Cooking (not) by the Book

This weekend, my dad came up to Middlebury for a visit. While the purpose of the visit was theoretically to celebrate Easter, it evolved into a kind of restaurant tour of Middlebury and beyond.

I managed to avoid the dining halls — starting with dinner on Friday, all the way through dinner on Sunday, which was, in a word, sweet.

As I sampled turkey sandwiches from Noonie’s, sundried tomato and mushroom pizza at Flatbread, and the Waldorf salad at Black Sheep Bistro, however, I started to think about things that are missing from Proctor that would exponentially enhance the eating experience.

Why, for example, is a salad at Black Sheep that much better than a salad at Proctor? The obvious answer to that question, I suppose, is that it’s Black Sheep and its professional chefs doing the tossing, but I think it’s more than that.

There are certain simple ingredients that add the taste and texture that make all the difference. Call this my dining hall wish list, or just one giant unrealistic comment card, but I do think that some of these desires are obtainable and not entirely excessive. So, without further ado, the list:

1. Walnuts. Have you ever noticed the difference that walnuts can make in a salad? They add crunch, they add taste, and they’re both healthier and (in my opinion) more delicious than their less sophisticated counterpart, the crouton. While I don’t think we’re going to see these showing up in Proctor any time soon, I’ve done some recon and you can get them at Midd Express. So I’ll be the weird kid carting a bag of walnuts around the dining hall for awhile ...

2. Craisins. Like walnuts, craisins bring both texture and taste to the table (no pun intended). They’re delicious on their own, in a salad, in a panini ... think of the value added. Now sigh a little bit.

3. More fruit. I was at Villanova over spring break, and while most of their food really couldn’t compare to Midd food, they did run circles around us in the fruit category. In addition to your traditional apples, bananas, and oranges, they had fresh sliced cantaloupe and honeydew, and strawberries. Seriously, strawberries.

Think of the dessert potential. Word on the street is that occasionally Atwater has melon for breakfast, but it has eluded me thus far. I know that melon is expensive, and not exactly local, but I can dream, right?

4. Avocado. This wish is probably the most outlandish and unrealistic, but I pretty much go gaga for a good avocado. I’ll eat it plain, in a sandwich, in a salad, make some guac… the possibilities are almost endless. Again, not exactly local, not exactly cheap. But so, so good.

In this era of budget cuts and local focus, I can recognize that most of these wishes are unrealistic.

And really, Proctor, I’ve been pretty good at working with you thus far. So I thought I’d take one week just to dream, to ponder the possibility of something more. And maybe, just maybe, Matthew Biette, king of dining halls, will think to himself, “I’d really enjoy some melon while reading this newspaper.” Hey, you never know, right? I guess that’s what comment cards are all about.