If there’s one thing my school knows how to do right, it’s figuring out how to lure students out to its events: give them food and they shall come.
This morning was no exception. I headed to campus for the Welcome Back Pancake Breakfast for some free food:
Plus lots and lots of coffee.
Oh, and being a senior has its perks too. I was sucked in by my other freebie weakness: free t-shirts!
And I definitely agree with this slogan 
For lunch, I wanted a combo of tangy and sweet. Perfecto:
- Tangy: a salad of red leaf lettuce + carrots with TJ’s European Style yogurt (as dressing) + crumbled feta cheese
- Sweet: a cup of TJ’s Butternut Squash & Apple soup with 1/2 cup of pinto beans mixed in and a Wasa crisp.
I was really looking forward to dinner tonight because I got to meet up with Kristine, a blog reader, at a fairly new restaurant in town. Kristine is a graduate student at UMass and is also an avid runner.
We went to Mango Mango, which is owned by the same people as Fresh Side (which I blogged about here). It’s a small restaurant with a really friendly staff. They answered all our questions and recommended us our dishes.
I ordered a Plum Chicken Panini: roasted chicken, hummus, red onion, melty cheddar cheese, spinach & plum chutney on a grilled ciabatta. I was intrigued by the plum chutney and it was a fun contrast to the sharp cheddar flavor.
It came with a side salad with ginger dressing, which was really delish too:
Kristine ordered a sweet potato stew with grilled shrimp. It was full of veggie chunks, it’s definitely a dish I’ll get next time.
It was great to meet up with Kristine and talk about blogs, running, food and Amherst. That’s what I love about having a blog: I get to meet so many foodies!
What flavor collisions have you enjoyed lately?
P.S.
Go over to Green Dog Wine and wish it a happy birthday! (Oh yeah, and enter the awesome giveaway too).
free food never fails!
Free food and t-shirts are always awesome! That panini sounds excellent!
FREE FOOD…gotta love college!
Blogger meet up! How fun!
Blog meet-ups are so much fun! I LOVE hanging out with people who don’t think I am crazy when I get excited about food
Panini looks delish!
My favourite flavour collision are sweet and savory combinations. I just picked up some goats cheese to make goats cheese and cranberry paninis. Can’t wait! The morrocan spices/salmon/dried apricot salad is an everyday staple in my diet these days…
See you soon- will send you the email once it’s updated. This week has flown by (hence my lack of blogging/commenting/emailing/facebooking!)
We had a great midweek supper at the bar at Hope and Olive in Greenfield last night, all “apps” and small plates.
Here was our flavor collision: herb encrusted goat cheese crostini with roasted peaches(fabulous: sweet, salty, tart), AND kielbasa and pierogis with apples AND crunchy tofu sandwich. (Only in the Valley would you get a meal that combined tofu with kielbasa, right??)
Aww that makes me want to find my Seniors T-shirt from ’07. It had a James Bond theme. My favorite flavor collision of late was an apple with sharp cheddar. I forgot how good it tasted!
I just have to note that I love that word – flavor collision. You should use that in a story!
love the perfect 10 tshirt
I had a sweet + savory dinner last night that was great!
That meal looks delicious! I love fruity dressings on sandwiches.
What a fun meet up!
I love the free seniors shirt ” A Perfect 10″ 
Thanks for the link lovin’ lady!
Heck, I’ll still attend something now if food is offered!
I love sharp cheddar and apricot preserves! So so good! And sharp cheddar with a spicy mustard is really good too. And sweet potato with pepper jack cheese is just about as close to heaven as one can get.
Haha, that’s a good t-shirt. Way better than ’08.
Mango Mango looks good and has a hilarious name.
sweeet free stuff!! Rep that t shirt proudly
Ha mine wouldve said A perfect 08, def not as cool.
What a fab panini!
Yay for free food. And it’s not even pizza! That’s impressive.
Yay! It was so great to meet you! Let’s hit up that Mediterranean restaurant when it opens! And let’s run together! Ahh so many fun things…and only a couple more months!
hurray for a free breakfast! that is bomb!!
your panini looks delish!
i love the t-shirt!! congrats on being a senior! I hope your year is amazingggggg!