I missed my mom’s cooking tremendously during my first year away from home. I wasn’t used to cuisines other than Indian, and so mostly stuck to the Indian food the dining halls served in an effort to cultivate a home-like feeling. It was not bad — sometimes it really did make my day. Sometimes it still does. Shifting from eating homemade food to scrounging the dining halls for any food that tastes like home can be difficult, so here is a brief guide to one of the international cuisines that UR dining halls offer.
After classes, if I don’t have any oddly specific cravings, I usually determine where I will eat based on which dining hall is serving Indian food. I’m not entirely sure if there is a certain schedule for cuisines, but it seems that there is about a 50 percent chance that there is Indian or Chinese food any given day in Douglass. It is usually served at the back of the dining hall in the Street station. On these days, there are lentils, vegetable curries, butter chicken, or tandoori chicken available, all served with white or yellow rice. The tandoori chicken at the station doesn’t actually have that notable red tandoori appearance, which was a bit disappointing to me when I found out. Next to the station is an assortment of salad, chutney, yogurt, and, if you’re lucky, pieces of naan to accompany your meal.
Although Danforth can be inconvenient and has a limited number of open hours, I consider this dining hall to have better Indian food — and just better food in general. Their Indian cuisine is usually found in the Home Zone or Vegan stations. Similar to Douglass, the menus alternate between days and lunch and dinner. The Vegan station sometimes has vegetable curry and lentils. At Home Zone, they sometimes serve this beef and potato stew that I thoroughly enjoy. They also have an accompanying salad bar, with yogurt and different chutneys.
Of course, if neither Douglass nor Danforth have Indian cuisine available, the Pit always has its rendition of chicken tikka masala at the Wok. This, unfortunately, is not Halal, or meat prepared as instructed by Muslim law. (On that note, University pamphlets claim that all beef and chicken in Douglass and Danforth are Halal. However, this does not account for the risk of cross-contamination.) I have heard from friends that the Wok’s chicken tikka masala doesn’t taste too bad, as the broth helps enhance the flavor and it goes well with the white rice.
At the end of the day, the dining hall food isn’t your mom’s food, but it does offer a comforting reminder of home.
