Crave

For never was a story of more woe, than this of Rainier and the replacement for Moe’s.

Crave is the new restaurant in the Student Union sandwiched in between Kalachandji’s and Chick-Fil-A. It replaces Moe’s Southwest Grill (read: off-brand Chipotle) and seeks to combine three restaurants into one while calling itself a “virtual food court.” The “virtual” aspect to this is that, when I walked up to the counter, they told me to order on my phone through the Boost app. I downloaded the app, but alas, in my hungered state, was unable to decipher how the multiple menus function worked (which, to be fair, was on me). I went back to the cashier and was then able to place my order for City Mac’s Veggie Supreme Mac for $7.99. I was presented with a bowl of mac and cheese topped with tomato, mushrooms, and a dollop of spinach and artichoke dip.

The first bite tasted of a plastic flavor that, with enough time, I could slowly convince myself was cheese. The tomatoes were surprisingly juicy, the mushrooms were warm, and they both paired well with both the mac and cheese and the spinach dip. The problem was the dip and the cheese clashed. If the dip were replaced with the cooked spinach I expected to be there, it would be a respectable earthy take on a mac and cheese. If the cheese were omitted, it would be a respectable creamy vegetable noodle dish. This dish tried to straddle two roads, committed to neither, and that has made all the difference.

Food: 5/10
Vibe: 3/10
Price: $5-10

Comet Pi

Comet Pi, in great Comet tradition, is the nerdily-named replacement for the Papa John’s in Dining Hall West. It still appears to have most of the same machinery as its predecessor and (relatively) similarly offers pizza, pasta, salads and sandwiches. My friend and I split a white pesto pizza ($8.99) and a baked parmesan pasta ($7.99), although they had vegetarian options that also looked good.

The pizza was comparable to the Papa John’s pizza of my late night freshman memories: same edible crust, same tomato-y sauce, same warm technically-cheese. The addition of pesto chicken added some much-welcomed protein and flavor to the dish, even if one of the pieces of chicken was slightly undercooked. The baked parmesan pasta was more reminiscent of  butter noodles than a baked parmesan: the sauce had little flavor and easily slid off the penne. That being said, we were able to partition flavor from the parmesan crust and it was still a good, warm dish.

Maybe it was the company, maybe it was the memories of the hungry freshman midnights, but eating at that chess-board table felt nostalgically pleasant. And when the moon hits your eye, and you’re at Comet Pi, that’s a more flavorful dinner than the dining hall 20 feet away.

Food: 7/10
Vibe: 9/10
Price: $5-10