SFU Archives - Foodology

In SFU

Simon Fraser University: New Mackenzie Cafe + Residence Dining Hall

October 19, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: SFU gave me a tour of their new dining facilities and I couldn’t say no since I am a proud alumni. Everything was complementary, but I kept all my opinions pretty unbiased.

When I graduated from Simon Fraser University, the food was very horrible and unhealthy. Over the past year, SFU Dining Services is rolling out revamps all over campus to give students a better and healthier dining experience. About time eh? I was very curious about what they did over the past few months, but I was quite impressed with the changes.

SFU invited me to take a tour of the New Mackenzie Cafe and Dining Hall. Additional revamps will take place later on. Starbucks will be coming in 2013!

Whats also cool is that they have “Street Eat Thursdays“, where they bring a food truck to the Burnaby Campus. They have had Roaming Dragon, Dougie Dog, and JapaDog in the past! This happens at the Saywell/AQ courtyard.

New Mackenzie Cafe ( Academic Quadrangle)

The New Mackenzie Cafe is located in the Academic Quadrangle on the East side.

The entire interior has been updated and is now more modern and brighter.

They brought in a Subway, so you can get a Subway without walking to Cornerstone.

They have a custom sandwich and salad bar, where you can make your own salads and sandwiches however you want.

The prices are reasonable especially when you want the item made your way.

These are the different items you can put into your sandwich.

These are the items you can throw into your salad.

There is a section to order sushi and soup.

They even have asian noodle bowls for the month of October.

Pho! You probably don’t want to get any pho here since it’s not as good as what you would find at a Vietnamese Restaurant. Management is aware the pho isn’t up to par and are making efforts to improve it’s taste.

They cater to different tastes, so they have a South Asian Section with vegetarian options.

One of their signature items is the Butter Chicken. I would definitely recommend this!

There are no burgers at MacKenzie Cafe, but they have pizza! Fresh pizza too! They use a stone oven to make their pizza.

The slices are HUGE! You’ll definitely be full from just one slice!

There’s also StirFry too.

The awesome thing that they have is ALL DAY BREAKFAST! You can have omelettes with anything you want.

All the ingredients are visible, so you can see what options are available for your omelettes.

The seating area is so much brighter and comfortable to sit and chill with friends. The have installed more outlets, so you can charge your laptops or phones.

I had a sampling of the Butter Chicken and the SFU Roll. The Butter chicken was pretty good and had a lot of flavours. The SFU Roll consists of spicy tuna and cucumber on the inside and topped with yam tempura with a teriyaki sauce. The roll was OK, but it’s one of their popular items.

The New Mackenzie Cafe has gotten a facelift along with their food offerings. There are no unhealthy burgers and everything is under $10. The students have spoken and the changes are being made for better food. If the food doesn’t live up to your taste, let them know and they will try their best to improve.

Words of Wisdom:

Lot of healthy options
More outlets to charge electronics
Under $10
All Day Breakfast

Location: East Side of Academic Quadrangle

Hours of Operations: 7:00am – 8:00pm Monday through Friday

Residence Dining Hall

The Residence Dining Hall had a major revamp as well. It is now open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

It is open to both students, staff and faculty. Just pay the door rate and you can eat anything you want! The door rate does vary depending on what time of the day it is. Anywhere from $4.95 to $9.95. The prices are reasonable if you have a big stomach.

During the evening, you can still get some baked goods, tea, and coffee.

There is a salad bar and a variety of soups in the middle of the food area.

Personalized sized pizza

Dessert pizza – S’mores Pizza was what they had when we were here. It was not bad at all…it was just missing that graham cracker touch.

All the pizzas are made in the stone oven just like at Mackenzie Cafe.

There are vegetarian and vegan options too.

Butter Chicken, naan, and rice.

The coolest area is the “myPantry” area where you can cook whatever you want with the items available.

Everything is located in the large fridge and if there is something that isn’t there, you can get them to order it in.

You have stoves, toasters, panini press, waffle maker, etc. If you don’t know how to cook something, there is staff on hand that can teach you!

Little herb gardens are around in the pantry area if you want very fresh herbs.

The eating area is much nicer and they have also installed more plugs for your electronics.

I like the Residence Dining Hall’s new concept since you don’t have to worry about how much you eat. You pay the fixed rate and get access to all the food.

Words of Wisdom:

Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
Open to everyone (non-rez students, staff, and faculty)
Flat Fee to eat anything
Awesome Pantry area to make anything you want

Hours of Operation:

Breakfast: 6am – 11am ($4.95)
Lunch: 11am – 5pm ($7.95)
Dinner: 5pm – 9pm ($9.95)
Late night: 9pm – 6am ($7.95)

Additional Cool Stuff

Website:
http://www.dineoncampus.ca/sfu/index.cfm?

Twitter: @SFU_Dining

In Indian

Himalayan Peak: Restaurant on a Hill

February 16, 2012

The Himalayan Peak at SFU sells Indian food. You can either do takeout or eat in. They are best known for their all-you-can-eat buffet since its the best bang for your buck if you eat a lot.

Since a few of us weren’t super super hungry, we decided to pick a few items off the menu for lunch to share.

There’s lots of tables available and its not too busy.

Butter Chicken ($14) has boneless pieces of chicken breast cooked in creamy sauce. The flavours were good, but it could have been a bit stronger.

It tasted good and its always best with an order of naan or rice. There was a good amount of chicken, but it is quite an expensive dish.

Naan ($2) is what we chose to get with the butter chicken. It was made fresh and really good!

Chicken Naan-wich ($7) has very little ingredients inside, but I guess thats to keep it from falling apart. Since the naan is also thin, it has good proportions. Too bad there really isn’t a binding agent to really keep it all together.

Thats what the center looked like.

Twin Peak Samosa ($5) has a crispy outer layer with potatoes and peas inside. You get 2 types of sauces too.

In the middle of the two samosas are a type of a bean curry. It went well with the samosas but the raw onions was a tad much.

Overall, it was a good food but certain item can be a bit expensive. Flavours are a bit mild to suit general people.

Words of Wisdom:

Regular items on the menu are quite pricey
All you can eat Buffet at noon is quite popular
Naan-wich is recommended or the paneer
No free parking anymore
SFU Student? Free Parking at UniverCity (they don’t check the 2 hr limit)

We Rate Himalayan Peak:

Address:

8901 University High St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.himalayanpeak.ca

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In North Burnaby

The Ladle: Grilled Cheese + Soup

September 28, 2011

The Ladle is one of the few places on at the SFU Burnaby campus that will really cater to vegetarians. It’s close by since I’m always at the West Mall Center. It’s cheap and won’t run you out of all your money.

Spicy Vegetable Soup was really nice it is like a tomato soup filled with vegetables. The best part is the spicy kick. It’s not over powering, but it does tingle your taste buds a bit.

They have lots of different types of soups, so you really gotta choose wisely. You can ask to try the soups too if you are unsure of what to get.

Grilled Cheese is my favorite! It is made of whole wheat bread with cheddar and mozzarella cheese in the middle. I honestly think the cheese slices aren’t real slices of cheese but rather the processed slices. I could be wrong though…

Nonetheless, the sandwich was grilled perfectly and had a nice crunch on the outside.

I would say go here if you don’t want to walk all the way to the cornerstone. Too bad there’s no meat here.

Words of Wisdom:

Grilled Cheese, Creamy Mushroom Soup, or shepards pie are my Favs
Mac & Cheese is super super bland…get some salt and pepper if you get the dish
Under $10
Vegetarian/Vegan/Gluten-Free Friendly

We Rate Ladle:

Address:

8888 University High St
Burnaby, BC

In Cafe

Renaissance Coffee: Quick Cheap Lunch for the SFU Student

July 26, 2011

As a student, we don’t really have that much money to spend on food. I’ve decided I would try to find some good deals for lunch whether it be on-campus or off campus. Sometimes I do get cravings so I will splurge if it’s something I can’t resist…thats why its just so hard to save money 🙁

At SFU, it’s really hard to find food that is decent and at a reasonable. I am sure we all have had our share of disgusting meals. One place I quite like is Renaissance Coffee at Cornerstone. At lunch they have some pretty good deals that won’t kill your wallet.

I ordered the Half Panini Combo with a Small Latte ($5.60). I actually thought it would be a bit more, but perhaps there was a discount when getting the latte. You get a soup of your choice and half a panini of your choice as well with the combo.

This is so much better than instant noodles or the horrible Koya Chicken Teriyaki that you can get elsewhere on campus.

The Latte was quite normal, nothing too strange about it. One thing to note is that when you order drinks and food together, the drink won’t be delivered to you, so you need to wait at the counter till your beverage is called.

The chicken soup has some sizable pieces of chicken and noodles. I kinda doubt they make it themselves since they have about 8 soups available. It’s still better than the Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

I got the Roast Beef Panini and it was nicely toasted on the outside. The inside has roast beef and mozzarella cheese. There isn’t a lot of meat, but it is gooey like a grilled cheese sandwich.

The food here is quick, but don’t expect amazing quality. For a student on a budget, this is not bad.

Words of Wisdom:

Long line ups during peak times
Free Wifi
Butter chicken at AQ Location
Panini’s & soups at Cornerstone Location
Usually the greek salad, pasta salad, wraps and yogurt are good choices for quick eats

We rate Renaissance Coffee:

Address:

8906 University High St
Burnaby, BC

In Cafe

Higher Grounds: Tea & Coffee Place

May 26, 2011

I’m usually pressed for time when I move from the SFU Burnaby Campus to the SFU Harbour Center Campus. Time does not really permit me to have a big snack or even a lunch when there is 1 hour between class and the bus ride can take about 45 mins.

I was really dead and tired one day, so I decided to quickly go to Higher Grounds for some tea and a small little something. Their prices are quite reasonable and won’t break the bank compared to some other places. The Simon Fraser Student Society runs it and the money goes back into the school.

I ordered a soy London Fog and a chocolate cookie with white chocolate ($4.60). The London Fog was perfect, I find it so much better than Starbucks and way cheaper! It’s not too sweet or too bitter, but just right.

The cookie was also pretty darn good and hits the spot. Having the white chocolate chips inside made this cookies just melt in your mouth.

Overall, it’s my favorite place to go on campus for tea and a snack.

Words of Wisdom:

The food isn’t that good
Go for the drinks and pastries

We Rate Higher Grounds:

Address: Maggie Benson Centre
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC

In North Burnaby

Mr. Sub: When I only have Credit Cards

April 11, 2011

I went to class and realized I did not have my wallet. All I had on me was a credit card. I called my mom to find my wallet but it wasn’t at home. When I pack to go to school, I usually do it all blindly. I have no idea whats in my bag except my laptop, paper and pens. I vaguely remember holding my wallet, but it was not with me. Since I had to be at school for over 6 hours, I really needed some form of currency to get food to eat. I went into my car and successfully found my wallet! BUT I left all my cards and cash in another jacket! Oh I was so sad!!

There are very limited places to get food at SFU with a credit card. Most places take debt and cash. I also did not want to walk all the way to Cornerstone for food, so I just went to the Maggie Benson Centre for Mr. Sub.

I got the small Cheddar Club on Multigrain bread with a combo. I chose a coke and Jalapeno & Cheddar chips.

It is no Subway, but it’s decent enough.

Obviously, the sub is not very pretty looking. When they were making it, it didn’t seem this ugly. But looking at this photo, it’s quite ugly. Since you can’t see what is inside, there is roast beef, bacon, ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato,tzatziki sauce, ranch sauce, olives, onions, cucumber, mushrooms, peppers, pineapples, salt & pepper.

I’m not a picky person, so I just asked for all the ingredients to be on it. Even though it had everything on it, it still seemed a bit small. The people who work there are students, so they don’t really care to too much about the quality. The sandwich was decent, it wasn’t toasted long enough, so there really isn’t too much purpose to grilling it if its not going be crisp on the outside. This meal did fill me up, but it wasn’t the best.

If you ask me if I prefer Subway or Mr. Sub, I am indifferent about both. There are really pro and cons of each.

What do you prefer? Mr. Sub or Subway?

We Rate Mr. Sub:

Address:
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.mrsub.ca

In SFU

Donair Town

October 6, 2010

As a student, there are not many good places to eat on campus. Donair Town is considered one of the better places to eat. Something about their taste of donairs and platters make my taste buds salivate.

For lunch, JojoCake and I went to Donair Town after our class to grab a bite during our 3 hour break. Since we are not carnivorous beasts, we chose to have the Mini Platter.

The mini platter consists of rice, a green salad with cucumber and tomatoes, and chicken meat. You can customize it with different sauces you want on top such as garlic sauce, tzatziki, or hot sauce.

Of course there are way more items on the menu than just platters. They have donairs, falafaels, and platters. You can choose from Beef, Chicken or lamb as your meat.

As for the service, I find that they hire a lot of international students so their English is not great. I remember seeing one girl in front of me in the line and she wanted to add an extra topping to her donair and well, they both confused each other a lot.

Words of advice:

Morning does not mean fresh, sometimes their tomatoes look a bit soggy because they have been left overnight

Overall, the food is decent, but it can be a bit expensive. About $6 for a mini platter, $9 for a full platter and $5/6 for a falafel or donair. If you want a quick bite and you don’t want to wait in line for Tim Hortons, go here instead.

We rate DonairTown:

They are located at SFU Burnaby Campus.

In One Beaker

Highland Pub (SFU)

September 18, 2010

Grabbing a bite with my good pal – ScienceNerd, we went to SFU Highland Pub because it’s close and it was the only decent food on campus, which is cheap.

Even though the Highland pub was under renovations, there were very minimal changes done to the pub. The menu was the same, the décor was the same, but the only thing different was the interior of the kitchen. It looked more organized and clean.

The menu is still the same offering pub-like food.

We ordered a coke and ginger ale, nothing fancy or alcoholic since it is during the afternoon. After looking at the menu, we both decided to have the Roasted pork bun. It also comes with your choice of salad or fries or both.If you wonder what is in this roasted pork bun, it has slow roasted pork loin shaved thin and piled on a potato scallion bun with BBQ mayo and applewood smoked cheddar. The sandwich was decent, but I was not very satisfied with it because the meat was cold and dry. My favorite part would be the applewood smoked cheddar and the BBQ mayo but that was it.

There service was strangely pretty good today but on a regular day, the waitress and waiters would be uber slow and the food would be really crappy.

After going to the highland pub for a few years, it has had some improvement in the quality of the food, but the items on the menu are really a hit or a miss.The items on the menu ranges from $7 – $11, so if you are a student that wants cheap decent food without going all the way to Cornerstone, then this is basically your only option. The only way to have good food at SFU is to go off campus.

We rate the Highland pub: