Partly Cloudy, 64°
Students dining at the Sharpe Refectory last Monday night were greeted by a pleasant surprise when the dining hall tried out its first-ever "Verney-Woolley Theme Night." Similar in its makeup to other themed nights, such as "Caribbean" and "Ice Cream Sundaes," the "V-Dub" theme included authentic food and decorations from its source of inspiration- the well-known campus eatery in Pembroke. To heighten the authenticity of the event, Brown Dining Services imported a great number of freshman and athletes to dine on the other side of campus.
The decision to hold a V-Dub night at the Sharpe Refectory comes on the heels of strong campus criticism for the food served in the Ratty. Students and faculty alike have called on the Ratty to reform its menu and offer more palatable options so that diners would not be forced to eat bowls of cocoa puffs and salad for every meal. Many feared that the dining hall was not listening to the criticism. That is, of course, until now.
"A lot of us thought we might be taking a gamble," said Jeremy McLam, head dining coordinator and theme-night planner for the Sharpe Refectory. "We know the Ratty has a devoted following because of its staple dishes like mango pork in chocolate butter sauce and grilled butterscotch chicken casserole. I'm glad students enjoyed the different food. To be honest, I thought the options were a little too straightforward, but maybe kids like that."
Apparently due to the introduction of V-Dub-quality food into the Sharpe Refectory, lines were much longer than usual. Employees working at the entrances of the dining hall say that a record number of students off meal plan actually paid to eat with cash. The increased dining traffic led to an early shortage of filet mignon. The dish was slowly replaced with chicken fingers, however, as the night went on, and students seemed very pleased with all the dining options.
"It was really great to get some decent food not smothered in some obscure sauce," said fifth-year senior and Ratty veteran Scott Mound '09. "I'm just sad that it may be a one-time thing. If I have to go back to eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch mixed with fro-yo for dinner, I'm not going to be happy."
As it now stands, no representative from BDS or the Ratty has given any clear indication as to the possibility of more V-Dub themed nights. When asked if he would be interested in trying it again, McLam played coy.
"I think we may have to just wait and see if the buzz stays strong. I don't see the Ratty undergoing any huge changes anytime soon, but who knows. Maybe we'll start serving the spicy [chicken] with [cheese]. In keeping with Ratty tradition, though, we'll make sure we throw those suckers in a Thai avocado butterscotch sauce or something."
