Dining hall delicacies by a BU Foodie

By Grace Rasmus, Daily Free Press Staff Writer

Do the food options in the dining halls make you weary of Warren, tired of Towers and sick of Shelton? A craving even @BUDiningServices can’t help you with? If so, look no further than BUFoodie.tumblr.com to help you with all of your dining woes.

Sheena Lin, a sophomore at the School of Hospitality Administration, said she runs the “BU Foodie” blog with the intention of inspiring other students to get creative with their meals.

Lin makes unique food creations out of regular items from the Towers dining hall, such as pasta mixed with guacamole from Warren’s sandwich bar or a soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone with pieces of Captain Crunch cereal placed on it.

“I was already making these food creations anyway, so my friends told me, ‘Why don’t you make a food blog about it?’” Lin said.

With over 250 followers since its Oct. 23 launch, BU Foodie gained much of its popularity when ThatsSo-BU.tumblr.com, a fellow Tumblr page popular within the BU community, promoted it. She said she tries to post two or three times a week, with regular posts such as “Mocktail Mondays” becoming a staple on the site.

Lin’s personal favorite creation so far has been an ice cream dessert with a crispy waffle wafer used as garnish. Her post from Oct. 25 gives step-by-step directions to making this dessert. Read the directions carefully, though, because Lin won’t make it for you.

“My friends sometimes ask me to make a meal for them,” Lin said, “but I usually encourage them just to do it themselves.”

Kristen Mansfield, a freshman in the College of Communication and a loyal follower of BU Foodie, said she loves the concept of the blog.

“I get kind of sick of the options in West Campus sometimes, so it’s nice that someone has taken the time to make creative dishes and show everyone how it’s done,” Mansfield said. “And I never even knew there were microwaves in the d-halls until I read it on her blog!”

College of Arts and Sciences freshman Jasmine Elbarbary said the site has made her re-think her perception of BU dining hall food.

“I can actually get excited to go eat in the dining hall for once,” Elbarbary said.

Sophomore in COM, Lara Brenne said the blog is a cool idea that has application beyond just creativity.

“I’m a vegetarian and always have to be creative with my food,” Brenne said, “so I can relate to what she’s doing.”

Lin said she uses the iPhone app Instagram to give her photos an artistic vibe. However, she said she never sacrifices taste for aesthetics.

“If I make something pretty and take a picture of it,” she said, “but then I taste it and don’t like it, won’t post it.”

When even Lin can’t find anything satisfying in the dining hall, she said she turns to off-campus restaurants such as Kayuga, Legal Seafoods and Nud Pob.

“I really love duck, which is never served in the dining hall, so [these restaurants] are some of my favorites,” she said.

Next year, Sheena is hoping to live in a StuVi apartment, kitchen included. Until then, BU students can look forward to continuous postings of tasty and creative dishes made from the all too familiar dining hall options on BUFoodie.tumblr.com.