Photo: The Flaming Eggplant by Shayna Clayton
By Mariah Guilfoil-Dovel
“The Flaming Eggplant, what the heck is that?” If you know, then you know, but if you find yourself utterly confused at those words then you aren’t alone. The Flaming Eggplant is a cafe-style restaurant located on the Olympia campus of The Evergreen State College, in the College Activities Building (CAB), where the majority of the food on campus is. The Flaming Eggplant is different than the Greenery or the pizza, burrito, and coffee bar that you see when you first walk into the CAB. The Eggplant is a cooperative that is run by students who work there as paid employees and receive academic credit. If you want to know more about that, there are a lot of resources. This isn’t one of them, because the question I care about is what the majority of people really care about when it comes to food: BUT WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?!!
I’m the prime person to do this review of the Eggplant because I’ve never eaten there before in my life, even though I’ve heard about it as long as I’ve been at Evergreen. I don’t think I’m alone in my reasoning for not dining at the Eggplant.
“Not inviting, not friendly, not delicious, and expensive” were all reasons I heard for not eating at the Eggplant.
So when I heard that this business had been revamped, I was dying to find out if there was actually, finally, a good place to get food here on campus. Because high-key, the food here is junk. It’s junk for a lot of reasons. The main reason being that if you want to eat in the Greenery, you have to pay more money than you want for food that isn’t so great, plus you’re supporting a business that everyone here on campus hates: Aramark. I mean, no shade, but if you say the word “Aramark” on campus, you can LITERALLY hear people groan because they hate it so much. If you want a piece of pizza or a burrito, it’s fine, and if you’re craving a bagel and have 20 years for them to make it for you, that’s also fine. But there is a very big lack of food on campus that people actually want to eat.
My initial thoughts about the the space were … wow, this is very nice.The new floors are very chic. The carpet is gone and it’s a stone-colored floor. There is cafe-style seating with red chairs and light brown tables. A few brightly-colored couches pepper the space and the large windows are easy to sit next to—I was able to soak up all of the beautiful natural light. The space is very inviting. I would suggest hanging out here for sure.
I like the newly-painted white walls but the staff said they have plans to put up student work which is a good idea for a liberal arts college; to showcase the art of the students that make up the college.
The two workers were very nice and friendly. You can’t order online or on the phone yet, but they have plans to make that happen soon. I think when that is implemented, it’s going to be a game changer!
Did you know they have coffee? They have a whole espresso machine and it’s not broken like the ones at some other places on campus. They don’t have decaf, but who needs that anyways?
My GO TO drink is a hazelnut latte. So I ordered that.
I finished ordering at 2:25; it took 10 minutes to get my coffee, but it looked so good that the gals behind me in line, who were waiting for their food, literally said “Ooh, that looks so good!”
NOW the taste test!?
OFFICIALLY BLOWS BATDORF AND BRONSON AND EINSTEINS OUT OF THE WATER.
Okerrr, I was shook. The first sip was so good that I thought it was a fluke. But it kept staying good. DANG, yo girl is highly caffeinated at this point. I now never want to drink coffee anywhere else and you shouldn’t either. I highly recommend it, as long as you aren’t in a hurry. The cost? My drink was $4.50, but if you bring your own cup, you get .25 cents off!
At 2:40, my falafel was done, so it was a 15 minute wait.
Pros: It’s hot and I love eating something hot for lunch. The falafel is $8 and it is really popular. The most expensive item on the menu is $9, which is a salmon melt that is so popular, it was sold out. So far this is cheaper than eating at the Greenery, which is at least $10 (the cost to walk into the dining hall without a meal plan), and it’s also cheaper than a burrito.
Initial thoughts: This frittata is so good. Dang, I just bit into it and holy moly this smacks.
I’m not a huge falafel fan but the beat hummus was delicious and the greens it came with tasted very fresh. Also, there was so much food that I had to get a to-go box because I was full! They also have a quick grab-and-go area of cold food and so I wanted to try something from there. I chose a frittata for $4. This was the best food I had there. I highly recommend it.
While I was eating, there weren’t many people there, so it was quiet. Then I realized that the staff of the Eggplant were sitting right behind me, so I decided to interrupt their meeting to get their menu favorites!
Here are the staff favorites:
- Salmon melt – Isabelle
- Chickpea soup – Joslyn
- Salmon sandwich – Teddy
- Fried rice bowl – Mari
- Falafel – Talia
The Eggplant also has great hours:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sunday and Monday: Closed
The hours are a little different than the rest of the campus, but it works for them and it works for me.
This student’s perspective: Ditch those other places on campus and go spend your money on your fellow students at the Eggplant. I’m not even sponsored, either. I paid for my meal, all three items cost $16 in total, and it was worth it. Plus they take cards now!
