Cafeteria cooks up Thanksgiving eats

Holiday-style goodies prove a tasty treat for campus community

Meredith Schneider / The USD Vista

Chaos was the only word to describe the cafeteria on that fateful night. At 6 p.m. on Nov. 12, the dining hall was crowded with eager, hungry students and faculty. Children and family of the staff of USD ran around with their eyes wide open and jaws on the ground at the amazement of such a wonder.

Why so chaotic? The annual Thanksgiving Dinner was in full swing, providing students with an early “taste” of this wonderful American holiday. What was incorporated in this magnificent feast? The menu involved a hefty helping of American favorites, including stuffing, mixed greens with cranberries and pecans, turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy and cranberry sauce.

The soup table held a thick lobster bisque and butternut squash soups. There was also an assortment of dinner rolls, watermelon, oranges, grapes and, of course, the regular salad bar. The dessert table consisted of several assortments of delectables, one of which was a Thanksgiving staple: pumpkin pie.

The ambience of the room was one a student does not regularly experience. The room was took on the fall theme with gorgeous autumn table toppers. The decorations included off-white tablecloths and multi-colored leaf placemats carefully centered on each table. Even the napkins were crafted into perfect little fans. To top it all off, USD staff and students played string instruments while the crowd enjoyed their meal.

What was the price for such a fabulous night? It took $12 or two swipes of a campus meal plan to get in on the festivities. Some students wondered why the price of the dinner had gone up from one meal to two. The cafeteria staff was asked about this puzzling conundrum.

“The quality of the food and the amount of food that we ordered for the event both went up” Joaquin Tena at the front desk said.

But did students feel that the Thanksgiving-style meal was worth the two swipes?

“This is nothing like my Thanksgiving at home,” freshman Gio Carvijal said. “It is not like a real Thanksgiving because our families aren’t here. But the staff did a great job! The food is good and there is plenty of it! I feel fancy!”

Two thumbs up for yet another wonderful holiday-inspired meal by the USD cafeteria staff.