Iron Chef at Stony Brook

Originally imported from Japan, Iron Chef is a televised cooking contest in which invited chefs compete against one of several chefs, the “Iron Chefs,” who are regularly employed by the show. This past Wednesday, in the Student Union , Stony Brook Campus Dining featured its version of the show, one that was quite different from the original.

Four teams of three students, each assisted by a Campus Dining chef, were in competition with one another. “Twenty teams signed up,” Vinnie Gentile, director of marketing for Campus Dining, said. “Then there was an online campus vote. These four were the winners.” The teams were Hungry Hungry Hippos, Team Swarly, Byahh!, and Bull Moose Party. They were competing for a donation to their favorite cause.

Fair Trade Show at Stony Brook

This past Wednesday the Island Harvest Committee, which is sponsored by the Stony Brook Pre-medical Society, hosted a food tasting event in the Student Union. Representatives of Trader Joe’s, Costco and Whole Foods Market attended. Stony Brook Campus Dining was also present. The theme was organic and fair-trade items.

“Here we are partnering with Oxfam to increase hunger and fair-trade awareness,” Brianna Burge, the committee director, said. “And we also sponsor an end-of-semester food drive.” She explained that ordinary trade gives impoverished farmers a too small share of the profits, while fair-trade goods are distributed and marketed in a manner that “gives them the money they deserve.”

Executive Chef’s Kitchen

Want to learn how to cook a hearty meal? Why not attend a free cooking lesson and eat some free food while you’re at it.

Located in the Kelly Dining Facility, the Executive Chef’s Kitchen runs four times a week and teaches students all about different cooking styles, food preparation and nutrition. The program, which is run through campus dining services, gives students who participate an opportunity to learn more about cooking from some of the best in the business.

On April 5th, Chef Chris Chester taught students how to cook and prepare a Penne a la Vodka dinner.

A Night Out in Hoboken, Jersey’s Redeeming City

Hoboken, N.J. is a 15-minute train ride from Manhattan, sitting between the Lincoln and Holland tunnels directly across the river from Chelsea Piers, with a clear view of the Empire State Building. The quaint European-style buildings generally get no higher than five or six stories, and Washington Street is rich with pubs, shops, and restaurants that give the place a charming suburban feel despite such close proximity to America’s busiest metropolis.

The population seems noticeably young, with most people my friends and I passed on the street looking to be in their twenties or thirties. The city is known for its nightlife, and there are plenty of bars and pubs to keep up the reputation.

One offers a free limousine pickup, which we took advantage of. We smugly postulated how superior we would appear when we hit the scene as we waited, and felt grand as we stepped out under the looks of everyone waiting in line at the door until we noticed  Free Limo Service scrawled on the side of the car in cheap neon green letters.

Shaping up in time for Spring Break at SBU

2010 spring break is just weeks away (March 29 – April 4), which, for many undergrads, means it’s time to ditch those left over V-Day Ferrero Rochers and focus on getting swim-suitable. It can be tough working off winter weight when crappy college food abounds and you’re spending all your free time on h-dubs and midterm preparations. So, because I don’t give a damn about homework and my philosophy has always been one of “midterms, shmidterms,” I’ve prepared this little list of tips to help my fellow lumpy undergrads get ready for some fun in the sun.

Green Cactus has Stepped it Up

It didn’t take many visits for me to realize that I didn’t like the decor at the Green Cactus Mexican Grill located just off campus. The black and white tile floor, the plain white walls, and the glaring lights made eating in at the establishment an unpleasantly bright experience.

After many months of neglecting my favorite Mexican food, I returned to the restaurant today and found that quite a few changes had taken place inside. The first thing I noticed were the colors; warm earth tones replaced the overwhelming whitewash. The floor no longer reflected the brilliant overhead lights into my eyes, and the walls were covered in tasteful wallpaper.

California Pizza Kitchen Opens in Roth

Over the winter break, campus dining added a new restaurant to Stony Brook’s repertoire. California Pizza Kitchen now offers pizza, pasta, soups, sandwiches and salads to the hungry crowd at Roth dining center.

CPK now stands where the former sub and pizza shops were last semester. With an increase in wait staff and kitchen space you would assume the line would be short. However, the recent buzz on campus and the large selection of food has made it so that the line is painfully long at any time of day… sometimes it even goes out the door.