By Sheri Alzeerah
I like to eat.
Whether a chocolate chip cookie, naan and hummus, steamed mussels or an I’m-too-lazy-to-cook PB&J, I’ll take what I’ve got with a smile and a satisfied belly.
Luckily for me and fellow food lovers, the University of Texas knows grub. As great as it is to score 79-cent Mexican(ish) delights at the Union, UT provides faculty and staff with more than on-the-go eats.
The two snazziest restaurants on campus, The University of Texas Club and The Carillon, aren’t exactly dime-a-dozen diners. From what I heard from coworkers, to say the University of Texas Club and The Carillon offer “fine” dining is an understatement. Equipped with a notepad, pen and big appetite, I weaseled my way into each eatery to see just how fine campus dining can be.
The University of Texas Club
Photo by Allen Otto
Bon appétit and bon voyage.
With a dining corridor that looks like it was snatched from a five-star cruise ship and a buffet selection that puts a gourmet spin on comfort food, the UT Club is an escape from the ordinary.
Hugging the edge of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the lavish UT Club is a sight for sore eyes and a feast for discriminating palates. A seemingly endless main dining hall and grandiose overhead light fixtures hold true to everything being bigger (and better) in Texas. Since opening in 1998, it’s been home to enough bits and pieces of Longhorn memorabilia to double as a museum (with a stellar food court, at that).
Though it’s tucked away on the sixth and seventh floors of the east side of the stadium, the UT Club is no secret to its 3,500 members, including 900 UT faculty and staff members. The lunch buffet attracts 160 patrons on average. However, Game Day is no average day, as any Longhorn understands. On those days, the UT Club serves a full house of 1,200 people, hosts an exclusive tailgate party and caters 116 stadium suites, each with a unique menu.
After a grand tour of the sprawling spectacle of all things burnt orange, it was time to get a Texas-sized sampling of the club’s Southern cooking. Lunch had just begun, which meant the buffet was still unscathed.
Photo by Allen Otto
While I’m usually more interested in the sugary tip of the food pyramid than the leafy greens end, I couldn’t pass up the colorful salad bar. I started off with a simple raspberry vinaigrette salad, cantaloupe slices and cheese cubes paired with a cup of clam chowder. Thick, creamy and chock-full with clam, the chowder was just a preview of the coming abundance.
Three buffets were dedicated to the main course. Bow-tie pasta sprinkled with roasted tomatoes and artichoke, potato salad, seven-layer dip, Asian noodle salad, fried shrimp, coconut shrimp, burgundy mushrooms, roast beef and of course, “burnt orange and white” potatoes decorated the tables. I could practically taste the school spirit.
Each entrée held its own as a true testament to the talent behind the kitchen doors. My top choice was the fried shrimp — plump prawn pieces encrusted with a golden layer of zesty crunch. Or maybe my favorite was the decadent burgundy mushrooms paired with tender slices of roast beef. Still, you can never go wrong with seven-layers-of-heaven dip. A slice of rich, moist carrot cake couldn’t have ended my meal more delightfully.
Photo by Allen Otto
Everything about the UT Club articulates elegance. The place bursts at the seams with class.
Likewise, by the time I scraped my dessert plate clean, I was bursting at the seams of my pants. Be forewarned: Times like this call for an elastic waistband.
Price: You must be a club member or guest of a member to dine. For faculty and staff, the initiation fee is $60. Monthly membership dues start at $22 and reach $156. The lunch buffet is $13.95.
Hours: Breakfast Mon.-Fri. 7:30 a.m.-9 a.m.; Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; Dinner
Wed.-Fri. 6-9 p.m.; Happy Hour Mon.-Fri. 5-7 p.m.
The Carillon, A New American Grill
If the UT Club resembles a cruise ship, The Carillon at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center echoes an opulent train station. With a row of ivory-colored archways encircling the long and deep corridor, The Carillon’s oblong space is a true visual spectacle reminiscent of New York City’s Grand Central Station. Yet the debonair dining establishment has more to brag about than its good looks. It has a reputation for food that’s as tasty as the dining room is beautiful.
Photo by Stephanie Meza
Since opening in 2008, The Carillon has attracted loyal customers, from a steadfast group of physics professors to a Nobel-Prize winner to a 97-year-old who dines every day at the same time. Along with the regulars, nearly 120 people dig into The Carillon’s hot and cold buffet prepared exclusively for faculty and staff daily.
The Campus Club, a University designation for faculty and staff, provides its 400 members with special perks, including 10 percent off
everything in the conference center. Members can ring in the season and enjoy the restaurant’s Holiday Extravaganza Buffet on Dec. 9 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sitting at my corner table set for two at Friday’s lunch buffet, I couldn’t help but notice the place’s precision. Waiters and waitresses made beelines to customers, and chefs kept a watchful eye on the buffet supply while the hostess juggled telephone calls and incoming clients’ reservations. Even my silverware, perfectly aligned and shined, was part of the orchestra. The whole shebang was appropriately set to classical music streaming throughout the space.
After my waitress Cheri filled me in on who’s who and what’s what, I grabbed a plate and ate my heart out. My appetizer plate was piled with fresh fruit, a Parmesan tomato, roasted eggplant, grilled pineapple, a slice of ground beef, mushroom and red onion pizza and a bread roll. Pizza and fruit. Why not? This place was lavish, and I was going to make the most of it.
And that was only the starter.
I loaded Plate No. 2 with roasted eggplant and sundried tomatoes, a roasted vegetable medley, seared salmon with puttanesca sauce and marinated flank steak topped with chimichurri sauce. With its rainbow of veggies, sauces and meats, my plate looked like an artist’s palette. But in actuality, it was the work of a chef’s palate with the tender salmon, juicy melt-in-your-mouth steak and zesty veggies.
Still, I wasn’t quite finished (See? I wasn’t lying when I said I like to eat). Hazelnut cake, apple tart, cheesecake bites and pineapple upside-down cake beckoned. And I answered their call with open arms and mouth.
Photo by Stephanie Meza
With every bite beautiful inside and out, it’s no wonder how many regulars this joint reels in.
Price: Campus Club membership is $23 per month. The cold lunch buffet is $10.75, and the full buffet is $15.25. The three-course dinner is $26.10 before 5:30 pm. and $37.80 after. The six-course tasting is $54.
Hours: Breakfast Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-10 a.m. and Sat.-Sun. 7 a.m.-11 a.m.; Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; Dinner Tues.-Sat. 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
If fine food is what these two dining establishments are striving for, the UT Club and The Carillon don’t just hit the mark — they whack it upside the head with a frying pan. Picking my favorite would be like choosing a favorite child. The UT Club serves history, legacy and classic Southern staples, while The Carillon offers innovation and cutting-edge New American cuisine. The UT Club is about tradition, and The Carillon is about ingenuity. Whether to establish or to escape a regular routine, faculty and staff can look to these two restaurants to satisfy their cravings.