Fruit, vegetables and vegetarian foods hard to find
Fast food restaurants aplenty, but campus lacks vegetarian options
By Linda Hardesty
The Metropolitan
Mom always told us to eat our vegetables, but sometimes thatās hard to do at Auraria. Vegetarian food options can be sparse at the campusās food vendors.
Imagine. Itās 11 a.m. and your calorie intake for the day so far has been two cups of coffee and a Dr. Pepper. Your stomach is gargling and gurgling, and you need to get some food, now. You start the endless wandering from food joint to food joint: searching, searching, for some food thatās healthy and also appetizing.
You start at the Rockies deli in North Classroom. Sometimes it has a tasty vegetarian breakfast burrito with potatoes, eggs and a creamy ranchera sauce with carrots and kidney beans. But today theyāre all out of the veggie burritos and only have chorizo burritos left. You sigh.
Scott Eggertsen, the deliās morning manager, says as far as vegetarian options go, their Boulder Veggie sandwich ÷ cream cheese, sprouts, avocado and tomato on bread ÷ is very popular. He says the deli has considered changes to its menu but is not sure what changes they want to make yet.
The deli is packed with a selection of bagels, and you consider having one, but youāre really not in the mood for another bagel. You move on.
Next stop ÷ the Tivoli Food Court. Have they even heard of healthy food in this place?
You could munch a jumbo order of French fries from McDonaldās, but you know that as the grease settles on your gurgling, coffee-soaked stomach, youāll feel sick the rest of the day. Taco Bell might be an option, except that itās rumored lard is used in its refried beans. Thereās always Al Fresco with its selection of, what else? ÷ bagel sandwiches. You decide not to give in to bagel mania just yet.
The Daily Grind is also in the Tivoli, and it has the best selection of healthy food on campus. Daily Grind manager Sasha Beasley said people come there for ćflavor and healthiness.ä There are always several different kinds of homemade soups available and usually one or two of them are vegetarian.
The atmosphere is pretty good, too, with giant arched windows providing great views of downtown. But going to the same restaurant a couple of times a day has become a daily grind in itself.
You decide to trudge on, walking almost all the way across campus to The Mercantile. Once there, you review the familiar menu. Thereās always the garden burger, or possibly the grilled cheese sandwich.
ćWhy does everything involve grease?ä you ponder.
Actually, The Merc has a couple other healthy options, including a tasty spinach melt sandwich and a vegetarian pita with lettuce, tomato, mushroom, onions, feta cheese and yogurt sauce.
Mercantile owner Darby Donohue says there used to be a cafeteria in the Plaza Building, but it was replaced by classrooms in 1994.
ćI still think thereās a percentage of people who want a blue-plate hot lunch,ä Donohue said. He knows some students would like traditional home cooking like meatloaf, fried chicken or spaghetti with side dishes of vegetables.
ćThe cafeteria was great,ä said Karen Bries, a Metro student. ćThere was a variety, and it was cheap.ä
But Metro student David Schepp said, ćCompared to most universities, that cafeteria was pretty sad.ä
But the cafeteria is no longer an option and youāre famished. You decide to visit the last major restaurant ÷ Rockies Deli in the South Classroom.
Like the North Classroom location, there are scads of bagels and the familiar Boulder Veggie sandwich.
However, the pre-made salads here look a lot more appetizing than those in North Classroom. While the salads there are basically boxes of lettuce, you see some interesting salads here including curry chicken, Waldorf salad and a generous fruit salad.
A vegetarian lasagna is offered daily, and thereās also a special of the day ÷ meatloaf with a side of green beans.
As you stand staring at the menu board, your mind swirling with all the food options on campus, all of the sudden you have a vision. You see a sumptuous salad bar. You see lettuce and spinach and garbanzo beans and peas and those little miniature corns and ...
ćMiss? Hello Miss? What can I get you?ä the man behind the counter jolts you out of your reverie.
ćUhh ÷ Iāll have a bagel, toasted, with cream cheese.ä
