First everyone’s favorite sandwich shop is closed for remodeling, and now everyone’s favorite dining hall the place you thought would be like Hogwarts until you tried the food is getting a makeover too. We saw some improvements on John Jay at the beginning of last semester, but it would appear that big changes are still to come. Maybe a sick hardwood floor? New tables, maybe with inset chessboards? Arcade systems? Fondue fountains?

We’ll let you know more as we find out, but if you’re on campus and happen to notice an earth-mover or army of construction workers, send us a picture. Happy Holidays!

Cleared out.

Eating in comfort (and style!).

Though changes in Dining aren’t as drastic as last year’s, some business is going on, and we think there are some bits in here you’ll like.

• JJ will offer new items such as “sandwiches and sliders at the Pizza Station, and new specialty burger and sandwich options at the grill.”
• JJ’s Place will have expanded hours on Thursday through Saturday, from 12-8pm.
• Some more booths have been set up in Ferris Booth Commons.
• John Jay has been refurbished with new chairs, new light fixtures, and a newly painted white ceiling meant to add light to the dining hall. This sounds dramatic, but we snuck in for pictures and were pretty underwhelmed. (see below)
• The Nescafe machine that loved and left us is back! (see farther below) Read more…

Because of the snow, Dining has confirmed that a couple changes in the normal dining facility schedules will occur today. Take note:

• Ferris Booth is closed
• The cafe on the ground floor of Dodge is closed (though we only went there for James Franco sightings, anyway!)
• Cafe 212 is open
• The cafe in Butler is open
• John Jay opened at 9, and will remain open through 8 pm

Image via WikiCU.

• The council spent most of the time before the election discussing the current dining survey, and the results so far. Common student complaints on the survey included the extensive crowding of Ferris, especially on the weekends, the lack of takeout in JJs, and confusion with the new Eco-Token system.

• As of now, students are split 50-50 over whether John Jay or Ferris should be open on the weekends. ESC is working with CCSC to prepare a dinning report to inform students of the results of the dinning survey, and what the councils are doing to address student concerns.

• VP Internal Carla Williams spoke about implementing either an Instant-Runoff Voting (IRV) or Single Transferable Vote (STV) system for council elections. Both systems are preferential voting systems that would prevent ties in council elections.

• Academic Affairs Representatives Patrick Han resigned tonight for personal reasons. This brings the number of unoccupied spots on council to 2, as the council also decided to postpone the election of a new Alumni Affairs Representative.

• Council members voted to allow freshmen to enter the SEAS New York lottery. SEAS New York, which allows SEAS students to attend various cultural events, in the past only allowed upperclassman (or second semester freshmen) to participate because freshman were able to enter into a similar lottery, Urban New York, which was canceled this semester.

Bwog clicks its heels in the air with joy for the ability to use credit/debit at campus dining locations. Confirmed at Ferris Booth and John Jay, rumored at Carlton Lounge… we suspect there may be more. Swipe your parents’ money hearts away!

Photo by Joy Jorgensen

Photo by CU Arts

Though we probably can’t see as many free exhibits nowadays, at least we’ll be able to drink our underage art-deprived sorrows away. The CU Arts’ latest initiative, CUlinary Arts, now gives Columbia students special deals at restaurants around the city – 12 out of 32 of which involve free alcohol, mostly in the form of free prosecco or champagne (an interesting choice of deals given the largely < 21 target population). However, the list features a decent range of budgets, cuisines and locations. There’s SushiSamba for Japanese/Brazilian fusion, Ouest for American, French at DB Bistro Moderne and Indian at Bay Leaf. For the less geographically adventurous, Community, Mama Mexico and Sezz Meddi are also participating in the program. CU Arts, our palates and wallets thank you.

Barnard cafés: now with even less bang for your (mandatory meal plan) buck

A couple of months ago, Dean Dorothy Denburg proudly announced that Barnard was to open a new café. “Liz’s Place,” as this café called itself, was to be a “wonderful resource” and “an expanded and improved-upon replacement for Java City” – presumably so flowing with mouth-watering snacktime treats that all mandatory meal-plan haters (read: everyone at Barnard) would suddenly realize their mistake and atone for their mandatory meal plan-hating ways.

Everyone held their breath as the doors parted to Liz’s Place on opening day. What could Dean Denburg have possibly meant by “improved”?, the students wondered to themselves. Would there be “100% fruit smoothies” that were actually made entirely of fruit and not of sugar- and dairy-enhanced fruit syrups? Would there be scones that didn’t crumble at the touch?

Here’s what these students found at Liz’s Place: muffins, donuts, and prepackaged sushi that were somehow even less compelling than their old Java City counterparts. The color scheme of the café (white + that uniquely Diana strange orangey color) set a sort of minimalist tone, and none of Java City’s big, comfy couches were anywhere in sight (R.I.P.). The lone two “improvements” Bwog could detect were that the sushi packs, confined at Java City to a food display case, had been (in keeping with said minimalist flair) oddly relocated to a stark-looking bed of ice, and that a new price list affixed to the café’s wall revealed products’ calorie information. (The caloric content of the food, incidentally, is a bit less in keeping with the minimalist flair). Also, there was chocolate pudding.

Now what didn’t the students find at Liz’s Place? Among the items absent from this fine establishment were the handful of school supplies and personal care items formerly available at Java City: highlighters, Bic pens, tampons, cough drops, and Pepto-Bismol. Bwog’s guess is that these products have gone into storage and will be making their return as the “new convenience store opening in the Quad next fall”; Bwog doesn’t expect too many people to be holding their breath on that opening day.

Liz’s Place is located on the first floor of the Diana Center and open from 8 AM to 12 AM Mondays through Thursdays and 8 AM to 8 PM on Fridays. You can visit the website and see a picture of what hot chocolate there doesn’t look like here.

Sad, lonely sandwich bar

If you had a craving for a freshly-made salad or sandwich from Café 212 this weekend, you probably found yourself out of luck. Indeed, in a move that disappoints many, Dining Services recently made the decision to stop its salad and sandwich services on the weekends.

According to Director of Dining Vicki Dunn, the café was selling less than 50 salads and sandwiches on weekends, significantly less than the number sold on weekdays. She says this is the result of students changing their buying habits, especially since the introduction of off-campus Flex and other options. In an effort to reduce operational costs, Dining decided to discontinue its Café 212 salad and sandwich service.

Even so, this does not mean that a trip to Lerner for weekend sustenance will be in vain. Café 212 now has hot lunch and dinner specials on the weekends, and the faithful Café East remains open. Coffee and pastry service still exists, there are new grain salads and microwaveable meals, and there is now an abundance of pre-made sandwiches in eatery. That is, minuscule, expensive pre-made sandwiches that just don’t quite fill the void left by a hand-crafted chicken club sandwich.

Katharine Abrams, Bwog’s culinary expert, reports

Still dreaming of butternut squash soup and sage ravioli, I hope to soon see Community Food and Juice without brown paper lining its windows.  However, Community’s indefinite close does have its advantages, namely forcing me to explore other dining options near campus. In its wake, Pio Pio, a Peruvian rotisserie chicken restaurant on 94th and Amsterdam, has become my go-to for delicious and comfortable neighborhood dining.

Pio Pio features an extensive menu of authentic Peruvian dishes but only one of them really matters—their specialty, the Chicken Pio. Whole chickens are roasted rotisserie style and marinated in a pungent Peruvian sauce that seeps into the meat. Peruvian grilling usually incorporates spices such as cumin, paprika, oregano, cloves, garlic, and lime. The result is a heavenly crisp skin encasing moist meat—the chicken alone can withstand any culinary test. Just in case you’re left unsatisfied, Chicken Pio comes with a side of green sauce that compliments the dish and adds a little kick. Read more…

Dining would like to remind you that the heady days of freshmen’s Columbia Points are no more. This year, the points were abolished in favor of Dining Dollars for all. Really! The dining website says so.

Besides having a marginally less embarrassing name, the only advantage of Dining Dollars is that they don’t expire at the end of the year. But that’s a pretty important advantage. Freshmen, let it be known: you don’t have to spend your 200 remaining dollars over the next ten days on an unhealthy amount of sushi and those godawful apple cinnamon rice cakes from JJ’s. Save it for next year’s sophomore slump, when choosing a major drives you to eat your stress away.

Photo via quakeroats.com

With the new year comes new dining policies, and none may be more threatening to freshman waistlines than the institution of “Order-by-Phone” pickup system at JJ’s. According to Dining Services, “you can order any food item from the menu in advance by calling 212-851-5801 and can pick it up approximately 15 minutes after the phone call.”

The service (which is also available for the Kosher Deli during the day) is available Sunday – Thursday from 6 pm to 1 am. JJ’s also now offers a catering service for student group events, ensuring that a steady supply of chicken fingers will make its way into our free food announcements. 

But while the actual JJ’s menu will remain unchanged, several other campus eateries have introduced new options for the semester, including new salads at Ferris, and Bento Boxes from Mill Korean at Uris. See the full list of new ways to spend your Dining Dollars after the jump. Read more…

Barack Obama is President. It’s your first weekend back in New York City. You don’t have any homework yet. Pick your reason, and go party!

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday

Taschen Books Warehouse Sale

Friday & Saturday 11am-8pm, Sunday noon-8pm: Taschen Store NY, 107 Greene St. (212.226.2212)

Taschen, renowned art book publishers, slash their price 50-75%.  You probably won’t find many of your textbooks here, but it’s the perfect opportunity to indulge a hobby. Price: Free!

Friday

FOCUS!  2009 California: A Century of New Music

Friday 8pm: Peter Jay Sharp Theater @ Juilliard, 155 W 65th St. (212.769.7406)

Starting Friday, Juilliard musicians donate their talents to share the most cutting edge compositions of classical music.  You won’t hear these tunes in Music Hum, so stop on by.  You have nothing to lose – the event is free!  

Price: Free!
Read more…

An Intrepid Bwog agent just discovered this sign outside of Campo:

Not sure where Campo is quoting Flex from, but mark your calendars, anyway. It may not be coming on campus, but this is the next best thing. 

In the coming hours you will receive an email asking for your participation in an annual survey that Dining Services is conducting on all on-campus dining institutions.  Do you like them?  Are they too expensive?  Those are the kinds of answers they are looking for! 

To further motivate you, they’re offering to donate a total of $.50 per survey handed in to Broadway Presbyterian Church’s soup kitchen.  So for every three surveys turned in, they will donate one cup of Blue Java coffee. If that sounds nice, you should join the Dining Services Facebook Group so that you can always be the first to know about frozen yogurt changes in John Jay. 

One recent grad forwarded Bwog the following email, which contains some bad news for the unluckiest 5,000 of you. Apparently, housing information that included names and social security numbers was accidentally posted online by a former student employee in February 2007. 

Housing & Dining is very sorry, and has even bought you and your probably-stolen social security numbers an apology gift to make it up to you: “As an additional precaution, Columbia has arranged for you to receive a free two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Identity Guard CreditProtectX3SM. This service will provide you with a copy of your credit report, monitor your credit files at all three major credit bureaus and notify you of certain suspicious activities that could indicate identity theft.”

Full email after the jump.

UPDATE 11:32 PM: One Bwog operative calling himself “Person who’s SSN was exposed” has located via Google cache the Excel document that used to contain the SSNs and names in question. According to the aforementioned operative, the Excel document was created apparently in relation to “a HW for CS4733, aka ‘Computational Aspects of Robotics.’” Also, the Spec has published the story.

UPDATE 11:11 AM: A Bwog writer and SSN victim just called Student Services and the email is not, in fact, a scam.  Sorry folks.

Read more…