Lunch and dinner at Vancouver Community College features seafood and meat entrees
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Harry Wang (left) and Gabe Gagne are both in the fifth month of their year-long Culinary Arts Program studies at Vancouver Community College. They are at the downtown campus, where students cook the food and serve it to the public. Photograph by : Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun
It’s generations old and still going strong. The Vancouver Community College cafeteria is one of the city’s best buys for lunch or a quick dinner. Unlike its fancier counterpart, J.J.’s, just down the hall, this is an old-fashioned cafeteria where you grab your tray and survey the offerings from the entry level culinary arts students at the college. They cook everything and serve on the line as well.
The best part of the smorgasbord of offerings is on the hot line where you’ll find four seafood, four meat and poultry entree choices as well as a vegetarian, pasta and roast every day. The menu changes every second day on nine-week rotations. Entrees include two vegetable choices and a starch. And here’s the coup de grace: The pasta and vegetarian dishes are $4.50. The meat or seafood dishes are $6.20.
I tried a chicken dish the other day and here’s what I got: two juicy drumsticks, a big slice of scalloped potatoes, a mittful of green beans, and more sauteed veggies than I could eat. And the young staff are on their best behaviour.
Other entrees that you might come across? Navarin of lamb, pan-fried pork cutlets Oscar, halibut filet with olive oil fruit salsa, spicy penne pasta with meat sauce, grilled vegetable-stuffed pita. If you can handle dessert, the chocolate mousse should go down smoothly.
The no-name cafeteria is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and for dinner, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., Monday to Friday.
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VANCOUVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAFETERIA
250 West Pender St., third floor.
604-443-8300 (college switchboard).
© The Vancouver Sun 2006