In-Dorm Improviser

Abby Miller  

We all know that in college, especially in a big town like Ann Arbor, it’s hard to find a way (or the time) to get to the grocery store to make our favorite meals. Because of this, us in-dorm chefs have to find all the handy alternatives we can, so that we can find food in between the visits from our thankfully car-endowed parents. Here’s a guide to making one simple, very attainable item go a very long way.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “I have all the ramen and Easy Mac I need until my parents visit in three weeks!”, but is that really how you want your college dining experience to be? In between the fattening trips to East Quad, your stomach grumbles should be soothed not by liquid sodium heated in your microwave, but by something with at least a little substance. For starters, we all wish we could just grab a loaf of bread at the store every week, I know you’re missing grilled cheese, pb&j, toast, and sandwiches. So here’s a trick that not many people know about; Jimmy John’s will sell you a loaf of their bread for a mere $0.50! It’s not only a perfect cabinet staple, but at the perfect college student price.

You’re intrigued now, I can tell - you’re thinking “alright, well… now I have this bread, great. But what can I do with it? I can’t exactly stick my easy-mac on it to create a gourmet meal?” You’re right - you can’t, but I’ll bet you have many other simple things in your stash of food that can help you amp up that wonderful loaf of bread. For you tea drinkers - look around! I bet you have a container of honey sitting right near that Keurig… Am I right? Now, take that honey and spread a little on your bread. Right there you have an absolutely delicious concoction; but wait that’s not all! If you don’t have peanut butter, one of the people in your immediate radius definitely has some; smear some of that on the bread too, and grab a banana from the dining hall and voila! You now have a home-kitchen worthy sandwich right in your dorm room!

“What else can I do with this bread?” you might ask? All it takes is simply looking around! Eat some with that microwave soup you have, the Nutella sitting on your shelf, find someone with some hummus and use it like pita bread, or get some microwave bacon and make yourself a breakfast sandwich!

Whatever the use, I know you’ll do something great with it, and remember to be creative! One 50 cent loaf of bread can open up a world of opportunities in your in-dorm kitchen!

Comfort Delivery

Talya Ehrenstein  

“Ma’am, you do know that that lobster tail is market price, don’t you?” The waiter stood over my friend’s mother with a stunned face, while the rest of us examined the menu for the rest of our absurdly priced options.

“Yes, I do. I’ll take it, please.” The waiter closes his pad and thanks us, once again, for dining out that night and promises to bring the chef out to greet our party. There are beautiful people at every other table in the restaurant, iPads for menus, and an elegant air in the room of people who know they were chic, yet effortlessly cool and absurdly wealthy.

Five hours, a ridiculous price tag and twelve full bellies later, the birthday party made their way out of the restaurant, still overwhelmed and excited about the meal and experience we had just had, thanking our hosts profusely. The setting: an ultra chic Miami Beach restaurant, frequented by the city’s most exclusive crowd; and the patrons: wide-eyed seventeen year olds celebrating a birthday by going on the culinary ride of their lives.

Growing up in South Florida, fabulous, pricey, sophisticated, and exclusive restaurants were everywhere I went. What we never did well, though, and what I never got to experience, was good old-fashioned comfort food, food that has some history and cult-following behind it.

My first few weeks in Ann Arbor have consisted of enough Hill Markeplace at MoJo entrees to make your head spin, Panera Mac and Cheese to feed an army, and the occasional sneaky midnight Cheez-it and almond snacking frenzy.

Yet, slowly but surely, I am starting to discover the food in this town that is almost as deeply ingrained in the Michigan psyche as football Saturdays at the Big House are. Chipatis, late-night cookies, sandwich shops that seem to never stop delivering, and my personal favorite: fast food Thai dishes that can rival any Thai place at home have become my culinary staples. (Shoutout to No Thai! Drunken Fried Rice with beef and mild sauce FTW.)

My roommate and I have already had so much food delivered to our room that we know which places stop taking delivery orders when, the dishes at each place that we like the best, and the restaurants that deliver quickly (very important for desperate 2 AM queso cravings—this has happened more than once.) Every time we look at each other with those now familiar smiles and silently agree to forgo the dining hall once again, we embark on a different culinary adventure.

College is supposed to be about those late night eats that are delicious, cheap and delivered in a brown paper bag. I’ve experienced restaurants that many aren’t lucky enough to; with snooty waiters, black napkins and portion sizes smaller than a midnight snack. Here, it’s all about quality. I can honestly say that some of the best food I’ve discovered in Ann Arbor isn’t on Main Street, but delivered by a tired-looking delivery man at ungodly hours of the night and eaten on my cold linoleum dorm room floor.