What Gourmand Columbia Ate This Summer
By: Evan Myrdal, Sara Hoffman, Abby Bonat, Aliya Tang, and Apurva Reddy
Throughout the school year it generally proves difficult for college students to find the time and energy to try new restaurants, cook new recipes, or travel to new places. However, as summer brought the reprieve necessary for one to explore these areas, Columbia Gourmand members took great advantage of the increased ability to explore food. The students below were kind enough to share their favorite food memories from the summer of ‘23.
Onigiri Cravings
Sara | CC’24
This past August I was in the mood for onigiri. I was back home in MN for a few days before returning to campus, and my small rural town had no onigiri-prospects in sight. I had never attempted making them myself, but I had a few sheets of nori in my pantry. Referring to an online spicy tuna onigiri recipe, I soon realized the simplicity in creating the satiating food. I whipped up some sushi rice and mixed together my tuna filling. The black sesame seeds I haphazardly found in my pantry were the perfect topping.
Food Tour Through Ho Chi Minh City
Abby | BC ‘25
This summer I traveled to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and went on an XO Food Tour! We traveled to five different districts in the city and sampled the local cuisine. My favorite dish was the bún bò Huế which is a rich and spicy soup with thick rice noodles, beef, crab sausage, pork, and herbs.
Conveyor Belt Sushi
Aliya | BC ‘26
When I went to Japan this past summer, I went to Uobei Shibuya Dogenzaka in Tokyo. It was a cool conveyor belt sushi restaurant and the melon soda from there was beyond yummy!
An Early Morning with Absolute Bagels
Apurva | SEAS ‘26
There's this magical moment at 6am when Absolute Bagels opens its doors. The sun spills down the Manhattan grid. A usually bustling city momentarily stills offering a rare serenity. That first bite of their piping hot bagel, slathered with generous, tasty cream cheese, feels like a warm and familiar hug. Then, a leisurely walk along the Hudson, bagel in hand, as the world slowly stirs awake – those are the moments that make New York feel like home.
A New Method for Chicken Wings
Evan | CC ‘24
A few summers ago I bought my first smoker and since then I’ve been looking for excuses to use it at every opportunity. One of my favorite things to make with it has been smoked chicken wings. This method always resulted in tender, smokey meat with a gorgeous pink smoke ring, but the skin never got quite as crisp as fried wings (yes, even with the baking powder hack). One day I had an idea, why not bring the wings up to temp in the smoker and then deep fry them as a finisher. This resulted in a perfect blend of both worlds, smokey and shatteringly crisp. However, the effort involved is probably going to discourage me from doing this again.
