Hall or "tradish," as it's referred to in some regions on campus, remains largely unknown to a surprisingly large number of students on campus. Perhaps overlooked by the flashier fast food style restaurants in Read's basement (El Bistro, Mesa Mexicana, Waffles & Stuff and Burritos and More) and its unorthodox dining style and strict dining hours, Landes Dining Hall often goes unconsidered in many students' dining plans.

The first thing you notice when you walk into Landes are the burgers. While the classic cook fry style of the grill looks appealing, the burgers should usually be avoided. You can create some pretty zany sandwiches at the grill but the quality of the meat is rather disappointing. However, the fries at the grill however are worth the wait. The crisp and thin fries dipped in liquid cheese, available upon request, always satisfies a hungry a student. Though for a fresh and tasty main course one should always look first at Classic comforts. Occasionally there will be some stinkers at classic comforts but more times or not there is a tasty entree available with at least one appetizing side. Classic Comforts specializes in fish and red meat but will often surprise you with an abstract dish or a flavorful casserole. The vegetables served at Classic Comforts are usually flavorful and tender but you really have to judge for yourself what's fresh and what's not. Eat Right specializes in vegetarian healthy dishes, and while some items may sound exotic and flavorful mostly they are bland or dry. At this point I suggest you claim a table and set your food down. After Read's controversial decision to stop supplying diners with treys in an effort to reduce food waste, you now must carry each dish individually, and some of those plates are HOT.

The next good place to go is the salad bar. In comparison to Wright food court Landes' salad bar seems like nothing to write home about, but the ingredients are fresh and they supply a safe, but diverse range of veggies to choose from. My favorite part about Landes Dining Hall, however, are the drinks. Cups are unlimited and you are free to experiment with many exciting beverage combinations. Landes is a great environment to try out a "suicide" or "tornado", depending on dialect, which is a combination of all or most drinks combined in a single glass. While this may not necessarily be something you would want to do on a regular basis, a "suicide" is a great way to celebrate winning a baseball game or meeting an important dateline.

However, in any sort of serious review of Landes Dining Hall one must mention the strict dining hours. Landes is closed Saturday and Sunday and is only in operation Monday to Friday from 10:30-2 pm for lunch and 5-8 pm for dinner. Check out a monthly menu and plan to go on a day that's right for you.

~~~~~~~FRESH PICK OF THE WEEK~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll Have to give this one to Classic Comforts in Gresham for their Wednesday, March 2 take on Pepper Steak, Roast Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables and Dutch apple crumb pie.

eat hearty,

Matt Jackson

Informed Diner's Tip #2: Possibilities

“Our aspirations are our possibilities” - Maya Angelou

One of the best things about eating on campus is the enormous variety of dining options. Just this week I've enjoyed gyros, oriental pork, homestyle garlic mashed potatoes and beef stroganoff, pad thai, and even a vegan grilled cheese sandwich. Nowhere is the abundance of campus dining choices more evident than Foster's very own Gresham Food Court. With offerings ranging from Taco Johns to Antonio's Italian Eatery, this food court definitely has something for everyone. Ready for the weekend, Matt and I took advantage of the warm weather and headed north this afternoon to check out what Gresham was dishing up.

While a trip to Taco Johns seemed like a safe bet, we decided to try IU's take on the Mediterranean favorite gyros. When ordering a gyro, you're initially given the choice between chicken and lamb. Seeking to keep things authentic, we both ordered ours with lamb. Within seconds the server returned with four steaming hot strips of roasted lamb and it was time to pick out toppings. Diners have the options of both feta cheese sauce and the traditional tzatziki sauce, along with fresh onions, tomatoes, lettuce and olives. Matt also decided to try out the create-your-own-pasta offering, Pastabilities. He described it as "a fresh choice with many possibilites including noodle, sauce, vegetable, and spice choices". Pastabilities is also a great choice for diners looking to enjoy a fresh and meatless meal without sacrificing flavor.

The verdict? A well prepared meal made with quality ingredients and no shortage of flavor. If you're a student living in the central or southeast neighborhood and on the fence about making a trip out to Gresham, do yourself a favor and give it a try. Gresham has many great choices that you won't find anywhere else, and while you're out you can stop for gelato, ice cream, or other frozen deserts at nearby Crimson Creamery.

Bon Appetit,
Michael Francisco

Informed Diner's Tip #1: Breakfast Buddies.

The breakfast buddy brought to you by Flamingo Grill is one of the staple meals of any student living on campus with a meal plan. Go into any dining hall, day or night, and you're bound to find someone eating a breakfast buddy. The breakfast buddy is one of the most customizable options available. Literally everything on the sandwich can be customized. Start off with your choice of meat and build from there. You can choose from either a bagel, english muffin, or biscuit, and depending on where you order our buddy you may even be able to pick your choice of bagel, be it plain, whole wheat, blueberry or everyseed (my personal favorite). Next you have your choice of meats, Ham, sausage patty and bacon. I've spent some time with all 3 meats and my allegiance mainly lays with the ham. The ham is prepared thinly sliced and grilled and is a great compliment to either a bagel or English muffin. Once you've choosen your meat and bread things start getting a little tricky...

You can either end at this stage of the ordering process and proceed to wait for your order, only achieving the partial potential of your breakfast buddy, or you can get down to details.

By default the Flamingo Grill will serve your breakfast buddy with American cheese, and a strange "egg" flavored mix of chemicals and modified soy products, but they do have the power to substitute both items. You can ask for any sort of cheese that they make deli sandwiches with such as cheddar, provolone, pepperjack, and mozzerella. Any of these cheeses are an upgrade from the default American. Ordering cheese is relatively easy but the egg requires a touch of finesse.

Most students have no clue that you can substitute real egg for "egg" mixture. Oftentimes dining hall employees don't have a clue either! But if you ask for real egg, more times than not you'll receive it. Granted I've ordered real egg many times and have been dissapointed with the "egg" mix even after specifically requesting real egg. The problem is that there is no option for the person taking your order to mark "real egg" on his order sheet and occasionally a breakdown between the waiter and the cook will occur. This is also somewhat an inconvenience for the person taking your order as they must pencil in real egg for the grill. The egg is served hard over and hot while the "egg" mix is runny, watery and a strange pale yellow color. If you manage to get both real cheese and real egg on your buddy you'll not only leave with a healthier breakfast buddy but a tastier buddy as well.

So remember, REAL egg and REAL cheese make all the difference when it comes to breakfast buddies. Check back next time when we discuss how to get the most of Landes Dining Hall.

~~~FRESH PICK OF THE WEEK~~~
Make sure to stop by Classic Comforts at Wright Food Court on Monday for Ribeye Steak w/ A1, penne pasta in salsa forte, mashed potatoes and gravy, waffle fries, Cozumel vegetable blend and apple pie, I know I sure will.

Happy Dining,
Matt Jackson