What's on Your Plate?

Between the on-campus dining centers and nearby takeout favorites, it can be challenging to break out of the Tufts neighborhood, and with so many great food options nearby, where do you even start? We asked Tufts Dining chefs and student foodies their favorite places to go for a delicious off-campus meal. Whether you’re looking for a romantic spot to take someone special, or a somewhere new to catch up with an old friend, we’d recommend any of these Boston restaurants for a good meal, good atmosphere, and a good time.

Nearby: Rudy’s Cafe, Teele Square, Somerville – Noah, Class of 2020

Rudy’s Cafe is a small Tex-Mex spot only a short walk from campus in Somerville's Teele Square. Offering great takes on south-of-the-border favorites like tacos or enchiladas, as well as classic American fare like smoked ribs and pulled pork, Rudy’s is a lesser known spot with great atmosphere and great potential something close by but still fresh.

 A bit further: Veggie Galaxy, Central Square, Cambridge – Meghan, Class of 2020

If you’re willing to ride the redline for a few stops and looking for something that’s both completely classic and brand new, Veggie Galaxy is the place for you. This Cambridge diner offers a 21st century spin on old-school favorites– everything on the menu is vegetarian, and just about everything can be made completely vegan. With an incredible 1950s diner aesthetic, Veggie Galaxy is a safe-haven for anyone with dietary restrictions, and– as a carnivore myself– will make your meat-eating friends say “Wow, this is vegan?”

 Boston-proper: Quattro, The North End, Boston – Nicolas, Class of 2020

Quattro offers a variety of Italian classics, including brick oven pizza, pasta, calzone, and delicious sandwiches. With a beautiful open kitchen, marble tables and countertops, and a stylish cafe feel, Quattro is a beautiful place to sit for an hour, and their options for quick and casual bites make it well worth the trip to the North End.

Tufts Dining’s newest café (in the Science and Engineering Complex) recently achieved 3 Star certification from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA). Now, all Tufts Dining locations on the Medford/Somerville campus are 3 star certified. The GRA gives certifications based on a variety of sustainability categories including waste management, sustainable food sourcing, pollution reduction, water and energy efficiency, and even the use of eco-friendly seating and furniture. GRA 3 Star Certification is a transparent way of demonstrating Tufts Dining’s dedication to providing the Tufts community with sustainable and healthy food, while demonstrating a commitment forward to being green, convenient, healthy, and delicious. 

Sun Coffee Roasters coffee, served at several locations on campus, is dedicated to providing consumers with delicious, sustainable, Fair Trade coffee – while pursuing total transparency "from bean to cup." They source coffee beans from certified Organic, Rainforest, and Fair Trade cooperatives worldwide. Many of the cooperatives are even bird-friendly plantations. And, the company is based in New England.

Sun Coffee Roasters coffee is thoughtfully roasted to preserve flavor and integrity to the bean. Through energy-efficient roasting process and eco-friendly packaging, they strives to ensure that all business decisions are made with people and planet in mind.

Did you know we serve Teatulia Organic Tea in our Dining Centers, at Hodgdon, and at Kindlevan Cafe? 

Teatulia Teas are great-tasting, organic, fair trade, rainforest certified, regenerative, and empowering. These teas  are better for the land, its people and the environment. Have a cup and read on.

Today, we opened our newest café, Kindlevan Café with a veg-centric menu, fresh pressed juices, smoothies made to order, fair-trade certified and rainforest certified coffee and organic teas. Our team has been hard at work creating a NEW seasonal menu that will be extremely flavorful, full of nutrition, whole grains, fresh veggies, and be fun to eat. The Sweet Green Smoothie (pictured here) is a mix of Spinach, Banana, Mango, Vanilla, and Honey.  It’s SWEET, GREEN, and DELICIOUS. Some of the favorites foods from Brown & Brew Coffee House are still on the menu. Let us serve you as we evolve and build a healthy, nutritious café to fuel the Tufts community from inside the SEC!  

Looking forward to serving you for years to come, The Tufts Dining Team <3

The space in Curtis Hall that Brown & Brew has occupied celebrates a long and colorful history. When the building first opened in the early 1890’s, the space served as a campus dining room (The Dive).

Then during WWII, the space was used as a Navy mess hall.

Throughout the 1990’s, the room was used by a number of student groups (including Pen, Paint & Pencils and Ballroom Dance). Hillel also held Friday night Shabbat dinners in the space until the Hillel Center opened in 1995. 

Inspired by the vision of Cheryl Weingarten, a sophomore in 1992, an on-campus coffee house was selected to serve the space. The name Brown & Brew was created from a naming contest conducted across the university. The clever name is a twist on Tufts’ official colors: brown and blue – emphasizing the coffee aspect.

The space that Brown & Brew Coffee House has occupied for 20 years has had several uses. In 1905, there was even a lunch cart next to Curtis Hall (pictured below). Watch how Brown & Brew prepares to close and transform into a café in the Science and Engineering Complex fall 2017.

One of the amazing benefits of working for Tufts Dining is the opportunity to attend industry conferences/think tanks/educational sessions. Engaging in dialogues about what is going on in food and in campus dining with colleagues and some food celebrities is a huge bonus. I came back energized and inspired!

HIGHLIGHT: getting to hear Stephanie Izard (@StephAndTheGoat), the winner of the fourth season of Top Chef, speak and getting to meet her! I completely fan-girled and am not embarrassed to admit that! She is an inspiration as a woman in the culinary arts industry and as a chef who makes the sustainable plate a priority. I wonder if I can find a way to get to Chicago to eat at one of her ‘Goat’ spots as research?!!!

I also saw a presentation by Chef Daniel Giusti (@TheDanielGiusti), who was head chef at NOMA, considered the best restaurant in the WORLD.  I even had an hour-long conversation with him afterwards.  He is now focusing his considerable talents on school lunch programs. All I can say is, if I leave here tomorrow, you’ll know where to find me! He is an inspiration!

And of course a food conference boasts lots of good food, gave me time to see and hang out with old friends- chefs, and meet new ones….including lots and lots of laughing which is my favorite thing. I am so lucky to be a part of a university that encourages growth and development and understands that the best way to continue being the best is to invest in education to help find what inspires us.

Oh, and my rescue cat Humphrey was VERY happy I was home finally!

RESPOND Inc. is New England’s first domestic violence prevention agency located in Somerville, MA. On January 26, 2017, RESPOND hosted its third annual Chili Cook-Off. Our chefs Paul and Rodger (pictured below) accept the award for their Classic Chili. Congrats! #SoProud

Chef Joann, Chef Manager of Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center, enjoyed a variety of tasty adventures over the summer! Food is her favorite part of her time-off. Whether she's cooking and experimenting with new dishes or discovering local eateries, she’s all about food. Her first stop was Hyde Park, New York, her home town where she visited the Culinary Institute of America and ate at the student dining center called ‘The Egg’. As expected, amazing, innovative food all made by the students. If you are in Hyde Park, check out The Egg (shown below).    

Chef Joan discovered some gorgeous veggies, ate some beautiful food below, and was inspired to cook some new dishes with delicious twists here and there. Yum!

Chef Joann also attended the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) conference where she was well-fed with peach salad (see below) and beautiful food while she got a chance to see what other universities and colleges are up to. (Tufts Dining also won the Silver Award for our Nutrition program and a Gold Award and Grand Prize for our online catering menu!)

A highlight of Chef Joann’s summer was when she got to meet Chef Jeff Henderson (see below) spoke at the conference and ended up sitting with Chef Joann for lunch. She squealed with excitement. She admires Chef Jeff Henderson who worked his way up from the bottom and continues to help those in need. (Click here for the full story about him.) His food inspires Chef Joann and thousands of others every day! 

We serve sustainable seafood at Tufts. What does this mean? It means we source our seafood from responsible fisheries. The fish we serve is never endangered. It is often fish caught right here in New England to support the local fishing economy and reduce our carbon footprint. Sustainable fish caught locally and around the country does not jeopardize fish populations or the health of our oceans. In particular, we source fresh fish from Red’s Best and Foley Fish in Boston. Red’s Best and Foley Fish partner with New England fishermen and deliver freshly caught seafood around Boston.

Recently, our very own Chef Paul participated in the Chili Cook Off to benefit RESPOND, Inc., a Somerville-based nonprofit that works to end domestic violence. His special batch of chili won first place in the vegetarian chili category! Check out Paul’s recipe below to remake this wonderful dish, or look to this article for more information on the competition.

http://now.tufts.edu/articles/hail-chef

Have you ever been confused about the different flavor pickles? Maybe you mumbled “Half Sour” thinking you were getting a Kosher Dill. So, what is in a pickle? At Pax et Lox Glatt Kosher Deli, there's the Half Sour and the Kosher Dill. Which should you get with your sandwich?

Half Sour pickles are made in seasoned brine without vinegar. They remain refrigerated throughout the entire fermentation process, including storing and shipping. The longer cucumbers stay in brine, the more sour they become. Thus, half sours are pickled for a shorter time than Sour Pickles, and are made with less salt, which allows quicker fermentation. The Half Sours are fresh, green, and the firmest, crispest pickles.

Kosher Dills are a style of pickle made in a seasoned brine with vinegar. Kosher Dill style pickles may or may not be kosher. The term refers to a “kosher style” flavor profile. This also means that a lot of garlic has been added to the brine at the end of fermentation, giving the Kosher Dills a much more robust flavor than other dill pickles.

Next time, you pick your pickle, pick with full confidence since you now know “what’s in a pickle”!

This weekend I went to visit my son at college in Vermont, and I had to explore some of the famous food names associated with our “northern” neighbor. Can you say Ben & Jerry’s Factory, Cabot Cheddar and King Arthur Flour Mill, Bakery and Store? YUM!  

I got to tour the Cabot Cheese Factory and see them making a batch of their smooth sharp cheddar cheese….which we serve on our cheeseburgers at our Wednesday Burger Bar. And, I saw the HUGE 38 pound cheddar wheels that we often feature at special event dinners! The best parts were finding out they are a farmers’ cooperative and that have uses for most of their waste byproducts. They recycle the rinse water used in the cheese making process and water their fields, so there is no waste, AND they help put nutrients back into the soil. So cool!

I stopped by the Ben & Jerry’s factory for a tour. Peanut butter ice cream in a waffle cone is breakfast food, right? At Ben & Jerry’s factory it is!

My food excursion was topped off with a stop at King Arthur Flour. At their factory, I found a few new flours and grains to experiment with and managed to get out without buying up the gadgets in the store or eating all of the freshly baked bread in the bakery.

I love learning how different foods are made  It is always fascinating and eye opening. I must’ve gotten that from my dad. If you asked my dad the time,  he would build you a clock. Yes, really, he would build you an actual clock, sometimes binary. So I learned to love the process. It’s  super interesting to me. I hope that I can bring some of that knowledge into my every day cooking at home but especially at work. I love trying new things, I love visiting my son and discovering great food, and I love feeding the students at Tufts.

Oh, and call your mom, she likes to hear your voice! Trust me, I know!! ☺

By Amy Bu ‘17

It’s pumpkin season! Bulbous pumpkins decorate porches, pumpkin products line grocery shelves, and coffee shops all over America have unleashed Pumpkin Spice Lattes upon the public - as if on cue. This bright orange squash has carved (ha ha) its niche in our holidays, found its way into our kitchens, and wormed its way into our hearts.

Two years ago, as a first-year Tufts student, I bought my first Pumpkin Spice Latte and experienced love at first sip. Coming from abroad, this is a cultural experience!

But is it really?

The pumpkin is native to the American continent and has been cultivated in North America for over five thousand years. And instead of making crusted pies for Thanksgiving, Pilgrims stuffed pumpkins with cream, eggs, sugar, and spices, buried them in hot ashes, and ended up with gooey pumpkin custard that probably eventually became what is pie filling today.

In short: yes, pumpkins are American. They're as American as it gets.

So, can my new love for pumpkin really be justified as a cultural experience? Perhaps. For those of you who remain unconvinced, I asked friends from Singapore, England, and China whether the pumpkin spice craze exists in those countries: it does not!

America is unparalleled – and unique – in its love with pumpkin-flavored and pumpkin-spiced products. So if you'll excuse me, I'll go eat more pumpkin ice cream now.

Summer vacation is ALMOST Here! Whether you’ll be responsible for cooking for yourself or not, you should know what tools to have in you know kitchen so that you can cook like chefs at Tufts Dining -- David, Sahra, and Yves! Take a look at the tools they can’t live without!