Free Lunch – Dean’s Lecture

So this post, and my free lunch reviews in general, are rapidly becoming moot points because free lunches at Vanderbilt have effectively been cancelled thanks to the financial shitstorm we call the economy. From now on, free lunches will only be available at important lunches. Like when the dean of the school talks about the state of affairs (read: financial status) of the school. So it’s kinda ironic that they’re serving free lunches at a talk that everyone was expecting to be about how much our finances have tanked in the past couple months.

But…this isn’t a finance blog. This is a food blog! And Dean’s Lectures are awesome opportunities to indulge in tasty lunches. I still have no idea where they get the food catered from, but it’s much better than the run-of-the-mill sandwich shops around Vandy (Panera, Atlanta Bread Co., etc).

Since I’m all into eating healthy now, and monitoring my daily veggie/fiber intake, I chose the salad. It’s not the best salad I’ve seen them serve–this one was a grilled chicken Greek salad–but the meal was more than filling. Also key to the success of a free lunch are sides of fruit, snacks, and soda–all parts of a balanced high school lunch.

I entered the talk dreading what I was going to hear; I expected the free lunch to be the only highlight, but leave it to our badass dean of the school to make everyone feel proud of Vanderbilt and hopeful for the future. I’ve never felt so awesome about going to Vanderbilt as I have now. Lots of numbers were thrown out during the talk, like “we’re number 1″ or “we’re number 2″ and stuff. I don’t remember all of it anymore, but all I have to say now is: Eat that Ivy League!

Free Lunch – Which Wich

Preface: I intended to do a series of reviews of the free lunch we received during lunchtime lectures at the medical school. We’re used to getting a variety of boxed lunches from different sandwich and catering companies at the start of lunchtime meetings for academic and extracurricular groups, in addition to school-sponsored lunch lectures. This was the standard lunchtime lecture. At least, it was the standard before the economic crisis. I found out yesterday that the funding for lunchtime lectures has been dramatically reduced, and now there will be fewer lunch lectures with actual free lunches. Oh, woe is me. I’ll still see how this pans out, though, and try to post as many reviews of free lunches as I can. Oh, and I forgot to state the reason for doing so: some lunches are better than others, and I’d like my preference known so that more of these delicious lunch boxes will be bought over disgusting lunch boxes. Yeah, I know beggars can’t be choosers, but whatever–it never hurts to try.

And so I begin my review series with a high-quality boxed lunch from Which Wich, a sandwich chain that I’d never seen on the west coast. If I could describe it to someone from California, I’d say it was like a better version of Quizno’s: smaller, albeit more stuffed, toasted subs. My chicken sandwich looks like turkey because they seem to use sliced chicken (which I rarely ever see). The meat is chickeny and blandtastic–standard chicken fare. There is a little bit of salt so there is actually some flavor. It comes with prepackaged-standard lettuce and tomatoes, and there’s also mustard and mayo on the side. Even though my description sucks, the sandwich really is good. It might have something to do with the bread, maybe the meat (they do have substantial amounts of meat in their sandwiches), but Which Wich is definitely near the top of my free lunch rankings. Also, as with other sandwiches from other shops, it should be noted that sandwiches that come in boxed lunches are basic sandwiches, and that these shops have way better sandwiches on their regular menus–I’m quite fond of Which Wich’s Cuban sandwich.

Each lunch comes with some chips, pickles, and cookies–a deluxe lunch, for sure. Some places give either a cookie or chips, never both, so I appreciated the added luxury of being able to choose both chips and my oatmeal raisin cookie. And I was also able to snag another bag of pickles. Yes, my life is extremely dull. Whatever. I look forward to (hopefully!) eating more free lunches from Which Wich.

New, Permanent Cafeteria – Vanderbilt University Hospital

This is my new home. Come say “Herro.”

I’ve already spent the last year and a half here–its old and temporary manifestations, to be precise–and have eaten approximately 200 meals. Two. Hundred. Marginal. Meals. I’ll be spending the next two and a half years eating here, too, so I better appreciate my new kitchen. I’ll be eating another couple hundred meals here in the future (Will there be no mercy on my tastebuds?). And thus, the long-awaited first impressions of NEW PERMANENT CAFETERIA! (cue trumpet fanfare)

I don’t have a picture of the actual grand opening, but this is pretty much it–although there was a giant (un-sneezeguarded) chocolate fondue fountain where everyone could get a dipped dessert; I chose not to partake because I would still like to remain free from MRSA and other nosocomial infections. My friend Luke, though, did take a dessert. He loves dessert. And, well, I guess his currently-enlarged cervical lymph nodes containing millions of viral particles reminded me that I made a good decision in skipping the fondue.

As per the actual cafeteria, it’s basically the same as it was before, except with a shiny new look and more walking room. The old cafeteria induced claustrophobia on a daily basis. Now, I don’t have to worry about going crazy from the crowds. I’ll still probably go crazy eventually, just not so soon. I won’t be smacking people with my backpack, either. I feel like a better person already.

However, despite making more walking room, the cafeteria failed to add in more stations to distribute food, so said walking room really becomes waiting-in-line room. I’m still waiting in long lines for food, and somehow, despite adding more registers, am still waiting even longer to pay. Renovation fail.

They also took away the “salad of the day” station, where Amy, the salad lady, would make awesome salads which always had tons of chicken for my naturally pseudo-Atkins-diet-craving tastes. What did they do with Amy? They replaced her with Starbucks machines. DAMN YOU STARBUCKS. They also didn’t do much to improve the other food. It still tastes the same. And in case you don’t know, same = crap. Usually I’m not this harsh (well, actually I can be haha), but I’ve had enough experience to judge the food here. Take, for instance, what I had on this particular day: tilapia with pineapple salsa, greens, and corn pudding. The fish was dry and lacked flavor. The salsa had no trace of pineapple flavoring. The corn pudding was not corny and not sweet. The greens were ok though–I do enjoy a nice batch of potlikker juice! Food at the cafeteria is usually a hit-or-miss usually. The only difference that’s occurred is that food is more expensive now because the hospital has to cover the costs of the renovation. AW CRAP. If it weren’t for the sake of sparing my brain from another hour of mind-numbing lecture, I would actually prefer to take free boxed lunches at lunch lecture. Almost.

I’ll still pay the money for food from the cafeteria. I’ve learned that lunchtime is more about socializing and *gasp* gossiping more than it is about eating. As long as my stomach stops growling at the end of the meal, I’ll be satisfied. Plus, I’m gonna be here for another couple of years, I might as well get used to it. But at least I’ll say this in closing:

New look, same taste.

Everyone can finally wear those “I survived the renovation” shirts for real now!

The Pub at Vanderbilt – Overcup Oak

The food at the pub is satisfactory–it’s marginally better (and more expensive) than what we eat everyday at the hospital cafeteria. They have typical lunch/bar fare: burgers, wraps, paninis, and hot wings(!). The pub, being what it is, does serve beer at lunch, which is also a plus. But really, the pub, as a restaurant, doesn’t stand out too much. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there, normally.

But I do take the 10 minute detour to go to the pub every Friday for lunch. Why?

Because it’s so much more than just food. Overcup Oak is located on the undergrad campus, you see. Going there for lunch at the end of a grueling week is a vacation; it’s a breath of fresh air; it’s an escape from the dredges of medical school. Being among undergrads always brings back fond memories of undergrad at USC. Not being around our other peers is also a relief because we can be as rowdy and inappropriate as we want without threat of being overheard (we don’t really care what undergrads think anyways (actually, I can only speak for myself, I don’t represent “da group”)). Most importantly, the trek to and from the pub–especially on warm, sunny days–is worth the trip alone. The walk always yields a bounty of eye candy; the pub is located at the center of campus, where all the undergrads congregate for lunch. It would probably be a terrific place for a future surgeon to pick up girls. However, for some reason I think we’ve all been misled: I don’t know why my parents keep warning me about gold-diggers; even with my white coat and scrubs on, none of the undergrads I see would give me the time of day.

It’s still nice to get away from school at the end of the week.

Overcup Oak

Sarratt Student Center

Vanderbilt University

A Hundred Dollars Worth of Pad Thai

I bought a lot of pad thai last week.

Siam Cuisine catered an introductory dinner for Vanderbilt’s chapter of the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA). I ordered enough pad thai, rice, pork prad krao, and asparagus and tofu for 35 people. I think only 20 people came. People probably didn’t care that much about APAMSA, or were too busy studying. It was ok, though. My feelings weren’t hurt even though the turnout was less than spectacular–I got to take home lots of leftovers. So yes, I did end up eating most of that pad thai.

I’ve eaten at Siam Cuisine before, and it’s probably one of the better Thai places in Nashville, though that’s not saying much when comparing to the subpar Asian restaurants here. Thai food in larger cities are definitely more delicious and cheaper, but I guess there’s not a lot of demand for better Asian food here to drive that change in the restaurant scene. The prices here are cheaper than most Thai restuarants in Nashville, but it’s still more expensive than what I’m used to. The pad thai was decent, but lacked mix-ins like tofu and shrimp. I’m used to pad thai with eggs, bean sprouts, tofu, chicken, shrimp, nuts, carrots, and lime. I think this version had half that. I’d still try it again, however, because the catered food might not be of the same quality as food prepared in smaller batches.

The pork and veggie dishes were soupy, and a little oily, but there were still hints of basil and umami. They also look strikingly similar, probably as a result of the “same sauce, different ingredients” method of cooking. It’s best to eat these dishes with lots of rice to balance out the saltiness.

Next time I’ll have to try their beef noodle soup; nothing beats a steaming hot bowl of noodles, beef, and MSG. I’m still looking for a place that can do it right.

Siam Cuisine

265 White Bridge Pike # E

Nashville, TN

(615) 354-0082‎

Microbes and Defense Society Dinner

First, some updates:

I’ve gotten over 500 hits! YAY! It’s like I have 500 friends! Or not! Why am I so excited?(!)

Our first exam for the second year of medical school is coming up in a couple weeks, which means that I will have little time to post about what I eat. But I’m sure you won’t be interesting in hearing about me eating at the school cafeteria for two weeks straight. However, I will try to post on whatever interesting meals I eat. AND! Don’t forget! Nashville Restaurant Week is next week 9/15/08-0/21/08. I’ll be eating at three carefully chosen establishments, but I may not get around to posting in-depth (read: pictures galore!) entries until after my 9/29 test.

Tentative List:

• Acorn
• Germantown Cafe
• Fido

Also, I’ve recieved some feedback asking for more medical school gossip. Seeing as how television portrays medical dramas in a way that either romanticizes medicine or the opposite, I will add my own blogoriphic portrayal of medical school drama, or lack of drama. Wait, what am I talking about? Medical school is basically high school. Or worse, junior high (we’re stuck in the same classroom with each other for four hours a day). And because my friend Rob requested that I turn my site into a combination of foodblog/medschool version of Gossip Girl, I’ll start by writing about the induction ceremony for MDAS, an honors society for microbiology and immunology. There’s not much gossip here, though, so I kinda already failed at the gossip part of my blog. Meh.

The food was served buffet style and was a mashup of finger foods that amalgamated into dinner. I’m not going to go into detail about what was served, but for a free dinner, it was good. And there was free wine and SWEET TEA! The plates, though, were small, so it looks like I’m a Hometown Buffet regular with overflowing plates in these photos. I’m not that fat. I swear.