HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA AT NORTHWEST!

Lights off in the dining hall is normally not a good sign. Tonight however was an exception. The cuisine crew was busy for several hours today transforming our quint little dining hall into a spooky feast of epic proportions. It was well worth the awkward two hours of it being closed. A haunted ambiance was created by the black-light lighting, skeletons hanging, periodical screaming, and of course our favorite the skeleton clad employee jumping out of a coffin. He was a little too excited to scare us however and popped out a bit far, toppling his coffin and sending him tumbling out. We justly hysterically laughed for a good 5 minutes. The whole crew gets an A+ for atmosphere and effort, it was beautifully done, and greatly appreciated! Bravo!

Get Again:
-The purple mashed potatoes with Gorgonzola. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. This was a lovely break from the normal 'from a mix' variety. It was creamy and smooth with appropriately sized chunks of REAL potato, shocking, we know. We really didn't detect any taste of Gorgonzola, but it was just perfectly done.
-Fried Fingers (Green Beans with green ranch dressing), Whoever came up with the idea of frying those buggers deserves a big ol' pat on the back. I think they must have breaded them before hand because they were crunchy and wonderful. The green ranch was a nice touch and provided a nice twangy flavor. Sally wasn't a fan.
-Pumpkin Cheesecake, Just straight up delicious. Cheesecake meets pumpkin pie. The exact brilliance you'd expect.

Mehh:
-The "Roadkill", In theory it was great, waffle fries, taco beef, cheese, beans, & bacon. But the execution was lacking. It was lukewarm and by that we mean it was cold. Not pleasant. This dish has great potential and we'd like to see Northwest have another go at it.

Skip It:
-The Witches Brew, Normally the mixed punches places make are tasty and fruity. This was just weird. They mixed cherry coke and iced tea. Why??
-The chipotle chicken wings, They were not in the least bit spicy, they were oddly sweet and otherwise lacking in flavor. Blahh.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Fantabulous dinner in da Northwest

So today was a pretty solid day, Lunch and Dinner were had in Northwest and both were  scrumdiddlyumptious!

Get Again:
-Pasta with portabella mushrooms and ham, creamy and so delicious. I didn't realize had much I had missed mushrooms until I had my first bite.
-The beef quesadilla was also really good, tasted authentic which was a nice surprise. Sadly there was no salsa/sour cream/guac to be found anywhere... maybe next time.
-The roasted chicken (for dinner) was another solid choice from the line, masterfully seasoned, it tasted like something my mom would make, for realsies.
-Aaaaand back with a vengeance: cheese ravioli with meat sauce!!! Such a crowd pleaser :)
-Nellie here, I was so excited to see the Swedish meatballs that I might have squealed in delight. The pasta underneath was smooth and cooked perfectly, the meatballs themselves juicy and delicious and then the gravy, oh the gravy. It was creamy and savory and reminded me why I became a food blogger. It tasted like the kind that my mom makes (Hi mom!) which come straight from the recipe book from Finland.
-The teriyaki chicken was perfect. A+. It was moist, flavorful, easy to cut, and was a great companion for my salad. Keep it coming.



Keeping in theme with all things fabulous, the Ice-Cream selection of last night was wonderful. They had my three favorites, Black Raspberry, Moose Tracks, and Cake Batter. Keep that coming and you'll keep your food bloggers happy Northwest!

We're back! 10/15

Hello blog-o-sphere! So sorry for our unannounced hiatus, we got busy. It happens. We'd like to give a shout out to our one follower, Ian, keep up the good work, we apologize for leaving you hanging.

Get Again:
-Spinach & Artichoke dip with Pita Chips, YUUUUUMMMMMMMMM. As a first time S & A dipper I was relieved to find out that this dip didn't taste like Spinach nor Artichoke. It was cheezy and delicious! We'd go as far as to say worth going up for seconds.

-Fried Chicken Strips, As a devout follower of the the Tyson Microwaveable strips I was ecstatic to see some plain, good ole' chicken strips in the Comfort Line. Crunchy, tender, dip-able, awesome.

-Applesauce Cake, I was skeptical because of the whole it being Vegan, but it was delicious! It was really moist and the frosting on it was creamy without being overwhelming.

Mehh:
-Ravioli with Squash, a highly debated item at our table. Sally and I were on one side just wanting straight up ravioli, cheese, sauce, tradition. The squash, sage, and lavender was just too experimental for our taste. Our new friend Jesse was loving it though, and found it worthy of going up for seconds. You be the judge.

SHITTY McSHITTY CHINESE FOOD

Never again...

So tonight we decided to spice it up a little and order out... worst mistake of my entire time here at UConn. It's unanimous, Phoenix Chinese is the worst Chinese we have ever had. Panda Express and any other chain of Asian food ousts this stuff without a doubt. The sweet and sour chicken came as chicken with watery sauce separate, the chow mein came without the noodles, the beef teriyaki without the teriyaki, and the szechuan chicken was just stereotypical barf. So pissed we all spent $10 each on food that is barely edible. Dammit.

WHAT A REBOUND! 10/2

Coming out of last night's pathetic excuse of a dinner, my faith in Northwest's dining was at an all time low. In this vulnerable state one dish proceeded to blow my mind. The "Cinnamon Coffee Cake Bar" was the single best item of food I've had in my time at UConn. Shaped like mini-loafs of bread this was coffee cake at it's very finest. Immensely moist, while still holding it's shaped when dunked into my coffee. It had the perfect amount of cinnamony-brownsugary crumblies on top, not overwhelming, but not lacking. Honestly this little loaf deserves a standing ovation. Bravo.

Song of the Post: The Whole World and You by Tally Hall

Awesome Lunch with a side of Worst Dinner Ever. 10/1

So Sally had a very lovely Mexican fiesta for lunch today. Ate so much she was not even the slightest bit hungry until 6:30...success. While, Nellie absolutely loathed the dinner selection tonight.

Get Again:
-The mini chicken burritos. HEAVENNNNN! It is true that good things come in small packages. Throw a lil guac on that, good to go.
-Cranberry Apple Crisp (a la mode, as always). Just a word of advice, anything in the dining hall that is warm with the word "crisp" in it, deserves a spot on your plate. Absolute perfection (Nellie).
-Roasted Garlic Bread, simply delicious. Nothing garlicly about it but it was just really buttery and crunchy and gooood.
-The potatoes of the sausage and potatoes. Those little starchy buggers were splendid. Crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside, they have my blessing.

Mehhh:
-The fajita vegetales were not as exciting as one would think.
-Everything on Nellie's plate was a mehhh to her, espeially the Italian Encrusted Tender. Booo. Not entirely sure what kind of a meat it was, but if your seeking some protein, it'll do.

Skip It:
-Whatever random pasta they threw together and put in the comfort line. Maybe we went to the d-hall at the wrong time (7:10!) but the selection offered was horrendous. Making the preliminary lap around left me wondering if I wanted anything. The pasta was just lame. I tried adding the sausage of the potatoes with sausage (which was nothing special either) to spice it up, which was no help.
-Fat-free Raspberry Swirl Ice-cream, For the record the only reason I tried this god-awful flavor was because there was literally no other desserts available. It's been a long week of exams and cold winds and all I wanted was something tasty for dessert. That's all. I wasn't asking for much. Something. And all there was, was fat-free ice-cream. Imagine my disappointment. Yeah, don't do it. Each spoonful increased my resentment. Tisk, tisk, tiskkkk.

Happy October!
PS. We're loving the festive fall decorations that keep popping up!