FOOD WEEK | Ithaca’s Secret Menus

While Cornell is known for its superb dining hall food, Ithaca has many of its own culinary gems, one of which is Louie’s Lunch Truck. A favorite among Cornellians, Louie’s is that place you go to when you’ve got those late night or post-partying greasy food cravings. But did you know that Louie’s has a secret menu? Technically, you’re not even supposed to talk about Louie’s Secret Menu, but the fries you see below were simply too good to keep to myself. And while I won’t be telling you how to find the secret menu (which is how I’m making up for even telling y’all about it in the first place), I’ll give you two clues: you can either (1) use your imagination and intuitively guess where or how it’s hidden or (2) try Google.

FOOD WEEK | Understanding How Surroundings Shape Eating Habits

Deciding what, when, and where to eat may seem like a simple task at first. But when our schedule becomes busy with clubs & classes, overwhelmed by personal circumstances, or just unorganized in general, proper and balanced eating habits can often take a backseat. That is why, in preparation for Food Week on Sunspots, I was inspired to apply design thinking towards studying how Cornell students’ eating habits are affected by their surroundings.  

Welcome to the series:
Understanding Surroundings Through Design Thinking
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To more effectively present my findings, I condensed interviews with each student into “profiles.” Below are 5 Cornell students who shared their experiences, habits, and thoughts about their diets. ***
At the start, my hypothesis was that because Cornell students are busy, many choose to skip meals or find whatever is closest to them.

FOOD WEEK | A Closer Look at Mexico’s “Green Gold”

While I will never understand 90% of the logic behind the store layout of Ithaca’s Wegmans (e.g. why the dried noodles must appear in seven separate aisles), I will admit that the Wegmanites got one thing right: the strategic placement of the avocado bags. Their perpetual position in a giant wooden crate by the entrance has permitted me to develop somewhat of an avocado dependency in recent years. When life gets too hectic to prepare actual complete meals, avocados are an easy fallback: they go well with the Holy Trinity of college-kid staples (eggs, easy mac, and bread), and they are green, bestowing any meal with the appearance of health and nutritional balance! My symbiotic relationship with the avocado encountered its first major roadblock a couple of weeks ago when I strolled into Wegmans and saw three horrifying numbers: $5.79 for just four little avocados. Whereas this was old news for most Cornellians, I had spent a semester abroad and hadn’t been tracking the ascent of the cost of my favorite green fruit.

FOOD WEEK | Fall Flavors

I thought of some really simple, fun recipes that everyone should try this fall season! To kick things off, I’ll start with two takes on a seasonal favorite: the pumpkin spice latté. Classic
Prep time: 10 minutes

What you’ll need: Cash, credit, or debit. Put on some clothes, and don’t forget—phone, wallet, keys! Walk down to your nearest Starbucks and order up a Pumpkin Spice Latté.

FOOD WEEK | If Cornell Majors Were Halloween Candies

Engineering = Warheads

For some reason, Mech-E’s and Chem-E’s think they’re at war with every other major at Cornell, and won’t go more than two minutes without reminding you that they’re engineers and that your major is inferior. They treat every project or interview like it’s a life-or-death situation and you think they might explode at any given moment. They’re also incredibly sour about everything, to the point where it’s not even worth asking them how their day went. Also, doesn’t that logo just look like an engineer? Applied Economics and Management = Gummy Worms

People always call AEM majors snakes and this is the closest thing we could think of to snakes.