The Peirce Hall servery has a surprise or two in store for alumni and parents who may have stood in line at college cafeterias for drearily familiar meat-and-potatoes meals. Peirce offers everything from bagels to veggie wraps, from caramel apples to vegan tomato soup. Milk fans can find soy and lactose-free varieties alongside chocolate, skim, and 2-percent milk. Recent dinner menus have included chicken fajitas with onions and peppers, curried chicken thighs with zucchini, herb-and-garlic rotisserie chicken, roast pork with apple and red onion chutney, tilapia, and "cheddar grillers" (a local sausage infused with cheese).
The potential range of the menu is perhaps best exemplified by a lineup created for a "Vegetarian Extravaganza" dinner in early October 2008. The spread included:
Fresh double-pressed apple cider (from Valley Fruit Farms of Knox County)
Roasted garlic Florentine chowder
Carrot and dill bisque
California Cobb salad (featuring local heirloom tomatoes)
Cucumber and melon insalata
South Texas-style black bean burger hoagie
Tamale pie
Fajita fries with zucchini and eggplant dusted with fajita seasoning
Cubano spinach and tomato-laced red bean rice
Medley of sherried asparagus, carrots, and local rainbow peppers
Primavera-topped Sicilian pizza
Tuscan white bruschetta
Whole wheat penne with garden marinara
Elvis' own grilled sweet oatmeal bread with bananas and peanut butter
Vegan carrot cake
Apple blueberry couscous Betty
Flexitarian chocolate chip cookies
Vanilla tapioca mousse
Chocolate rum pie