It’s Friday afternoon, you just got out of class and you’re hungry. Wondering where to go? Look no further than Old Chapel’s Ozone Café.
From 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm, Union students and faculty can enjoy a creative and delicious organic meal right here on campus at the Ozone Café. And it doesn’t even cost extra money (which we all know college students love). For one meal swipe, you get a main meal, side dish, salad and dessert.
Photo courtesy of @spoon_union on Instagram
The recipes are chosen by the dining staff and are approved by Ozone house. Members of Ozone house run and serve at the event, but anyone is welcome to join the staff and help. The meals are always vegetarian and try to incorporate food from the Octopus’ Garden. Some weeks they even offer entirely vegan meals. Ozone Café promotes healthy eating by offering organic food and fresh vegetables, like in the image below of a quinoa cake, baba ganoush (a Mediterranean spread made from cooked eggplant) on pita bread, sauteed vegetables and salad. Not only is the food a hit, the presentation is insta worthy.
Photo by Madison Shapiro
You’ll never feel bloated after this healthy meal. Even the dessert is healthy, with options such as bread pudding, fruit and lemon squares, and even “apple pie” made with zucchini. The drinks include fruit flavored waters, local chocolate milk and homemade fruit punch. Each Friday the meal description is posted online. All you do is go to the Union Dining website and Ozone Café is under the first tab labeled “Dining Choices.” The menu is also listed in Old Chapel during lunchtime on Fridays.
Photo by Christie Dionisos
Ozone Café has been around for over ten years. Anyone can offer their ideas to what they would like to see served and students can give the dining staff a recipe to try out. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you had the bragging rights to this vegetarian chili in a bread bowl recipe?
Photo by Christie Dionisos
You’ve heard of the dining hall take overs, right? Union’s very own Spoon U chapter has done multiple dining hall food takeovers such as grilled cheese, avocado toast, french fries and smoothie bowls. At the end of winter term we had an Ozone take over: a granola bar! Students could fill little bags with granola and add in all sorts of berries and candy. It was certainly a hit and contributed to the healthy lifestyle Ozone Café promotes.
Photo courtesy of @spoon_union on Instagram
Old Chapel’s atmosphere on Friday afternoons is vivacious. By 11:50, there is already a line of eager students outside ready to close out their week with a bang. The second round of students swarm Old Chapel after their class gets out at 12:50, so if you want to beat the crowds, the best time to go is around 12:30.
Photo by Madison Shapiro
Dining hall food can get a bit redundant, but Ozone Café offers fresh new meals each week. Overall, the cafe promotes sustainability, the harvest of local farmers, organic dining and Union’s own Octopus’ Garden vegetables. This alternative lunch option is wonderfully delicious, and I promise you won’t regret it.