Guest blog: New Haven's Famous Food Carts

Editor's note: This post is by JP McBride, a fellow Silliman senior. He is majoring in history and minoring in Rock Band (jk).

Hello you future kings/queens of New Haven, you soon-to-be royalty of Connecticut,

As you will soon find out, the dining halls don't always serve the most desirable lunches. Yes, Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas are fantastic, grass-fed burgers are cool too, and yes, mashed sweet potatoes are the hotness. However, sometimes the dining hall in not in the mood to serve its best entrees. Or maybe you just want to try something different at lunchtime because you're on Science Hill between a class and a lab meeting.

When this happens, the food carts are the way to go! Every day, vendors from all kinds of restaurants descend upon Yale to capitalize on the hungry Elis scurrying this way and that to get to class. There are several Thai carts, Japanese carts, Italian carts, Indian carts, Mexican carts, a Greek cart, and of course, the notorious Cupcake Truck, which is the undisputed champion.

Thai
There are too many Thai carts to name. And while they are all pretty proficient in dishing out Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, and some form of short-order Grilled Chicken, a few stand out above the rest.
Thai Awesome: This is the perfect Thai cart to start with. Not only does it have the sickest name ever, it is also a great value for your money. You get about a pound of Garlic Chicken, Druken Noodles, and Chicken Massaman Curry for about a dollar less than at the other Thai carts. As bonus, the shopkeep is a mix of Santa Claus and Mother Theresa (in geniality, not looks) and is always happy to engage in friendly banter. Caution - the mountain of food you will undoubtedly receive makes it impossible to finish lunch in one sitting. However, if you're a constant snacker, the prodigious portions allow you to nibble all day.
Thai Sweet Sticky Rice: I'm not sure what this cart is actually called. All I know is it has a very beat up and faded sign that says Sweet Sticky Rice. This is definitely a very good Thai cart - the delicious Lemongrass Grilled Chicken is always grilled fresh, and you can get extra for about a dollar more. They also have the best drunken noodles on Science Hill, and the proprietors are cheerful and generous with their portions.
Thai House: Meh, it's good too, but you should really go to the others.

Italian-American
Giacomo's: This cart provides quality sandwiches and other options for Yalies who want food that comes without chopsticks. They grill all of their sandwiches right there on the spot. My personal favorite is the footlong Shaved Steak with white American cheese. There are also breakfast sandwiches and cookies, if you're into that sort of thing for lunch.


Indian
There are several Indian carts out and about during the school year. However, right now it is pretty cold and most of them have left, which is a shame because when it's 15 degrees out, I could use some hot spicy food! Also, I don't remember all of their names, so I'll go with the only one who is still there.
Mugholi Foods: I think this one is the best of the Indian carts anyway. Of course, they've got the standard Chicken Tikka Masala, as well as a variety of curried dishes. They offer Pakistani and Middle Eastern fare too, such as the Kebab Roll, Vegi Roll, and a variety of couscous-laced options.

Greek
Ali Baba: Fantasically delicious and greasy enough to make stone walls transparent, especially the Gyro Sandwich/Platter. Their most popular dish is the Lemon Chicken Platter, which is like a rockin' symposium in your mouth. Additionally, free toppings/sides can be heaped on your meal including but by no means limited to: golden raisins, bab ganoush, and a scrumptious potato-carrot-bean dish. My only beef with Ali Baba is that unlike most of the other carts, the portions are average at best. I needs my Lemon Chicken, baby!

Dessert
The Cupcake Truck: This is by far the best venue in town, and maybe in the entire Northeast. First off, it is run by possibly the nicest/coolest young couple ever, Todd and Marsha. They both had actual jobs a year ago, then Marsha decided to quit working a 9-to-5 and start baking/selling her fabulously delicious cupcakes.

The flavors include Sweet Potato, Lemon, Coconut, Caramel, and the Cadillac of all pastries, Red Velvet. If somehow you've gone 18-19 years of life and haven't heard of or tried Red Velvet anything, then you need to go to your nearest supermarket, soul food restaurant, or (strangely) P.F. Chang's and try some.

Cupcakers can also add a variety of toppings to their culinary masterpiece. I'm more of a cupcake purist, but if you're into Oreo crumbles, toasted walnuts, sprinkles, fleur de sol, or gold flakes on your cupcakes, then have at it.

But where TCC really shines is the frosting. Now I'm a simple man, so I rock the Red Velvet (or Sweet Potato, or Hummingbird, or Lemon, but most likely all 4) with Vanilla. I go home, lock the door, and devour those cupcakes like they've got the antidote to...something.

However, a lot of people eat the cupcakes normally, and choose from all of their delicious, habit-forming frostings like White Chocolate Cream Ccheese, Chocolate Ganache, Marshmallow, and Salted Caramel. Get there early though. People line up for these cupcakes like the junkies from American Gangster. If you're not on top of your game, you could have 20-40 minutes until your first euphoric bite!

Editor's note #2: I would also like to add my recommendations for the La Carreterra cart, especially their giant burritos! For even more cart variety, take a field trip down to the medical school, where you will also find options such as Vietnamese, Ethiopian, and a classic kettle corn cart for snacking.

Week 1: Shopping, strawberries, and...Dr. Niles Crane?!

Week 1 of senior year second semester, and things are pretty busy already! My roomie Sara and I were in charge of dessert for Mellon Forum this week, so we decided to make chocolate-covered strawberries/pineapple/pretzels. A trip to Shaws and 3 hours of dipping later, ta-da!

A lovely display of deliciousness

TWO trays of chocolate-covered strawberries
(and that's not even including the pineapple)

Let's just say dessert disappeared quickly...Master K even joked that she should start hiring us to cater her events! Isn't it wonderful when you get to have fun and make yummy stuff on Yale's dime?

In terms of classes, I have to finish up both majors, so I came in with a pretty good idea of what I had to take. Senior Essay in HSHM is one credit, and I was planning to take Epidemics and Society as my fourth term course. For psych, I'm writing my senior essay through a seminar with Marvin Chun entitled "Mind, Brain, and Society," a mix of neuroscience, ethics, law, philosophy, and psych, so it should be pretty awesome.

After some debate, I also decided to take Abnormal Psychology over Biotechnology because I heard (from my roommate) that Abnormal Psych was a good course, and I figured I would get enough science in med school starting next year. The final question (still unresolved) is what I'm going to take for my fifth class, a seminar of some sort to be my final HSHM elective. Choices:

1) PLSC 248: Politics of Health Care - a Political Science seminar with William Kissick, who is a Yale alum and taught at UPenn for many years. He's one of the guys who helped draft Medicare, way back in the day. I'm hoping to go into public health as well as practicing medicine, so this would be very useful information.
2) HSHM 447: History of Chinese Science - a HSHM seminar with William Summers, whom I also had for Perspectives on Science one semester freshman year (he also teaches Philosophy in the Directed Studies program - a true Renissance Man!). Alternative medicine (e.g. accupuncture) is becoming a huge movement, so I figured it would be a good idea for me to learn about this too.
3) NBIO 535: History of Neuroscience - a grad-level Neurobio course with a historical twist...this would seem to be the perfect intersection of my two majors!

To get some (indirect) advice, I decided to attend a Master's Tea with David Hyde Pierce, a 1981 Silliman alum and now a famous actor. TV buffs will know him as Dr. Niles Crane from Frasier (a 4-time Emmy-winning role), while theater folks may know him better from the original casts of Spamalot and Curtains (for which he won a Tony in 2007)

Master's Teas usually begin with the guest telling us students something about their lives - how they got to where they are, and where they hope to go next - but Mr. Pierce simply opened the floor: "I have absolutely nothing to say, so just ask me questions!" What followed was a wonderful 90 minutes of intimate conversation touching on everything from how he got started in acting (he was originally a music major intending to become a concert pianist), to his first disappointment (auditioning for the Yale School of Drama and not being accepted).

He also had some hysterical show anecdotes, e.g. touring with a production of The Cherry Orchard in Japan: "Every night in the theater, we would hear this pitter-patter noise, kind of like rain. We couldn't figure out what on earth it was, until the wife of one of the actors came from the States to watch the production. Afterwards, she came backstage and told us that all the Japanese audience members had these headset-thingies that provided instant translation so they could understand what was going on, but as they would fall asleep, they would all drop their sets, and that was the pitter-patter noise we heard every night! In some sense, I guess that was the first feedback I had from an international audience!"

While at Yale, Mr. Pierce double-majored in Theater Studies and English: "When I chose to double-major, I guess I was subliminally listening to my mother's advice to always get a liberal education base. An English major seemed to be about the vaguest thing you could be...besides a philosophy major." Now as a successful actor, he's trying to branch out into different areas, such as trying musical roles, and he has even returned to playing piano, recently performing with Victoria Clark. His advice for students: "Always do scary things when you're old!"

With that in mind, off to tackle my first week of reading...

Husband by the Hour

This was too funny not to put up:

Turns out it's a repair service for things like plumbing and electricity.

Guest Blog: Writing at Yale

Editor's note: This entry is by Roshan Sethi, a Trumbull senior.

Welcome new members of the class of 2013!!!

A little bit about myself: My name is Roshan Sethi. I'm a current senior in Trumbull College, majoring in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. I do a lot of "science major" things on campus - I usually take 1 or 2 biology courses each semester; this fall, I took Neurobiology and Biochemistry, both fascinating classes. I work in a lab in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, investigating spinal cord injury. I took Perspectives on Science during my freshman year, and I write for the Yale Scientific Magazine.

Even though the biology major and my pre-medical requirements have kept me busy, I've still found time to pursue my other interests. Since high scohol, I've enjoyed reading and writing, but I didn't expect to have time for either when I arrived at Yale. I was wrong - by the end of my final semester I'll have taken as many English courses as Biology courses!

My favorite classes have been the fiction workshops. The "coursework" consists of reading short stories written by other students, and writing your own. I can never quite believe that I'm writing - something I usually do for pleasure - for credit! And the classes themselves never seem long enough (they are two hours, once a week), and I'm always sad when each session comes to a close. It's a delight to sit around a table with other intelligent, creative people who are trying to do the same thing you are. And the fact that one of those people is an award-winning professional writer is eve cooler. (Take a look at the creative writing faculty here.)

Last semester, I had the opportunity to try a type of writing that I've never attempted before - screenwriting! I took "Writing Half Hour Comedy" with Robert Stevens. Professor Stevens is the former head writer of "Malcolm in the Middle,' one of my favorite shows. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this may help.

My favorite part of the course was the assigned textbooks. There were only two of them, and they are shown here alongside the wonderful Blue Book.

The course itself was amazing. I didn't think I would be able to write a sitcom but I ended up developing a 30-minute pilot for a new show!

The best reason to take these classes is because they force you to write a lot. The scientist in me likes to total things: I've produced nearly 200 pages of fiction (of which I'm happy with, probably, ten pages) and 3 full-length television scripts (about 150 formatted pages). I never would have written this much outside of class, on my own.

I will note that these courses can be competitive to get into. But the English Department has done a good job of expanding the number of sections (there are usually 3 fiction courses in a given semester) and designing courses that are specifically intended for novices ("Introductory Fiction" is limited to freshmen and sophomores when it's offered).

I've also had the opportunity to explore my interest in writing outside of the classroom. During my freshman year, I helped found a literary magazine that (thankfully) still exists: Yale Undergraduate Magazine, so-named because of its memorable acronym: Y.U.M. Visit the website and peruse old issues here. And definitely write for us when you land on campus next fall!

In addition to writing for campus publications, students have the opportunity to organize Master's Teas with the authors they really admire. Last year, I brought Lois Lowry (author of "The Giver"), R.L. Stine (author of "Goosebumps") and Sam Tanenhaus (editor of the New York Times Book Review).

There's basically no way to describe how awesome Master's Teas are. Students are allowed to invite anyone who is sufficiently well-known (they have to be able to draw at least 12 people) and the College will pay for accomodations, travel, a small honorarium, etc. They also pay for a subsidized dinner with that author - here's my friends and me with Lois Lowry at Scuzzi, an awesome Italian restaurant on Chapel Street.

As a last note, there are just as many opportunities for those interested in nonfiction writing. The Yale Journalism Initiative offers courses with major writers and publishers like Steven Brill (founder of "Court TV" and "American Lawyer"), Anne Fadiman (former editor-in-chief of "The American Scholar") and Jill Abramson (current news managing editor of the New York Times).

So, if you're interested in writing, even as a hobby, Yale is a wonderful place to explore that passion. I never expected to spend so much time in Linsley-Chittenden when creative writing has absolutely nothing to do with my planned career (medicine). But I know I'll never have the chance to write this much again (certainly not in medical school and residency). I count it as the greatest aspect of my years at Yale that I've been able to receive an incredible education in both the sciences and the humanities. I could not imagine a more satisfying college experience.

Guest Blog: Working at the YDN

Editor's note: This blog is by Harrison Korn, a sophomore in Saybrook and one of the science tour guides.

Working for the Yale Daily News, the oldest (and according to the Princeton Review, best!) college daily, has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me.

As a freshman, I started at the YDN (what most people on campus call the Yale Daily News) as a production and design (P&D) assistant. Two days a week I went to the YDN building (yes, we have our own building) and worked a two hour shift (usually from 8-10 pm or 10 pm-12 am) designing the next day's paper. My amazing editors and other P&D staffers taught me so much about design (for instance, what is a pica?) and about life.

Most of the amazing YDN P&D staff and editors at the annual YDN banquet

Working at the YDN has a lot of perks, one of which is lots of food. Every night the YDN has sushi, Thai food, pizza, etc. I picked which days of the week I went in based on the food that night (I usually chose sushi nights).

One of the highlights of my YDN experience was working on the redesign of the paper last summer. Mario Garcia (who has designed over 500 papers, including the latest redesign of the Wall Street Journal) and Pegie Stark Adam were hired to redesign the YDN. On Memorial Day weekend, I went to New York City along with most of the YDN design staff (paid for by the YDN) to meet with Garcia and see the initial prototypes of the redesign.

Over the next three months we went through prototype after prototype to get the design just r ight. Every little thing (should sports headlines be centered or left justified?) was thought about. Over those three months I learned more about fonts than I thought I would ever know.

In case you were curious, which I am sure you are, the YDN now uses three fonts: Moderno (for headlines), Quiosco (for body copy), and Benton Sans (for captions).

The best part about working on the redesign was for one week before the dorms opened in August the entire design team came back to campus to be trained in the redesign. The YDN put us up in the New Haven Hotel (and paid for all our meals so we obviously went to eat at nice restaurants) while we worked with Peggy and Mario to make the final redesign decisions and learn how to work with the new design.

This year, in addition to design work, I became more involved with reporting. The great thing about reporting for the YDN is that you can get involved as little or as much as you want. As a freshman, you typically start out as a general assignment reporter. You can write three times a week, once a month, or anywhere in between. After spending the afternoon writing your story, you come into the building and sit down with an editor. Together, you go over the story and work to polish it up. I am constantly amazed at how my editors' small changes always make my writing so much better!

Sophomore year, many reporters choose to get a specific "beat," or area of the University that you specialize in covering. Beats range from covering the University President (my suitemate Paul has this beat so he talks to President Levin frequently, usually at 9 pm) to covering Admissions to covering New Haven City Hall politics.

Being a YDN reporter also has some nice perks. For the elections, the YDN sent Paul to Arizona to report on John McCain's concession speech. We sent three other reporters to Chicago, another reporter to Virginia, and another to Nebraska (where a Yalie was running for Congress). One reporter even went to Wasilla, Alaska (Sarah Palin's hometown).

A picture Paul took while in Arizona to cover John McCain for the YDN

In addition to P&D and reporting, I also dabbled with the YDN online desk. For the online desk I videotaped events and edited the footage for the website. A huge perk of this was I got into events (in order to tape them) that I otherwise would have never gotten into (like the Denzel Washington Master's Tea last year in SM).

P&D, reporting, and online are just three of the many ways to get involved in the YDN. YDN also has copy staffers (who write the headlines, captions, and make sure the articles conform to Associated Press-style standards), photographers, and there is Scene (a special section that comes out every Friday) where there is lots of opportunity to get involved if you want to write theater/music/food reviews or be a little more creative.

The absolute best thing about the YDN is the people. YDN is not all work. There are plenty of fun events to get to know all the other YDN people - I met many of my best friends at Yale through the YDN.

The editor-in-chief and one of the city desk editors prepare for the YDN holiday party.

I strongly encourage all of you to look into getting involved in the oldest college daily. If you have any questions, feel free to message me!