Tao — “the way.” The notion’s metaphysical vastness is alarming. “The way” to what? Taoism, an Eastern belief system, would contend that it is “the way” to best interact with and understand nature in order to lead a happy life. But college students consider “the way” pretty often, too. “The way” to get “the right” level of intoxicated. “The way” to check BlogDailyHerald in a 10-person seminar. “The way” to get a high-paying good job after senior year. Someone’s probably even pondered “the way” to avoid yielding to cars at Brown and Waterman. There is one question, however, that almost every Brown student contemplates at some point in his/her undergraduate education: what is “the way” to best utilize the meal plan? Everybody has his/her own answer to this all important question, but BlogDailyHerald will offer some insight on the pros and cons of meal plan taos after the jump.

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It’s St. Patrick’s day, and, naturally, BUDS is pulling out all the stops.  For lunch, they’ve set up multi-part build-and-frost-your-own cupcake stations in both eateries, with sugar shamrock garnishes included. Dinner will feature some pseudo-authentic Irish fare (sorry, Ratty, the cupcake trend began in New York, not Dublin), with corned beef brisket and colcannon potatoes.  Diners not wearing green will be forcibly removed.

In a move that stunned almost all Pembroke dwellers this morning, Brown officials have decided to do away with the celebrated “PB&J” and replace it with simply “P&J” for this week.  Although this shift toward a simpler menu may promote better health, peanuts and jelly between two slices of bread sounds strangely off-putting. The reception across campus, moreover, has been mixed.

“Are you kidding me?” Michael Presser, Pembroke resident, exclaims. “The butter is clearly the best part of peanut butter.” Perhaps there is truth is Presser’s words. For example, what would ice cream be without the cream? Where would science fiction be without the fiction? And who would want to attend The Vagina Monologues without the Monologues?

“This is an utter outrage,” roars freshman Trevor Olds. “Can peanuts be smothered all over my body? I don’t think so.” It seems that this issue is affecting students in more than just ways gastronomical, however peculiar.

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Diners at the V-Dub today will quickly notice that the normal, reusable tableware has been temporarily replaced by disposable dishes. The dishwasher is on the fritz, according to signs up in the dining room, leaving Brown diners with no choice but paper plates.

Wait, what? Why??

Who can explain this tragic situation? Please comment if you have info!

Update: Apparently the V-Dub is not closed tonight (September 27th). Must have been some sort of internal error with the website. See Ratty vs. V-Dub on the sidebar for the menu.

Presumably aboard a T3 Motion Scooter, Brown DPS just sent an e-mail this afternoon to the campus about safety during reading period/finals. While I know they’re just trying to be helpful, I can’t help but think that some of their advice will be misconstrued:

Trust your instincts.
If your head says no, but your body says yes, just go with it.

Pay attention to your surroundings.
If you’re walking to the V-Dub, don’t forget to stop at Spiritus on the way.

Stay in populated, well-lit areas.
Raves are good.  Libraries, not so much.

There is safety in numbers.
If somebody else is doing something, it’s OK. Remember, it’s not illegal if an entire posse is violating the law.

The Ratty and the V-Dub welcome a chef from the restaurant Siena, located on Federal Hill.

The food is scrumptious. There’s chicken, beef, pork, salmon, couscous, mashed potatoes, and gnocchi. There’s also a super-yummy antipasto bar with prosciutto, mozzarella, olives, bread, and cheeses.

If you made alternative dinner plans, change them now!

The V-Dub hasn’t had a lot of press since going tray-less a few years back. Unlike its Main-Campus cousin, most don’t stop to ponder the dear old Dub’s history — or more recent  scandals. But the V-Dub has experienced a quiet revolution.

We all were a little disappointed when the new, clear Ratty cups were smaller than the old ones. We figured there was no other option. But we were wrong.

The new V-Dub cups look exactly like the Ratty’s — BUT BIGGER. And so, so much better. Never will we have to get up for a refill between chicken fingers five and six again.

And you might even be able to use them in Canada.

Some of these cakes are very bad. Some of them are very good. But all of these are more exciting than the flat sheet cakes in the V-Dub.

There’s one thing that every self-respecting Brunonian has an opinion about, and that is the V-Dub. It doesn’t have Magic Bars, but it has fans, and now they have one more reason to swipe in — the V-dub’s offering continental breakfast from 9:30 to 11:00, bridging the gap between hot breakfast and lunch. After the jump, opinions on the extra meal. [Read more →]