Because I live in the dorms, smoothies are a staple in my diet. They’re readily available at two of the dining venues, supposedly healthy (I try to ignore the generous amount of sugar syrup that makes them taste good), and one of the few foods I can consume frequently and not get sick of. After two and a half terms in the dorms, I can still take the first sip of a Positively Peach smoothie from Common Grounds Cafe and be absolutely at peace with
the world.
For these reasons, I was an eager taste-tester at Monday night’s “Battle of the Best Smoothie” contest, held next to Big Mouth Burrito in Hamilton Dining Complex. During the last two weeks, a large cardboard box on the counter in the Common Grounds Cafe encouraged residents to design the perfect smoothie by selecting a base, syrup and add-in combination. The winning creation would be featured as the smoothie of the month at Common Grounds Cafe, and its creator would receive a free smoothie.
It looked easy enough, so I submitted two smoothie ideas while waiting in line for my grilled cheese sandwich. The first, which I think sounds both tasty and romantic, I designed to taste like a chocolate strawberry. It had milk, strawberry and white chocolate syrup, and fresh pureed strawberries. My second recipe involved a mango base with pomegranate syrup and pineapple blended to create a lovely fruity smoothie that I named “Tropical Sunset.”
Neither my chocolate strawberry smoothie nor Tropical Sunset made the cut to become one of the four finalists at Monday night’s taste-testing.
Instead, Food Service staff selected the Chaiberry Explosion, Strawberry Pineapple, Taj Mahal, and Jitternut as the finalists. I briefly mourned the demise of my smoothie-designing career and helped myself to samples.
The Chaiberry Explosion, which is made with vanilla yogurt and wildberry puree, tasted a lot like the Power Berry Boost smoothie already served at Common Grounds. It was the thickest of the four smoothies, with the consistency of a milkshake. I found it both sweet and tangy, with a strong pomegranate flavor. However, it was too thick and too rich for a smoothie.
The second smoothie I tried, the Strawberry Pineapple, was sweeter with a thinner consistency. It’s made with strawberry puree, milk, vanilla yogurt and pineapple. Though it’s really more of a mixed fruit drink than a smoothie, I liked that I could taste the strawberry and pineapple equally.
After two samples, I thought my taste buds might lose sensitivity. I walked to the end of the table, where a beaming Diana Sobczynski, manager of Dining Services, was handing out
sugar cookies.
“You better get in there and try all four,” she told me, and I dutifully scarfed my cookie and returned to the samples.
Next in the lineup was the Taj Mahal, a blend of chai tea, mango puree, pineapple and
vanilla yogurt. Chai tea isn’t especially sweet, but the Taj Mahal tastes like fruit-flavored candy. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when a smoothie tastes like candy, that makes it impossible for me to pretend it’s good for me.
The last smoothie, the Jitternut, was espresso-based, so I can’t give it an impartial assessment. I don’t drink coffee and can’t stand the bitter taste. However, as I nursed my Jitternut sample, I found myself thinking that it was an improvement over black coffee. This smoothie contains the aforementioned espresso, plus hazelnut and white chocolate syrups and milk, though I could only taste the espresso. If an emergency situation required me to consume caffeine, such as pulling an all-nighter to study for a final exam, I might consider drinking the Jitternut.
After returning for a second round of samples, my vote went to the strawberry pineapple smoothie. With warm weather approaching, a smoothie that tastes tropical and sweet seems appropriate. And with less than a month left to enjoy my meal plan, I plan to take advantage of every smoothie the dining venues have to offer. Next year, I’ll have to make my own, and I suppose I’ll find out if a chocolate strawberry smoothie actually tastes romantic.
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