Menu Analysis: Middle of the Road

Alright team, let's get this train rolling. The challenge happens in fewer than seven days, and you know what that means--I have to look at the Ratty Menu for the first time in almost a year. This year's menu cuts a little more toward the middle road. That means none of the highs and lows from last year's menu (chicken parm and steak fries), but I still feel this is a solid lineup. Lord knows we could do worse. Without further ado, here are the highlights:

• Breakfast
• The Good
• Chocolate Chip Pancakes!
• Tater Tots!!
• Braided Raspberry Danish??
• The Bad
• Scrambled Eggs
• Some may disagree with me here, but I always found Ratty eggs to be overcooked and underseasoned.
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Grapefruit Halves?
• Lunch
• The Good
• Pulled Pork Sandwich
• Don't expect the best BBQ of your life, but drench it in enough sauce and you have a decent Ratty staple.
• Waffle Cut Fries
• Danny Gleave '13 put the waffle fry smack dab in the middle of his infamous Frierarchy, noting that some Paul McCartney lyrics boosted it up 2 rankings. I feel that was a little unfair to the waffle fry. It has the seasoning that really adds a nice touch to dining hall fries, and the waffle texture improves the surface-area-to-volume ratio that allows the best part of a fry--the crispy surface--to shine.
• Tater Tots
• Normally I would list a menu item twice, but there's not a whole lot else to carry the lunch menu.
• The Bad
• Ginger Chicken Pasta
• A bland dish made worse because its name reminds you of Cajun Chicken Pasta, leaving you disappointed when you remember what you're actually eating.
• Blondie Bars
• Greek Salad Bar
• Vegetarian Cauliflower Soup
• I think my parents tried cooking cauliflower once when I was a little kid. We were never to keen to try again.
• Fresh Broccoli
• I maintain that dark green veggies were meant to be sauteed, roasted, or grilled, caramelizing the surfaces and bringing out the flavors to pair with lemon or vinegar and a bit of garlic. The Ratty seems to opt for steaming all of the flavor out of their vegetables.
• Dinner
• The Good
• Saturday Night Jambalaya
• Meatloaf w/Mushroom Sauce??
• Mashed Potatoes??
• Yellow Cake w/Frosting
• Probably the first dessert you'll see me going for on Saturday.
• The Bad
• Braised Cauliflower
• My comments about the broccoli still stand.

In my opinion, lunch is going to be the low point of the day, but I see at least a couple viable options for each meal.

See you on Saturday!