Chicken and Risotto Repast

Occasionally forgetting to bring my lunch to school has its advantages and its disadvantages.  Normally it means that I have an opportunity to review a new food at the cafeteria, so I actually am quite happy on the days when I neglect to bring my lunch with me.  Then there are the days when I forget my lunch and there is nothing on the menu that is appealing.  This was one of those days.  At the suggestion of my classmates I had made plans to order fries with some gravy on the side so I could microwave the gravy before pouring it over top (see my post "Ce N'est Pas la Poutine"), however the culinary students on this day were not prepared to serve lunch.  After standing in line for five minutes while I waited for the students to be ready, I observed that the only prepared batch of fries had sat cooling without so much as the assistance of a heat lamp.  Even the employees at McDonalds know to discard a batch of fries that have been sitting under a heat lamp for that long, let alone a batch of fries that did not have the assistance of a heat lamp.  It would seem that I would need to choose another meal option.

On the related subject of customer service, I would like to point out that not presenting customers with the option of metal cutlery in an era of environmental concern is quite disappointing.  I can understand the cafeteria running out of clean metal cutlery half-way through the lunch-hour rush; however this was at the beginning.  Between the cold fries and the lack of metal cutlery, this was not looking good.  I was very disappointed in the poor customer service this day.

Since there was nothing exciting on the menu, plan B involved a rather plain lunch of baked chicken, risotto, and vegetables.  It did not excite me, especially after hearing my classmates complain about some dry chicken that the cafeteria had served only a few days earlier.  Nevertheless, I was looking forward to trying the risotto.

I am pleased to say that the baked chicken was juicy and hot, with a wonderful crispy skin on the outside.  While it lacked some herbs, it was still quite flavorful thanks to the natural juices that remained in the bird from cooking.  Likewise, the sautéed vegetables were also delicious.  If only I could say some nice things about the risotto. 

Risotto, a starchy rice dish, is supposed to be served with the rice having the same al dente texture as pasta, and the consistency of a thick stew.  The risotto that the cafeteria served, however, was neither.  It may have had a wonderful mushroom flavor, but it had a consistency that was so thick it stuck to my plastic spoon in a large lump when I turned it up-side down.  Additionally, the aborio rice was so undercooked that hours later I was still searching for a toothpick to remove it from my teeth.  This was not good.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the risotto (unless the culinary students have since learned a lesson in how to cook risotto, such as this one).  I would also like to see the fries be served hot, and for the cafeteria to have metal cutlery ready at the beginning of every meal service.  In the meanwhile, I can at least recommend the chicken.  The chicken is, rather appropriately, tender enough to eat with the plastic forks and knifes that are provided, and for this I am grateful.