The semester is not quite done, and neither is Aaron Fitzsenry’s culinary creativity. To send us into Spring Weekend and finals with full stomachs, he has some exciting specials planned that you won’t want to miss.

Tonight there will be a “Sweet Things Special” at Jo’s.  Games will be set up in the dining room, and you can expect chocolate-dipped strawberries and pretzels, ice cream floats with Gifford’s L.L. Bean ice creams, candy, some new varieties of fresh baked mini cookies, and grilled pound cake. At the “Three-Burners” station, Aaron will even be whipping up Bananas Foster Blondie sundaes.

Next week in the Blue Room, keep your eyes out for for Iced Coffee Floats on Wednesday, April 24. To kick off Reading Period on Friday, it will be offering Frozen Parfaits with either froyo or sherbert, fresh berries, fancy granola, and whipped cream.

Finally, on Friday, May 3, Dining Services will be throwing a BBQ Picnic on Pembroke field. According to Aaron, they will be “pulling out a grill and doing ribs, BBQ pulled chicken sliders, fresh lemonade punch, and a bunch of other things that I feel like bringing to a picnic.” 

Make sure to check out all of these events, and give Aaron a big “THANK YOU” if you happen to see him!

This semester, I am taking my third visual art studio class at Brown. That means I’ve already gotten through two semesters of sharing List’s white-washed, fluorescent-lit workrooms without running into the kind of situation that I did a couple weekends ago.

It was the kind of situation where you can imagine yourself lashing out at those around you, but don’t actually, because you know it will be more fun to complain to your friends about it later, FlogDailyHerald-style.

So here it goes: I listened to a total of ten hours of K-pop (Korean pop music), all of which could be heard over the sound of my own in-ear soundtrack of sensitive girl music (admittedly there was some James Taylor in there) and the new Bombay Bicycle Club album (well, I had to make myself look cool after the aforementioned confession, didn’t I?). I tried to tune out my peers’ ambiance music, but alas, I did not succeed. I am now confident that I can sing more than half of these catchy Korean melodies from memory.

With midterms now upon us, the libraries have become packed with crazed, zombie-like students, influencing many of us to opt to study in an alternative location. Fortunately, Brown has lots of shared study spaces for you to take advantage of. Sure, they’re not libraries, but they still require you to use your manners and be polite. But how do you properly share those spaces with others? Check out our tips after the jump.

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When the Blue Room unveiled its fresh veggies wrapped in cellophane and its spinach and mixed greens with accompanying dressing on the side (!), we thought it couldn’t possibly outdo itself. Or out-Mom itself. But just when you thought the Blue Room couldn’t possibly get any better, it’s upped its game yet again: Brown’s finest dining establishment has decided to bring back both Veggie and Shrimp Nime Chow and sushi from Shanghai.

While the aesthetic and varieties of the sushi haven’t changed from last year, it looks as if Shanghai’s completely revamped the Nime Chow: there are now three individual rolls instead of two… and while the two Nime Chow rolls $7.95 last fall, you now can buy three rolls for $8.00 even. So yeah, you basically get a third roll for free. If you didn’t know by now that we love free food, you should really read Blog.

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Today, the Blue Room will be having a special involving ice cream. To keep things mysterious, the food spot has been leaking details via twitter.

They’re also copping our tagline, Making Mondays Better™ (c/o Tim Natividad). ANYWAY, there’s only one way to find out what it is…

See ya there. Image via.

The Blue Room dished up some awesome ice cream sundaes today after advertising for it all week via Twitter (we retweeted their Tuesday tweet!) and in this morning’s Morning Mail (yes, Morning Mail has useful things after all!).

Who knows what other finals surprises may pop up….

Made to order: a fresh Belgian waffle with cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, and whipped cream.

Everyone knows about the Blue Room’s Shanghai and Kabob & Curry specials, but many — including dedicated morning patrons — seem to be unaware of the breakfast specials that greet students starting off their (hopefully) productive days.

Every time I come to indulge, other students curiously look at what I have and ask about it, reacting with a mixture of surprise and excitement — kind of like their reactions to discovering Jo’s serves stuffed french toast and grilled cheese when I’ve gone to get those.

"Parfait" — it's the French word for "perfect."

So here’s a quick and dirty summary: [Read more →]

Disclaimer: This image may or may not serve as an accurate representation of the Blue Room Thanksgiving Special

One awesome thing about beings a BuDS employee is getting the inside scoop on what Chef Aaron Fitszenry is planning next. This week, it’s a pre-Thanksgiving treat to get your taste buds ready for Thursday: open faced turkey sandwiches! There’s a carving station set up at the Blue Room every day leading up to Thanksgiving where sandwiches are being prepared with a selection of Thanksgiving sides including gravy, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.

Turkey and toppings are stacked upon a slice of Texas toast (toast cut twice as thick as conventional sliced bread), sprinkled with a dried rosemary garnish and served with a side of fresh baby spinach. If you’re lucky, Chef Aaron will be there to make it for you himself! They’re still around Tuesday and Wednesday of this week from 11 am – 3 pm – gobble one up while you can!

Image via.

Pronunciation variations: neem-chow, nim-chow, neemeh-chow

You’re not that hungry, but you’re in the mood for something fresh and satisfying. You walk into the Blue Room and notice that the sandwich line is too long, you’ve had the sushi too many times, and the wait for General Tso’s Chicken just doesn’t seem worth it. You turn to leave, disappointed by your options, when something amidst the yogurts catches your eye. You walk over. Curious, you read the label: Nime Chow. “What’s Nime Chow?” you might ask yourself as you examine the two perfectly wrapped rolls of Cambodian goodness. Luckily for you, we’re here to give the Nime Chow nitty-gritty.  [Read more →]