An uncertain bounty.

Just as an idyllic landscape metamorphoses with the passing of the seasons, some of our most familiar haunts take on new character and exoticism in deepest night. For this reason among others, Bwog, specifically intrepid philosopher of the darkness Diana Clarke, never sleeps. Tonight, ponder Westside Market in all its fluorescence.

Its lights are the beacon that cuts through your drunken haze, that points you north when you stumble out of the subway. You weave around the teetering boxes of lettuce and bananas, maybe trying to convince yourself that one night without Roti Roll or Koronet will do you good, maybe about to buy an entire apple pie because it costs less than the last cocktail you ordered. And at this hour, no matter how virtuous you’re feeling, that pie is probably the best option. The only fruit left is bruised. There are no cheese samples to soothingly coat your sloshy stomach with fatty lactose, and the empty plastic bowls and useless toothpicks only taunt. The hot food trays are empty and the sandwich bar is closed; you have too much drunk pride for a prepackaged one that’s been marinating in its own juices all day—right? Why not get a cup of coffee and round off the late-night diner experience on the go? What’s too weak in the daytime has just enough caffeine to sober you up.

Wander into the next aisle…

This could be you.

DevFest, a “week long application development experience” sponsored by the Application Development Initiative, kicks off today in Davis Auditorium at 1:00 pm. According to a tipster, there will be a bounty of snacks including Chinese food and WestSide sandwiches—ample fuel for the 24-hour hackathon which begins today as well. DevFest runs all week, and features workshops from companies such as Foursquare and bit.ly, culminating in a “Demofest” next weekend where participants pitch their projects to an audience of startups and VCs. Our tech experts confirm that not only will there be “a shitton” of food, but it’s also a really cool event.

IT Specialist Via Flikr Creative Commons

If you didn’t get a chance to pick up a copy of the May issue of The Blue & White on campus, you can still peruse the highlights on Bwog. The interview with Brian Greene and musings on metabolism are only the beginning, there’s much more to come! This month, senior editor Sylvie Krekow recounts her shockingly fictional run-in with the elite forces at a local grocery store—sampling cheese at Westside will never be the same.

Illustration by Liz Lee

“It’s something you have to train for,” said Nick. His dark, hard eyes were fixed on me from under his hat. Beneath his chiseled chin was a uniform that seemed just a little too crisp. I nodded, puzzled by the seriousness—I was just there to ask him a few questions about supermarket security. It’s not like I was asking about CIA secrets.

“Uh huh,” I replied, jotting down notes. “So… you have to train your employees? Is it a big problem?”

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Shoplifting is a $30 billion a year business, and kids will take anything and everything. A girl once tried to walk out with $350 worth of cheese samples. Unbelievable. Westside is a family place,” he growled. This was turning from a Food Network special into a Sopranos episode. I ogled the bank of security camera monitors out of the corner of my eye. Cameras are a normal part of supermarkets, right?

“About this training process—what happens?” I stammered. “I heard about this kid—he got really drunk, and I heard he came here and used the same puffed rice cake to sample two cracker spreads. And, my point is, he got tackled and arrested 20 seconds later. That must take some serious training!”

Nick didn’t flinch. “We’re no different from any other store. We protect our merchandise. We watch it carefully, but that’s all. We’re a family place. Any more questions?”
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Things spotted by Bwog this week that were less dull, and more sparkly, in all sorts of ways:

The bookstore is now totally stocked for holiday shopping…but more
importantly there are hats with rhinestones! Thank god for Collegiate Fashionista!

Holiday lights at Westside

New light outside Greenborough

New signs at Ferris Booth proclaim the glory of food. If Virginia Woolf liked it…

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the munchies late night snackers and fruit fiends alike. Akin to our Getting to Know series, each week, Bwog will give you a chance to view Westside market from the other side of the counter, as seen by its dedicated, forgiving and really just friendly 24/7 staff. For our first installment–The Hot Bar, as investigated by Ricky Raudales.
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The West Side Market of Cleveland, OH /wikimedia

Strawberry, egg white, mozzarella, olive, and sunflower seed salad after class? Half a pound of brie at 3 am? Crispy flatbreads for all occasions? It could only be Westside, friend of the munchies late night snackers and fruit fiends alike. Akin to our Getting to Know series, each week, Bwog will give you a chance to view Westside market from the other side of the counter, as seen by its dedicated, forgiving and really just friendly 24/7 staff. For our first installment–The Hot Bar, as investigated by Ricky Raudales.

If there’s anything Westside’s deli is good at, besides obstructing your dash to the prepackaged bagel section, it’s serving up a steamy plate of, well, meat! And, for all the other 24-hour delis that Morningside Heights doesn’t have, it makes a great alternative to the late-night meal a la vending machine.

For this episode of Weekly Westside, Bwog traveled behind the hot food bar to find Westside personality Saoul, serving up your customized combo of the popular lunch and dinner special: “1 meat, 2 sides.” Still, the tasty food special can’t be the only factor in our love affair with Westside since each getaway results in a Flex reduction of $8.99.

That’s why Saoul is there. While this loyal employee won’t give out the secret ingredient in that delicious gravy, he is well known for doling out heaping sample sizes for hungry students and his enjoyment in sharing movie reviews with fellow film connoisseurs. Although Saoul does share samples and opinions of popular culture, he does not share the popular tastes of Columbia students. While students go wild over the glazed salmon and roasted turkey, he was somewhat reluctant to admit that his favorite dish was far from a lean meat. He goes for the Kobe pastrami.

Despite our differences, Saoul says he can’t imagine students having poor tastes or strange preferences at the hot bar since “everything is very good.”

For vegetarians, Saoul suggests the avocado salad. Yet, when pushed to weigh in on how the avocado option fares in comparison to the mango arugula blend, this devoted employee will tell you again that “both are good choices,” but not before asking if you’d like to another taste just to make sure.

So while Saoul didn’t provide the answers to all of life’s questions (like, “How many people actually fit in an aisle at Westside?”) he did give us hope for finding a worthy meal at an ungodly hour. Take note ‘ye brave souls willing to pass on a slice of pizza next door— Saoul is waiting with far better fare.

Finally, the hints of a new new, Westside-related restaurant are coming to fruition. A tipster alerted us that local blog Harlem + Bespoke recently posted on a new sign in the area, revealing that the restaurant in question would be called Vareli (Restaurant Lounge), filling the long-empty niche for Nice Restaurants With Artisan-Crafted Bronze Signs. They’ve got a website, too (varelinyc.com), and are taking reservations–but not so fast! Bwog called to inquire and, after being met with a gruff “Who’s asking?” learned that our very own Per Se will be open in 10 to 12 days.

And, for the curious, Vareli appears to mean absolutely nothing in any language at all. Sic ‘em, commenters!

Episode 1 of a series, in which Bwog’s Poultry Pundit David Hu infiltrates the delis of Morningside Heights in search of the perfect Thanksgiving sandwich.

Meal One: Thursday, November 19, 2009. 8:16pm

“Turkey Shoot” from Westside Market

As I sit here staring at the culinary delight in front of me, I am excited for two reasons. Primarily, I am anticipating the exquisite mixture of turkey, cheddar cheese, sweet red pepper, and honey mustard, all heated to perfection, that is about to enter my mouth. Secondarily, but perhaps more importantly, I am looking forward to a weekend of nothing but sandwiches made of turkey, one of my all-time favorite victuals. (Let’s put it this way, when I saw that Sarah Palin video, I salivated.)

As I take my first bite, I am overwhelmed by the taste of turkey but am also surprised by the kick of honey mustard. I only begin to taste the cheese in subsequent bites. As I continue masticating on the beautiful, angelic work of turkey sitting before me, I never get tired of the taste of turkey, and the bits of sweet red pepper sprinkled through the sandwich serve as little surprises to make the meal all the more delightful.

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Bwog’s Japanese Culture in Small, Enclosed Units Specialist Liz Naiden has evaluated the sushi of Morningside, and she has some surprising results.

Pre-made sushi is the best food from a box (though only the second best thing that can be in a box) there ever could be. It’s refreshing, healthy, readily available, and you can get it for pretty cheap if you are willing to venture outside of Columbia Dining. Pretty much every food spot with a fridge sells box sushi these days–Westside, Morton, M2M–the list goes on. So where do you head for the freshest, cheapest, most perfectly succulent California roll?

Bwog’s pick is undoubtedly M2M. Not only do lots of Asian people shop there (always a good sign), but M2M has got the goods for a damn good price. The California rolls are $3.50 for white rice and $4.00 for brown, and they are fresh, plump, juicy, and tightly rolled. This may be partly due to the nice big serving of avocado, an ingredient on which M2M’s competitors tend to skimp. Read more…

As the effects of the recession sink in, your dollars become even more valuable. “The Market Basket” will save you the time of remembering where to get the best bang for your buck. We start with a simple question: Morton or Westside?

Ah, the perennial question: convenience or Neil Diamond? Today, we take another look at a debate that may never end: which supermarket should you frequent? Instead of rehashing the obvious (Westside has the cheerful employees and iffy Flex, and Morton has the across-the-street-ness and no Flex). Well kids, why not take a page from Lit Hum and go back to the source text: how much stuff costs.

Desperate to get to the bottom of which supermarket sucks more/less, we picked six items you probably buy at one of the two stores: beer, cereal, coffee, instant soup, milk, and ice cream and compared prices. See the results after the jump. Read more…

Bwog-rover James Downie hunkered down in the Satow Room to follow the latest CCSC meeting:

The meeting began with a vote on cosponsorship requests: while most of the groups received their requested amounts, the Vagina Monologues did not get money for dildos for the audience (or maybe “dildoes for the audience”–Bwog and Demetri Martin aren’t sure).

CCSC President George Krebs then updated the councils about Flex. The Dining people are looking for more non-restaurant options, with a particular eye towards Duane Reade and Pinkberry. To make this work, though, Krebs said that the two venues have to know students are interested, “so everytime you go in, ask if they have Flex!” As for Westside’s chronologically-based rejection of Flex, no solution is yet available for the slowness of the system, and it looks like the hours will stay in place.

In other dining news, the Business school now accepts Dining Dollars again, because of lost business when it terminated the agreement. Again, the business school had a bad business plan. CC ’10 president A.J. Pascua also complained about the Fairway shuttle, saying that it didn’t stop close enough to Fairway, and that walking the distance in between at night was “scary.”

The councils’ alcohol plans after the jump. Read more…

Spending your parents’ money just got a little harder.

Local greengrocer-cum-discotheque Westside Market has stopped accepting Off-Campus Flex for purchases made between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., the hours of the store’s highest traffic volume.

The announcement this weekend came in the form of a delightfully terse sign posted at Westside registers (see right). Like Amir’s and Samad’s, problems at the heart of the Flex system appear to have forced Westside to curtail its use.

The long-term impact of the new “blackout dates” for Westside Flex aren’t immediately clear, but if you’re going shopping, bring more than your CUID next time or risk having a prix-free dinner of puffed rice cake shards and tiny jiggers of soup.

After saving so much cash earlier today, Bwog thought to splurge a little.  To reward ourselves after a rigorous day of studying, Bwog was in the mood for something warm and hearty.  Unfortunately Casa Fiesta refried beans didn’t cut it.  A second trip to Westside, however, yielded the makings of a gourmet dinner.  If you’re lucky and have extra time on your hands tomorrow night, Bwog suggests making a Pork Chop with Pomegranate and Fennel Salsa for your Sunday supper.

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Here’s the trouble with the holidays: indulging in too many homemade, holiday treats – latkes, gelt, pecan pie, eggnog and the like – often results in no longer looking so svelte in the lovely argyle sweater Santa or the Hanukkah Armadillo brought for you.  And you know, eating healthy isn’t so bad.  What with Pink Berry, Tasti, the numerous sushi joints and the other healthy options Broadway offers, sticking to pretty healthy diet can be pretty easy for those who care to.  What’s not so easy, however, is maintaining a healthy-ish diet while maintaining a moderate-ish budget. 

On this chilly November night, the guys at Westside thought to keep the outdoor produce warm with flannel blankets! The picture above documents their attempts to keep their asparagus  and grapes relatively happy, if not frozen!



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Bwog Daily Editor Eliza Shapiro investigates the sonic background of Westside Market.

It is fun to dance when you are drunk. It is fun to eat food when you are drunk. It is fun to do both these things very late at night. Westside Market lets you do it all: it is a bastion of hope lighting your late-night walk uptown, offering you myriad kinds of fruits you didn’t even know existed. Westside Market is not Morton Williams, and it is open when Koronet is not. Westside Market plays 70′s classics on repeat. Yeah, Bwog loves Westside Market.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the new Westside (yes, a mere 2 years ago everyone’s favorite supermarket was vacant: in transition mode between old, grotty Westside and new, fancy Westside) is its loop of danceable 70′s classics. At Westside, one is advised to remove their headphones and stock up on Chewy bars while basking in Carly Simon’s glow. Certainly, some of these songs could be considered kind of awful (you WILL hear Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock” every time you enter) but most of them are probably secretly your favorite song of all time (Jackson 5′s “I Want You Back”)

Westside manager Ian Joskowitz informed us that they play 97.8 FM on satellite loop (no commercials!) and explained simply that the playlist is “what I like.” Its also, he added, “what kids from Columbia grew up listening to, or were forced to listen to by their parents.” An employee at the salad bar chimed in “I love the music. Its beautiful.” Joskowitz explained that Westside tried other music: 80′s music, 90′s pop hits, but none of it worked and customers complained. He boasted that he is “yet to have a complaint” about the current loop: “we get compliments all the time.”

From now until 4pm, you can go to College Walk and EarthCo will exchange 10 plastic bags (bad for the environment) for 1 Westside Market tote bag (good for the environment).  Seems like a good deal for you and the world!  Also, from the EarthCo email:

The first 70 people will receive a new tote, but after that the rewards do not stop.  All people who come after the bags have been distributed will be entered into a raffle to win a $20 Starbucks card, to help supplement their caffeine addiction that is flaring its ugly head during this fall’s midterm season.

Caffeine and environmentalism?  No way.