W9: All American Dinner At Nelson Dining Hall: A Review!

AMURRRICA

The morning of February 22nd felt like any other. I woke up, showered, got dressed and headed out the door to attend class. As I strolled past the Nelson Dining Hall, however, I noticed an abundance of balloons hanging outside the doors. Not just any balloons; these were red, white, and blue balloons! "Those...those are America's colors!" I loudly declared, drawing the attention of everyone passing by. Upon further inspection, I discovered a flier announcing Nelson's "All American Dinner," being featured that night. Eagerly anticipating that night's events, I grabbed a balloon and texted my friends to accompany me for dinner that night.



At 4:30 on the dot, we arrived at Nelson fully prepared to consume excessive amounts of delicious American food. Greeting us at the door was an enlarged Hot Dog mascot; according to his name-tag, this delightful fellow was named Frank. As far as good signs go, this simply had to be an omen of good things to come. Using every inch of the ballroom next to the dining tables, Nelson employees decorated the room with bright streamers and American flags. Each item on the night's menu was portrayed as a trademark of one of five major American locations: New York, Boston, Santa Fe, Texas, and Philadelphia. Being the culinary expert that I am, I decided to try one of every dish offered; strictly, of course, for academic purposes.

I began my meal with a bowl of Lobster Bisque soup. I found this appetizer to be a tad disappointing; I consider myself a fan of any and all things "bisque," and this bowl of soup didn't quite seem to live up to that label. Thick and viscous, this soup wasn't easy to consume, and didn't have the rich, creamy texture one would look for while eating Lobster Bisque. Also available from the seafood department were imitation crab cakes. Personally, I'm not as opposed to the concept of imitation crab meat as others, but the manner in which the cakes were deep fried until unrecognizable made them unappealing.

Moving onto the main courses, I indulged in baby back ribs, New York strip steak, and prime rib. The baby back ribs were delicious, but both types of steak contained more fat than I had hoped for. Additionally, the prime rib appeared well done from the outside, but was underdone and chewy inside. For desert I feasted on a piece of Boston Creme Pie, and called it a night.

All things considered, I would have to consider Nelson's All American Dinner an emotional roller coaster. The balloons and hot dog mascot were major positives, with most other aspects coming up short of my expectations. While it remains amusing to think of Ohio University storing away a giant Hot Dog costume just for special occasions, the lack of quality in the steaks prepared was disheartening, and left me wondering if more effort could have been put into this patriotic potluck.