Pierce’s late-night hours are back, and with them arrives another Stevens Dining classic — Sushi Friday. I recently hit off my first Sushi Friday of the Fall 2024 semester, celebrating the completion of my first week of senior year with a hybrid crew of old and new friends, all in need of fuel for the night’s activities. I must say, what this week’s rolls were lacking in the assembly department, they made up for in overall ingredient freshness. Upon completion of my first roll, I re-entered the sushi line to retrieve my next, only to find that in the time between my first and second queue, the prescribed sushi serving size that Tracy is allowed to dole out had been decreased from a reasonable six pieces to a measly four.
Now, because of the all-you-can-eat nature of Pierce, you can queue for sushi and receive your four pieces as many times as you would like, but this 33% skimpflation on sushi-per-queue still dampened my mood. There has been a general decrease in meal swipe value during my time here, and I have to empathize with the future generations that will not know the days of one roll = six sushi, a Colonel Johns meal, or the thrill of evading William the Water Warden.
Despite the great meal swipe recession, Pierce remains a place of creativity for some. A good fellow by the name of Tommy B. consistently impresses me with his innovative approach to dining hall food. He works diligently to hone his craft, Pierce as his canvas, crafting dishes that push the boundaries of what’s possible. After my first (and now, archaic) round of six sushi rolls, I watched him turn a normal bacon, egg, and cheese into a Rocky’s Deli Hashtag sandwich dupe of sorts with an ingenious addition of some chicken tenders—a reminder that even in the most restrictive of environments, creativity thrives.
To bypass the new restriction that a snack swipe can no longer get you a latte made with a dairy alternative, I suggest that you visit Pierce Café with a snack swipe during the breakfast timeframe, request a black coffee, then get your milk of choice inside of Pierce. I just happen to have a preference for taste of almond milk in coffee, but I strongly feel this upcharge is an unfair strike against those with dairy allergies, and it’s absurd to me that the sub one dollar difference between the price of a gallon of whole milk and a gallon of almond milk translates to a $0.50 upcharge per latte. In hopes of sparking more dining hall creativity, I’ve listed some tried and true ideas below.
Pierce “Secret Menu” items:
- Go to Delicious Without and get one of those giant gluten free cookies, and put it through the toaster (don’t let the chocolate get too melted and drip into heating elements, multiple quick passes through are better than one slow one)
- Root beer + ice cream = Root beer float
- Get grilled chicken on the grill line, bring it to the sandwich station and get a chicken quesadilla
- The oatmeal alone is a little tough, but can be elevated with your milk of choice, honey from the coffee station, cinnamon from the granola yogurt station and a banana from the fruit basket by the pizza station
- The soup station is underrated, take a look next time. Optional: add pasta to the soup
Happy crafting!
Note: Stevens Dining has clarified that 4 rolls is not the standard Sushi Friday practice, and that the portion size was reduced on this particular Friday to maximize the number of students that could enjoy the sushi supply.
