Mystery Meat No More

Forget about macaroni and cheese, fried mush or snickerdoodles. When it comes to what’s hot in on-campus dining and dorm food, local college students are sophisticated, savvy eaters with tastes for international dishes, low-fat foods and gourmet coffees.

Mary Niven, UCLA’s associate director of dining services, says dorm students love Moroccan lamb, grilled ahi with citrus salsa, made-to-order sushi and charbroiled chicken breast with Jamaican jerk sauce. At Cal State Fullerton, on-campus dining means quick and easy cuisine: pepperoni and cheese personal pan pizzas, burgers, jalapeno, cilantro or sun-dried tomato tortilla wraps with deli meats and Starbucks coffee. San Diego State attendees grab prepackaged salads, submarine sandwiches, frozen burritos and smoothies between classes and egg rolls and crepes Suzette in the dining halls. At Santa Monica College’s on-campus eateries, students request Chinese dishes such as orange chicken, fried rice, chow mein and stir-fried mixed vegetables, which they wash down with Powerade or bottled water. Gene Perkins, Pepperdine University’s general manager of dining services, notes that his Malibu dorm students “tend to go for lighter foods” such as chicken breast sandwiches, grilled salmon, swordfish and red snapper served with vegetables. And the new menu at Occidental College’s marketplace-style dining hall will include linguine with clam sauce, BBQ tri-tip served with corn, beans and bread, corn tamales, chicken Marsala with noodles and vegetables and dishes made to order. Too bad final exams don’t come that way.