Restaurant Review: South Quadrangle

4 Forks Up (Out of 5)

As a restaurant critic, I have ventured into all kinds of dining rooms: noodle houses of Japan, restaurants in Thailand where one eats on the floor and is presented with live snakes as appetizers. Yet, in their variety they always managed to surprise me with the quality of the eating experience.

In light of this past experience, I am pleased to report that the long-standing restaurant "South Quad Cafeteria" was innovative, elegant, and refreshing. Their style offered a departure from the norms of our haughty-taughty world of cuisine. A wonderful example is the creative workers, who kept me guessing at all turns. When I called in the afternoon to make reservations, this exchange followed:

"Hello?"

"Yes, I'd like to make a reservation for this evening for seven o'clock."

"Clocky no seven make."

"What?"

(sound of laughing and profanity)

I arrived at the restaurant at six, being careful to come before the normal dinner hour now that I had no reservation. A very nice though improperly dressed young valet took my key. As I stepped in through what I thought were the front doors, I was bumped into by two large gentlemen carrying laundry baskets who told me to "watch my fucking way."

Two identical sides to the restaurant exist to confuse a guest as he enters, particularly since the dining room can be entered only from the left side. Clearly, the architect had the ancient Japanese culinary philosophy of "Aku Ido" in mind. Aku Ido is, of course, best summarized by the haiku, "Small frost for dinner/ white crane rests on winter's breast/ Good eats left or right?"

When I reached the lobby, the retro decor was refreshing. Couches were worn, giving the entire area a comfortable feel. The friendly Maitre' d greeted me jovially with "Heyyyy, my man howsagoin' hahaha yeah scuzzzzzz wup."

Dinner was a very reasonable $8.25, and apparently it's even cheaper with a "frequent diner card." And the food itself? Created by the genius of head chef Gordon F. Service, these delicious recipes had strength in numbers. The buffet-style service offered me the opportunity to sample many delicacies. Among the most highly recommended entrees: The Mr. Ribb sandwich, with its lightly springy texture and unique blend of meats, Chicken Enchiladas, cream-style, possessed a delicate aroma and subtle flavorings, and the Mexican Pizza, a tex-mex treat only dreamed of by lesser chefs. One should still be careful in their selections. I found the Saute de Canard au Madere to be slightly off, perhaps the Madeira used had too strong a presence of tannins, or the duck was a little young. Regardless, the rose garni was beautifully executed.

I do feel that the South Quad Dining Room has a couple of areas of improvement, though. For one, their racist seating-arrangements will not stand in this day and age. Segregating the guests by race is not what a forward-thinking wait-staff should be doing. Also, I never was able to retrieve my car (a brand-new Ford Explorer with an astounding sound system) from the valet. Still, a small loss in light of the excellent dining experience.