You always have input on your dining experience! We'll post comments and responses here as we receive them.
- Question from Ally on November 13, 2009
HI! I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for posting these menus online. I am a vegan and it's difficult for me to know what I can and cannot eat in the cafeteria (unless it's labeled VEGAN! haha). However, I was just looking at the Hillcrest Menu for this week... and I might be reading it wrong, but some of the things color coded in Green (which the key says means it's Vegan) are NOT vegan. A lot of the things on the menu containing cheese are labeled vegan, which makes me confused... It's one of two things: Either I'm reading it wrong, or it is wrong. Either way, I feel it would be benefical to have that corrected! Thanks so much!
Response from Fred Kurt, Manager of Hillcrest Market Place
Hello Ally! Thanks so much for your input. We like to keep our menu up to date, correct and available online at all times. I appreciate your feedback because after some review I did find some things that were labeled incorrectly on both the Hillcrest & Burge menus which we will have the menu committee fix immediately. Thanks for recognizing that! Please forward me the items that you have indicated have cheese that are labeled vegan as I have not come across them.
- Question from Emily on November 7, 2009
I'm a student here at UI and I was just wondering: what brand of veggie burger is served in the Burge Marketplace? Had my first one today and it was delicious :)
Response from Anne Harkins, Manager of Burge Market Place
We buy Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Garden Patty. Glad you like them!
- Suggestion from Kacie on October 19, 2009
This may be just a personal preference, but I was wondering if it were possible to put some additional spices/herbs in the baskets where soy sauce and steak sauce are. I would like to be able to add garlic powder and red chili flakes to my pasta. Other additions could be dried oregano and basil. I understand why some of the flavors must be palate friendly. It would just be nice to be able to add an extra kick sometimes.
Response from Greg Black, Director of Residential Dining
Hello Kacie, thank you for your suggestion. I will pass this along to our Burge and Hillcrest Market Place Managers. Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
- Question from Lynn, a mother, on September 8, 2009
My son moved off-campus this year (after being in Currier last year) and is telling us that there is never enough food. I was wondering if it is possible to purchase a "supplemental" food contract with Burge. If I can add, say, 5 meals a week for him it would be a great help. Obviously I would also need to know the price and the deadline for doing such an addition.
Response from Greg Black, Director of Residential Dining
Hello Lynn, we have a couple options that might work for your son. The “Any Five” provides him with five meals per week, any day, and any time between 6:45am and 8:00pm. The cost of this plan is $580, per semester. He may purchase this plan at any time and the cost will be adjusted according to the number of weeks remaining in the semester. Another option is our “20 Meal Deal” for $150.00. This is a block of 20 meals he can use again at any time throughout the semester. There is no limit to the number of times he can eat in a week, except for the block of 20 meals itself. He may purchase additional blocks at any time. Either of these plans may be purchased on-line
Please free to contact me at any time if there is anything else I can assist you with. Have a great day.
- Comment from Eric on August 27, 2009
Today the only selection of fruit I saw was apples or canned pineapple. So far this week, you've only offered 2-3 types of fruit a day. Last year you would typically have 4-6 different fruit offerings per day. Only having two choices of fruit (only one fresh) is rather disappointing given the wide selection of other food types. Could you please let me know what your plans are to fix this problem going forward.
Response from Greg Black, Director of Residential Dining
Hello Eric. We appreciate you taking the time to share your comments with us. You are correct, the variety of fruits has been reduced slightly this year. Last year, the Market Places normally carried 3 fresh and 1 canned fruits for breakfast and lunch. This year 2 fresh and 1 canned are provided most days. Our menus are driven by overall customer preferences and costs. We heard from students the desire for less fresh cut fruit salad and more whole fruits. We also experienced a significant cost increase for many of our fresh fruits and vegetables last year. This menu change contributed to reducing our overall food costs which contributed to a minimal increase in board rates for this year. We also hope to see a decrease in waste. Overall, we feel we are able to provide an outstanding menu variety and value for our customers. We will continue monitoring food prices as well as comments from our customers, such as yourself and make adjustments as appropriate. Again, thank you for your input.
- Question from Kyle on August 27, 2009
Do the Burge or Hillcrest Market Place serve the "Hawkeye Wrap" that was previously served in the downstairs IMU eatery before the flood?
Response from Greg Black, Director of Residential Dining
Hello Kyle, thank you for taking the time to contact us. Sorry to say I'm not familiar with the "Hawkeye Wrap" that was served in the Union Station prior to the flood. We do offer a wrap of the day sandwich in both Burge and Hillcrest Market Places, in addition to all of the other foods available to you at one very reasonable price. If you are going to be eating lunch on campus you might want to consider purchasing either the "20 Meal Deal" or the "Any 5" meal plan. Visit our web page for specific information. I will be in contact with the folks at the IMU to see if we can add a wrap to our menus similar to the Hawkeye Wrap. Thanks again, for your question.
- Comment from Joe on August 16, 2009
Hi there, my name is Joe and I have a bit of a problem. I am vegan, and am having trouble finding any kind of diversity in your menus for vegan people. There seems to be only some kind of pasta with Marinara sauce available. It would not be very healthy for me to eat that for every meal, every day, for four years. I also have high cholesterol (it is genetic). I can't afford to eat things that are extremely high in cholesterol even if they are vegan. You see my dilemma. Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated. I am just trying to find some way to satisfy my meal plan and my needs simultaneously.
I do have some suggestions, however. If it were available to me I would eat 100% whole grain breads and cereals and fresh vegetables that don't even have to be cooked (lots of vegans eat their food raw): for example spinach (uncooked or cooked without any oil/butter), celery, broccoli, cucumbers and squash. In order to get adequate nutrition, vegans need to add fresh vegetables to things like pasta with marinara sauce. The pasta is not a bad idea, it just needs to have fresh vegetables added along side it. And strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, etc. are great choices for vegan desserts, and not at all difficult to accomplish. For my diabetic friends, it's important that you not add sugar to your fruit. So a grapefruit with no sugar is great. Add sugar, and they can't eat it. People can add their own sugar to things as they wish, separately. Fat Free milk is important for them as well, and for other people who have high cholesterol who are not vegan.
Thank you again for anything you can do to accommodate the student population who is like me.
I would be happy to help you design a menu for vegans, answer any questions you have, and help you in any way.
Response from Greg Black, Director of Residential Dining
Hello Joe, first of all, Welcome to Iowa! I do hope your move-in goes smoothly.
I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me. We do have a small number of vegans, like yourself, living with us and we have adjusted our cycle menus accordingly. We do make every effort to accommodate the special needs and desires of our students, but with over 5,700 board contract holders it is impossible to provide individual diets for everyone, whether they are for medical or personal preference reasons. We do have a vegan entrée and soup available everyday in the Market Places and I think you will find many of the foods you described available at different service stations, including the Salad Bar. I will certainly pass your suggestions on to our Executive Chef and our Menu Planning committee for them to consider. At any time, please feel free to contact the Burge Market Place Manager, Anne Harkins at anne-harkins@uiowa.edu to further discuss your recommendations. Best wishes for a great year! Go Hawks!
- Request from Stephanie on August 16, 2009
I was wondering if you give out your banana bread recipe. My friends and I have graduated from Iowa but still remember your banana bread and although we have tried we can't get a similar recipe. I would really love to make it some time and bring back some wonderful memories.
Response from Barry Greenberg, Executive Chef for Residential Dining
Here is your requested banana bread recipe; I hope you enjoy making it. I broke the recipe down a little further than how we use it, but it may still be a little large for you? If so, you can always halve the recipe again, or freeze any extra batter for future use? Best of luck, and please don't hesitate to e-mail if you have any questions.
Banana Bread (4 loaves)
Ingredients: ( Step 1) Flour (1 # 13 oz), Sugar (2# 3oz), Baking Powder (1 1/4 tsp), Baking Soda (2 3/4 tsp), Salt (1 1/2 tsp), Cinnamon (1/8 cup and 2 tsp) (Step 2) Oil (2 1/2 Cup), Eggs (12 1/2 oz) (Step 3) Bananas (2 1/2 lb), Vanilla (1 1/2 Tbl) (Step 4) Walnuts (optional - 4 oz).
Preparation: (Step 1) Combine dry ingredients (Step 2) Stir in Oil and Eggs (Step 3) Add bananas and vanilla - Mix well (Step 4) Stir in Walnuts.
Spread 1 qt in each greased loaf pan and place 4 loaf pans on sheet pan; bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
