READERS WRITE

“Good eatin’ and plenty of it!” was a favorite expression of a college housemate, a skinny little ironic guy from suburban Chicago. My friend Harry’s words came to mind often as responses to our culinary question rolled in. Thanks to all for the memories and congratulation to Keith Eldred ’87, author of our top letter, who will be receiving a beautiful bowl crafted by Erik Homstead ’06 at the L/L Pottery Cooperative.

NEXT ASSIGNMENT:The roommate story. Everybody’s got one — the best friends from the get go, the awkward match that turned into best friends, the awkward match that remained an awkward match but, uh, built character. You get the idea. Please keep the text to 100 words or close to it. E-mail responses to vermontquarterly@uvm.edu or Vermont Quarterly, 86 South Williams, Burlington, VT 05401

THE PRIZE: Our panel of experts will select the top letter and the winner will receive a framed vintage UVM postcard.

Thomas Weaver, Editor 

WHAT WAS THE BEST THING YOU ATE DURING YOUR DAYS AT UVM?

FAST PAST
Phil Houle, my enthusiastic Harris-Millis roommate, wouldn’t shut up about a book touting the benefits of fasting. We finally agreed: Three days, only water. I was pleasantly surprised to stay comfortable and alert and lose interest in food. On evening three, I lay in transcendence on my bunk when Phil burst in shouting, “Free desserts in the dining hall!” It was an unexpected winter holiday event. I strolled down merely to ignore the temptations, but came upon a glorious display (surely enhanced by my heightened state then and by memory now): unlimited cheesecakes, pies, brownies, cookies … Fast? What fast?!
 
Keith Eldred ’87
Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania  

DINNER AT THE PARK
It’s as if it happened just yesterday… getting dressed for Sunday night dinner at the Park Café in downtown Burlington. The owner’s wife, dressed to the nines and with every hair coiffed perfectly, would welcome our return as if we were family. It represented our chance to unwind after a week’s stressed-out activities, both in and out of class. It also represented a refined atmosphere where decorum and civil conversation were the order of the day. And, speaking of orders, my favorite entrée was the Lobster Newburg served with toast points, vegetable, and a salad. The meal usually ended with strawberry or lemon chiffon pie.

Dinner at the Park Café was always delicious, no matter what you ordered. Don’t even ask about the price! I attended UVM back in the Dark Ages, but the memory of fine food and sometimes stimulating badinage still lingers.

Richard Warren Ross ’54
Stoughton, Massachusetts

SPICY ENCOUNTERS
Vermonster, light of my life, fire of my stomach. Our first meeting haunts me. That peppery perfume wafting down the hallway. There you were: Two dozen wings, two ice cold drinks, blue cheese, curly fries.  

We were so much younger then.  Just a nervous southern boy at a northern school —how was I to know?  You were the one.  Right there, smeared across my face all along. How many late-night trysts did you thwart?  A chance at love — but no — I scurried home to call you instead. I remember your number still: 658-NEWW.  I call it sometimes, then hang up as the voice answers.

I have not forgotten.

Dan Carlson ’97
Knoxville, Tennessee

HAUNTED BY PRUNE WHIP
How about the worst thing we ever ate? Sanders Hall (368 College) was a co-op house. The University supplied food and menus; we housemates prepared, served and cleaned up, for a lesser boarding fee. My outstanding memory was the once-a-week prune whip we had to make for dessert. Ugh! I’ve never made or eaten prune whip since!

Ruth Mason Allard ’49
Lyndon, Vermont

APPLE FOR THE STUDENT
A simple apple seems like it could hardly be the best food I ate while at UVM. But it's true. Back in 1980 when I started as a medical student, it all seemed a bit overwhelming at first. I was surrounded by really smart people and suddenly had to dissect a human being while learning some of the toughest chemistry I had ever seen. But there, in the student lounge,  were these big boxes of apples, often with little hand-written labels giving the name of the type of fruit. I thought it was a rather interesting Vermont tradition but was even more impressed when I heard the apple story from one of the second-year students. It turns out that Dean William Luginbuhl, the dean of the medical college, was also a well-respected amateur horticulturalist who had an apple orchard where he grafted and worked with his trees. The fruits of his labors were always shared with the medical students.

I remember that this simple gesture meant two very important things to me. First, I was now clearly a part of the UVM family. Secondly, becoming a doctor didn't mean that I had to leave behind all of my other interests. It strengthened my impression that the UVM School of Medicine really did view us all as unique individuals with all sorts of interests and skills.

Today, as I remembered the story I looked for more information and found that  Dean Luginbuhl developed and patented the Vermont Gold apple. I may never have a patent to my name, but his example and the example of others at UVM still help me remember to keep a balance in my life and to welcome others in as family.

Claire Levesque M.D ’84
Needham, Massachusetts

VALADES VALIDATION
The instant I read the assignment I knew my answer. I didn't think twice, reminisce about UVM's homemade chocolate-chip ice cream, crave Big Ben pizza or review a myriad of mouth-watering dorm meals (I'm kidding). No, this was easy and top of mind (stomach?). Circa 1970, our crowd of new-found (now life-long!) friends would wander downtown after a concert (was it Traffic or Chicago?). Or maybe we had been at the old Chickenbone Cafe. Anyway, we'd all end up gathering at a corner of City Park where I can still see the twisted neon letters that made the "TAXI" sign even though the word looked Arabic. Hungry and tired we would troop into a booth at Valades, the only late-night place (then!) open because it was next to the bus station. And there it was on the menu. For under $1, a heavenly bowl (no Cheerios needed!), simple yet satisfying: sliced bananas smothered by real, thick, fresh Vermont cream. Wow! Delicious! Nothing else comes close. Never will.
Pip Klein ’73
Florida, New York

FRIES, HOLD THE MARLBOROS
Open-faced roast beef sandwich and French fries swimming in beef gravy at Nectar's. Cold bottles of Rolling Rock. And, dare I say it, Marlboros. Late at night – after play rehearsal or after a performance at the Royall Tyler. Repeated so many times that it counts as a ritual.

This was such an important part of my time at UVM, that, 20 years after graduation, we brought our kids to Nectar’s. They didn’t have the beer or cigarettes. I didn’t have the cigarettes. But we all loved the sandwiches and fries. Swimming in beef gravy.

Josh Conescu, ’78
Newton, Massachusetts

HARBOR HIDEAWAY
The “good girl” was even more beautiful than I remembered. Her enthusiasm for life was breathtaking. I had invited her to Vermont and she had declined. But her alternate plans fell through and, more curious about Vermont than about me, she came.

My optometrist, Wally White, told me he owned Burlington's best restaurant and he did, the Harbor Hideaway. We feasted on steak and down-home desserts.

The girl, suddenly serious, said, "You know , I am sleeping alone tonight." I looked at the stunning creature in the colorful Hideaway and thought, "Yes, you are, but eventually you will be spending a lifetime sleeping with me.”

John Healy M.D. ’69
Del Mar, California

(Editor’s Note: In an e-mail note, we implored Dr. Healy not to leave us hanging. Indeed, his sense of destiny was right on target. “Yes, it happened and is still happening,” he wrote back. “Sometimes you get lucky.”)

CARBO RELOAD
Marsh Hall, years 1980-82, Sunday night all you can eat salad and bread bar.

After spending most Sunday afternoons enjoying all Vermont can offer in various seasons, (hiking, bicycling, running, XC/downhill skiing), I was ravenous. I was joined by fellow swimming teammates, while living in Harris Hall (1980-81) and suitemates from the Running Suite in Living/Learning Center (1981-82). We ate till full, then stuffed our back-packs with extra breads for late-night snacking. I remember the zucchini bread being the best!

Anne Metzger ’83
Westminster, Colorado

ALL ABOUT DORIS
I lived on the main campus for three of the four years I was at UVM (Buckham and Converse), so the Waterman dining hall was where I ate most of the time. Since I was one of those rare students who got up in the morning and ate breakfast before my usual 8 o'clock class, I got to know the late Doris Merchant, line worker and breakfast cook, pretty well. The food was nothing special but Doris's love of caring for the few of us who came to breakfast every morning at 7 was something really special! May she rest in peace.

Leon Corse ’76
Whitingham, Vermont

RATATOUILLE ON THE CHEAP
I remember how much I loved going to the Fresh Ground Coffeehouse (I think that was the name) on Lower Church Street. It was a below-street-level cafe with a hectic, steamy atmosphere. You'd go through a deli line and order and they'd shout out your order, so we'd order our favorite dish, ratatouille, and I'd say my name was Louie. (Say it out loud.) It was a stew-like dish with tomatoes, zucchini and other good stuff all topped with cheese, and made for a yummy, cheap meal for a cash-strapped college kid.

Sherry Russell Williams ’78
Stow Creek, New Jersey

“BIRTHDAY” CAKE
Ok, I could definitely say fries and gravy at Nectar’s but that wouldn't be totally true. Thanks to my still very close friend Dana Lubitz-Shimo, I would have to say the birthday cakes sold in the dining room across from Christie Hall. Thank you Saga meal plan for offering these delicious cakes. And thank you Dana for being the one to order at least one every month or so. We pretended to be celebrating a birthday, but instead you, Debbie (Abel-Lucci) and  I sat on our dorm room floor  at one in the morning eating birthday cake. Yummy! Not sure we would have the time or energy (not to mention the ability to eat so many calories and not gain weight) to do that now, but it was fun!
  
Linda Davidson- Soboroff  ’87
New York, New York

ALL IN FAVOR, SAY FRIES
The first "meal" that comes to mind when remembering my days at UVM brings me to the late night snack my friends and I would occasionally enjoy on the way home from downtown bars. It may not have been the healthiest of snacks, but comfort food it definitely was. I'm sure I'm not the only alum who recalls the treat that was served in a white, Styrofoam takeout box. I'm referring to fries and gravy from
Nectar's. Those plump, starchy french-fried potatoes smothered in thick gravy we devoured were always a great ending to an evening out with good friends.

Susanna (Cassell) Kopchains, '87
Basking Ridge, New Jersey

WALDORF EUPHORIA
Waldorf salad without question. It was served on Sundays at the now defunct Saunders Hall Cooperative House off campus. (The dish was created by Chef Oscar Tschirky of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in the late 1890s.)

At Saunders Hall it was prepared by a different student “chef” every week. Diced Vermont apples, halved seedless California red grapes, chopped walnuts, and diced celery all blended with mayonnaise. This salad remains a favorite in my family, especially on Thanksgiving Day.

Phyllis Cameron Bricker ’54
Santa Ana, California

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
Crabmeat Cannelloni Florentine! This was (and probably still is) the best meal I ever had. Jill Glashow Padwa ’79, Bob Cunningham ’79, and I flew to Los Angeles (from Burlington) for a job interview with Honeywell during early March our senior year. Even though this dining experience at the Hyatt House on Wilshire Boulevard happened on the “other coast,” it has remained at the top of the three, truly memorable dinners that I can recall since entering UVM in 1975. In fact, each bite of the main course was so indescribably delicious that it exceeded what I felt during my first ride on Disney’s “Space Mountain” the day before.

John A. Trono ’79
Essex Junction, Vermont

DORIS AND MORE
As a freshman living in Jeanne Mance, finding good food was a challenge! We could go to Waterman for breakfast and lunch, plus dinners at Waterman or Trinity campus (which back then was all women!) Hmmm, tough choice!

 One of my best memories was heading to Waterman for breakfast. They had a morning cook named Doris, who we were told had been there forever! She would cook any kind of eggs to order or make her famous “Breakfast on a Bun,” a bacon and egg sandwich. Boy, was her memory great! I remember walking down the ramp to the cafeteria in Waterman and by the time I got up to place my order, she’d already have it cooking!  On the extra hungry days, I’d supplement my sandwich with an extra large bowl of Cap’n Crunch!

 I also remember many ravenous Friday nights at Bove’s with pasta and a whole loaf of bread between 4 of us, plus buy one taco and get the second for 25 cents at the OP. Those were the days!
 
Mark Benton ’86
Essex Junction, Vermont

WORTH THE WEIGHT
I attended UVM from 1956-1960. The older I get the more I appreciate my education at UVM. My culinary background did not include steak with spaghetti. I was in food heaven when I discovered "Bove’s." I still crave the delicious combination of a rare T-Bone steak with spaghetti and Bove’s delicious sauce. My brother, also a UVM graduate, told me that Bove's has grown with UVM and Burlington and even sells its bottled sauce in Burlington food stores. Also, and here my memory fails me, I lived in the now defunct East Hall and my roommates and I would go to the diner after studying, listen to the jukebox and wolf down hamburgers. I gained twenty pounds and sixteen cavities that year. But, what great memories.

Judith Hammond ’60
Port Saint Lucie, Florida

MIXMASTERS
My fondest food memory at UVM is going to the original Ben and Jerry’s for ice cream where the sign on the wall behind the counter listed “today’s orgasmic flavors.”

I usually went with my suitemate, Paul, for the trip to the old gas station. But there was a perk. If you were there when they were making ice cream, you got to clean off the mixer. We would purposely hang out so that we could assist with the cleaning of the mixer. With spatulas in hand, we were in ice cream heaven!

Tom Beatini ’80
Hillsdale, New Jersey

REFUELING AT THE FLAG
Years before two young hippies from New York opened a homemade ice-cream shop at the corner of College and St. Paul streets in an old gas station, this location hosted one of Burlington’s finest all night greasy spoons. The Checkered Flag was a favorite late-night haunt of mine and many of my fraternity brothers.
 
Shortly after the local watering holes closed down (i.e. Hannibal’s and the Red Dog), a line could be spotted winding its way through the pot-holed parking lot of this oddly fashioned restaurant. The wait, albeit in the dark and often in the bitter cold, was incredibly worthwhile! We would stand there, semi-patiently in line, looking over the tray of the preceding customer, and hoping for an occasional dropped French fry while waiting our turn to order at the counter (which had formerly been the gas station office). At that time in the early morning, the smell of the fat-laden cheese burgers and piping hot fries was practically heavenly! Once the order was received, we’d hustle to one of the few fiberglass tables scattered throughout the garage bays, and delightedly consume what had to be one of the best meals in Burlington at that time of day!  
 
Long it may be gone, but the Checkered Flag lives on in the memories of many of us!
 
Tony Blake ’75
Charlotte, Vermont

DONUT SISTERHOOD
My fondest recollection of food while attending the University of Vermont is not of a meal, but rather a well-savored snack eaten in the wee hours of Sunday morning after "date night.” A group of Gamma Phi Betas would pile into an old orange convertible Mustang and drive to the local Dunkin' Donuts for two vanilla crème-filled delights. One would be immediately downed on the spot while the other would grow stale on the desk until the next morning to be eaten along with boiled coffee made in the sorority kitchen. It is hard to say which of the two donuts tasted better.  Sadly through the years I have been unable to find any vanilla crème donuts to match either the creaminess of the filling or the texture of the cake. Perhaps it is the camaraderie and the laughter that is lacking.

Sallie McNeill Rynd  ’72
East Norwich, New York

TWENTY SCOOPS TO NIRVANA
There was no shortage of culinary delights to enjoy during my time at UVM, but one stands above the rest: The Ben & Jerry’s Vermonster Sundae. A true monster of a sundae, with 20 scoops of creamy bliss loaded with hot fudge, banana, cookies, brownies, and every other topping available. Opportunities to enjoy a Vermonster were few and far between – it was surprisingly difficult to gather a large enough group willing to splurge in such a gluttonous manner – but each one was a true treat, both for the delicious decadent taste and the bonding of friendships over that awesome bucket of ’scream.
 
Justin Lehrer ’95
Berkeley, California

THE ICE CREAM DIET
My favourite food while at UVM?  Dairy Bar ice cream!  As students in the seventies, my friend, Jackie and I created what may be the only 'ice cream diet'.  Two scoops of whatever you fancy, once a day, preferably lunchtime.

Smooth, rich and full of flavour, the taste was magic.  Vanilla was my favourite, Jackie preferred chocolate, but we also delighted in seasonal varieties especially apple in the fall, pumpkin in winter, and orange-pineapple to celebrate summer sunshine.  The closing of the Dairy Bar was the end of an era, but not the memories, still delicious.
(Moira)

What I remember is that we tried eating nothing but ice cream for about a week - – a true ice cream diet!  Saturday night at Simpson dining hall was the best – we broke the rules a little for make your own ice cream sundaes. 
(Jackie)
  
Moira (Keon) Greene ’76
County Clare, Ireland

Jackie Levine ’76
Burlington, Vermont

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