Want some farm-to-tray turnips?Photo: The Noz/Wordpress
No, not because it gives off a frightening radioactive glow! He thinks the stuff is actually good. We were curious to read Bittman's rave about the positive future of institutional cuisine after marveling over gourmet campus cheese just yesterday. Turns out that maybe the movement isn't confined to a subset of post-pubescent food snobs after all!
Bittman begins his quest for palatable cafeteria food at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, where he notes that their Meatless Mondays brought "new thought and vigor — maybe even inspiration — to the menu," which was conceived by food-service giant Sodexo, even if they do substitute too much processed cheese for meat.
Better still is the Bon Appétit Management Company, which provides succulent offerings to companies and schools like the University of Pennsylvania (a spot that, as we noted yesterday, offers delicacies like dandelion salad to stressed-out Ivy Leaguers). "This is cafeteria food that you actually want to eat, food that deserves to be served with wine," Bittman enthuses. As opposed to, we suppose, a twelve-pack of Natty Lite.
Courtesy Bon Appétit, Bittman feasted upon "vegetable-stuffed crepes, Indian 'burritos' with spinach and tofu, tacos more reminiscent of Los Angeles than New York, stir-fries made to order and in-season," and more. Sure makes a hopeful counterpoint to what's going on in Boston, where hunks of aged taco meat were found in school cafeterias!
The Future of Cafeteria Food [Opinionator/NYT]
Related: America’s Colleges Are Educating a Nation of Food Snobs
