by Tucker Jackson
Staff Writer
Students returning from break are starving to know what has happened to the University dining facility known as “The Globe.” It was right there where we left it before winter break. Now it is not. Though the building still stands, only an empty taco shell of what was once the only quasi-Mexican restaurant on campus remains. But where has it gone? The answer is, “it just is.” The Globe as we knew it is no longer with us. No more Saturday morning Vitamin Water’s after stopping at the ATM. No more may we retreat to its safety on those seldom nights when McClurg could not sate us. No more chicken quesadillas, no more of those hummus cups with pretzels for dunking! Alas, The Globe sleeps. Alas, The Globe breathes no more.
Or so it would seem…“The Globe” as we know it rests in peace, but from its ashes has risen the new and improved “Pub Lunch.” That’s right ladies and gentlemen, dreams do come true. The pub is now open for Lunch. Monday through Friday, 11:00a.m.- 4:15p.m. the Pub Lunch serves as the daytime option for University diners who don’t want McClurg. I first heard of the change from William Soggegian (C’17). Wanting to know more, I followed him and his friends to the Pub for an afternoon snack. I spoke with Elaine Keppler, coordinator of the new Pub Lunch concerning why the Globe has gone and the Pub Lunch has come. Keppler explained that the space that the Globe once occupied is now being used by Print Services…whatever that may be. The Globe has, in effect, married the Pub, from its location to its menu to conceive the newly born Pub Lunch “in order to better accommodate students, faculty, and staff.” They are now sharing their location with the Pub, and as Keppler and any two freshman roommates will tell you, “having to share has its difficulties.”
However, Keppler and with her staff members Rachel and Kevin have adapted with the change, adopting the “assembly line” technique to prepare meals in a more enclosed space. The menu, though forfeiting its southwestern theme (and thus the chicken quesadillas of days past), bears some similarities to that of the old Globe as well as the current Tiger Bay Pub. The new menu consists of mostly sandwiches and burgers, but also features a selection of rotating soups. The entire Pub menu, with the exception of breakfast items, is available throughout the day. The Pub Lunch also includes the Naked Photo courtesy of http://www.hercampus.comJuices, Jarritos, Monsters, Vitamin Waters, and more which were available at the old Globe. Fellow sweet-tooths will be happy to learn that the Chocolate Chip cookies from the Globe remain on the menu. (No, they are not left over from last semester!)
When I asked Keppler what her favorite menu item was she referred me to the menu and said, “The Buffalo Blue.” This sandwich is composed of buffalo chicken, shredded romaine, blue cheese, and Julie Ann’s celery; Keppler’s favorite. Indeed this seemed to be the favorite of Soggegian and his compatriots on my faithful first visit to the Pub Lunch. Nicholas Christakos (C’16), a newly returned student from Europe stated, “That buffalo chicken is dank.”Keppler is excited for the future of the Pub Lunch and stressed the reason for the change as “accommodation.” “In other words,” Keppler reiterated, “we just want to try and make everyone happy.”