Some Calhoun juniors living it up.

If it’s fine dining you’re looking for, the dining halls are never a place to go, not even for the freshman banquet. If it’s filling and potentially healthy food you’re looking for that’s “free” or cheaper than a Book Trader sandwich, then the dining hall is a good bet: especially if you go to Calhoun. Berkeley, with its connections to Alice Waters and its mac and cheese has long been considered the “most gourmet” of the dining halls, but Calhoun might be edging them out of first place.

Today’s lunch in Calhoun was somewhat of a dining hall masterpiece: prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, gherkins, spanakopita, and arugula. And standing in place of the typical drab stand of Lipton English Breakfast and something mildly Rooibos-y was a display of teas from Harney & Sons and Tazo. The selection was varied: wild sweet orange, “zen”, “calm”, “awake”, green China tips, Earl Grey, the list goes on. Drinkable tea is no longer a dining hall anomaly.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user State Library of Queensland, Australia.