The wait is over; Gourmet Heaven opened its doors this morning at 9 a.m., and it truly is heavenly.

While I would love to report that, like the diligent investigative journalist I aim to be, I was the first-ever customer at the brand-new College Hill branch of Gourmet Heaven, I only managed to snag (an admirable) third place. In my defense, the two students in front of me were coming off of an all-nighter, which I would call an unfair advantage.

A quick perusal of the aisles revealed an unapologetic collection of all the best bougie foods you could desire. I’m personally most excited about the coffee grounds selection, which includes highly covetable Sarabeth’s products. (For those of you unfamiliar with Sarabeth’s, it is a NYC restaurant that I once spotted Kelsey Grammer at. To be fair, I did admit it was all too bougie). The snack food options include tried-and-true favorites like Cape Cod Kettle Chips, and endearingly ‘alt’ brands with names like “Baked in Brooklyn” and “The Daily Crave” (with spoof newspaper packaging). Though I wish I could even attempt to fit a list of all of Gourmet Heaven’s offerings in a single post, some proper aisle-oogling will sure to be more efficient and more fun.

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It’s here. The day we’ve all been eagerly waiting for. Gourmet Heaven is hosting its soft opening Tomorrow, April 29th! Head over to 205 Meeting St. (right across from Woolley and the V-Dub) at 12 p.m. to receive FREE FOOD from the salad bar and to check out the delicacies this new College Hill gem has to offer. For more information, check out the Facebook event. It’s sure to attract quite the crowd – may the odds be ever in your favor.

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What is Gourmet Heaven you may ask? If any of you have been lucky enough to check out one of its Downtown Providence or New Haven locations, you know what a fantastic addition this eatery is going to be to the Brown community. Gourmet Heaven is an organic, gourmet, and specialty food market – essentially a combination of a deli and Whole Foods. It offers everything from snacks and meals (including breakfast, sandwiches, salads, wraps, and hot/cold buffet tables) to imported and everyday groceries. Though nothing can fully fill the void that Tedeschi left in our hearts, it seems as though Gourmet Heaven will make a most valiant effort. For what it’s worth, Yalies have long given “G-Heav” their endorsement.

According to the website, the 205 Meeting St. location (where Via Via once was) should be expected to open any day now. For all of our sakes, let’s hope that the arrival of the warm weather is a good omen for the hasty arrival of delicious food.

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The event of the year is finally upon us: the Academy Awards are airing tomorrow night, and after so many months of anticipation, we really couldn’t be more excited. Whether you’ve prepared by spending your winter break camped out in the movie theater, making predictions of your own, or fantasizing about your dream Oscar wardrobe, tomorrow evening’s show is sure not to disappoint.

In celebration of my favorite event of the awards season, I have decided to host a screening party of my own, complete with a few homemade movie-inspired dishes. Epicurious.com made the selection process quite easy, creatively compiling nine multi-course menus inspired by this year’s Best Picture nominees. Though Hush Puppies (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Philly Cheese Steaks (Silver Linings Playbook) were incredibly tempting, I also had to consider that a college student’s time and financial budget are pretty limited. It was for this reason I settled on two more simple, yet still delicious, dishes to satisfy my roommates’ insatiable appetites ring in this cinematic celebration. Sure, my meal is lacking a main course, but who isn’t willing to skip straight to dessert anyway?

Tabbouleh (inspired by Zero Dark Thirty)

You may be familiar with this Middle Eastern side dish, especially since it is a mainstay in the Blue Room sandwich line. This refreshing salad is surprisingly easy to make, with ingredients that are readily available at every super market. Don’t be intimidated by its foreign spelling, let alone pronunciation (ta-boo-lee?, ta-boo-lay? Who knows…) – this one is quick, easy, and can compliment any entrée. [Read more →]

Have you ever dreamed of being by yourself in the Blue Room with trays of fresh baked cookies, and having the cashier tell you that you can have them ALL for two credits? (Anyone? No? Just me?) Whatever, that would be awesome. Well, RI Food Fights is back again, offering the next best thing: The Spectacular Cookie Smackdown. For $10, you get to feast on the best cookies Rhode Island has to offer, and drink all the milk, coffee, soda, and hot chocolate your bladder can handle. The Smackdown is going down on December 9th, right as Reading Period begins and your hopes and dreams social life disappears.

If you’re skeptical about spending money on an all-you-can-eat buffet of just cookies (we get it, we’re kind of broke, too), buying a ticket to the Smackdown has more benefits than just sugar, butter, chocolate, milk… Eh, sorry, got distracted. If you buy a ticket, you also get a coupon for $10 off Pizza Pie-er. So now, it’s cookies, milk, coffee, soda, hot chocolate, AND pizza. Save the diet for your New Year’s Resolutions.

It’s going down at Fête on December 9th, from 1 to 4 p.m. Perfect mid-afternoon study break, just sayin’. I’ll be the one in the corner drowning my sorrows in oatmeal raisin cookies.

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We see you, Blue Room. Thanks for being our in loco parentis, effectively powering our first day of classes with fresh and yummy produce,which includes grape tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, yellow papers, and spring mix lettuce, and helping us stick to one of our several New Year’s Resolutions. The only thing we’re missing is an empowering yet adorable note on a napkin from Mom, but we’ll take what we can get. Here’s to a happy (and healthy) shopping period, spring semester, and 2012!

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