The Current Online

by Kellen Shiel

At a time in one’s life when food isn’t always on the front burner, the Longview Campus Center is always a bustling center of student life. The Lakeside Café and JaMocha Gold establishments cater to the needs of the student body.

Paul Harris, owner of JaMocha said, “We usually get 50-60 people per day. Our location is a good spot for business, probably the best in the café area.” Cashier Arlene Arel said, “Oh my gosh, the rush goes from 9:00 on.”

Harris attributes his business success to the demographic in which his product, gourmet coffee, is sought after most-younger, college-age individuals. “I believe I’m set up to serve the needs of the best demographic possible. The campus has a full range of students which falls into the demographic of people between the ages of 18-35. That’s the ages of the most consistent buyers of this type of coffee.”

While JaMocha Gold thrives in the Campus Center, students also enjoy the several types of food offered at the Lakeside Café. Freshman Gabe Weger, 18, was interviewed while eating a slice of pizza offered at the Lakeside Café.

“I like pizza,” Weger said, “it’s like $2.00, it’s good here, and I think that that’s fair.”

While some students use their time in the Campus Center to unwind from their busy day, others use the Lakeside Café as an opportunity to get a quick bite in the middle of their fast-paced day. “I eat here because I have no time or money, and I plan on eating next much later (5:00) this evening,” said Tiffany Copeland, 19, “the pricing is fine, but they could use a bigger selection of food.”

Pricing and selection were the biggest concerns about the cafeteria at Longview, but that doesn’t keep the regulars from coming back.

“The combos are by far the most popular items, especially the chicken strips and chicken sandwiches,” Arel said, “but we do sell lots of cheeseburgers and hamburgers. It’s really only the fish we have trouble selling.”

For the overall student body consensus, the Lakeside Café and JaMocha Gold establishments are modern conveniences for the busy lifestyles of today’s college student.

by Janette Mitchell
Missouri College Media Award: Third Place, Special Section

November is the month that marks the beginning of the holiday season. On the fourth Thursday of November, mother across the country strategically plan the picture perfect Thanksgiving feast.

That’s right, the very same mom that established the “fend-for-yourself” night once a week in a desperate attempt to reclaim her sanity. On Thanksgiving, we feast, and are grateful for the harvest that we purchased from the grocery store.

It is undeniable that turkey is a Thanksgiving icon, a giant inflatable turkey meandering in the streets of New York, cartoon turkeys, turkey napkins, Tofurkey (tofu turkey), fried turkey, smoked turkey, barbequed turkey, golden roasted turkey, wild turkey, just to name a few. Some people have turkey, some have duck, and some have chicken, and then there are those who stuff a chicken into a duck and the duck into a turkey, which they call Turducken. Ninety percent of American homes serve turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. The death toll is 45 million birds and 768,000 tons of green beans, an American tradition with the fowl taste of excess.

The majority of the population is lethargic by sundown, and one has to wonder whether Thanksgiving could be considered a national security risk. The post-feast nap has in recent years been blamed on Tryptophan, an amino acid in turkey that helps the human body produce B vitamins that in turn produce serotonin, a calming agent. Tryptophan supplements were banned by the FDA almost 20 years ago due to an outbreak in 1989 of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) that caused 37 deaths. Recently a new and improved supplement has been allowed on the market aimed at controlling appetite, mood and sleep. The real culprit, though, is not Tryptophan but a huge meal packed with carbohydrates.

Remember safe kitchen practices: avoid cross contamination by washing everything that comes into contact with the bird, especially hands. If stuffing the bird, do so immediately before cooking and make sure the internal temperature of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees. The turkey should cook until the thickest part of the thigh is at 180 degrees, and only use the leftover meat for up to 4 days. So the following week stop with the turkey sandwiches.

Turkey is sometimes served at Christmas dinners as well but throughout the rest of the year, turkey’s popularity tends to fall. The turkey could have been a national icon of a different sort when the Continental Congress of 1872 was deciding on a design for the nation’s great seal. The eagle won his place on the seal, and the turkey won a place on the table.

In comparing the two birds in a letter to his daughter Benjamin Franklin wrote this befitting statement, “…For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true Native of America….”

Special Section: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

by Amanda Rose
Missouri College Media Award: Third Place, Special Section

We’ve all heard the old tale about how Thanksgiving came about. Yes, that’s right, the pilgrims and Indians gathering together in 1621 at Plymouth Plantation. This misconception has led Americans for years to believe that this is truly how Thanksgiving all started.

Interestingly enough, the pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving the following year after meeting with the Indian tribe Wampanoag’s. It was not until Abraham Lincoln was president in 1863 that he declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.

The first Thanksgiving was simple. They gathered together to share their beliefs and traditions which were customary to both the pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. Sharing and giving, harvesting and fellowship took place during this first Thanksgiving.

Food eaten today at Thanksgiving meals was not the same food found around the table in 1621. Today’s traditional food that was not partook in 1621 includes ham, sweet potatoes and yams, corn on the cob, popcorn, cranberry sauce and, surprisingly, they did not have a pumpkin pie. What is Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?

Most of these foods today are an American tradition, but that does not mean that every American family still makes a good home cooked meal every Thanksgiving. Some families go out to eat and celebrate on Thanksgiving Day, or got out and eat because mom or dad burnt the turkey. Others order a Honey Baked ham, already cooked and ready to serve. Then there are those families who still traditionalize and spend countless hours preparing for the feast of the year just as the pilgrims and Indians in the first Thanksgiving did. Although, we have electricity and they hade none at all.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade which is one of the most popular parades of the year is packed with flying high balloons, dancers, loud marching bands, and tons of floats. The parade takes place in New York and airs live on almost every local television station. Everyone in the city and people at home gather together to watch this spectacular parade come to life every year as part of an American tradition to celebrate the holiday season.

This, while being very far fetched from the first Thanksgiving still relates similarly by the way that the whole city of New York and all across America, people are gathering together with their families and loved ones to celebrate even if it’s over a parade.

Society has come along way from the first Thanksgiving. Granted, we now have technology and there was no such thing as an oven to cook a turkey in the 1600s. The one thing we still have in common with the pilgrims and Indians is that is brings the family together when they might not get together otherwise.

by Morgan Ryman
Missouri College Media Award: Third Place, Special Section

Ah, Thanksgiving, that most uniquely American of holidays devoted to eating, spending time with family, and enjoying the ensuing food coma. This phenomenon of food coma was celebrated in an episode of The Boondocks called, “The Itis.” The centerpiece of the episode is a massive artery-clogging monstrosity known as “The Luther,” or simply the Doughnut burger.
Allegedly first conceived in Decatur, Georgia at Mulligan’s Bar, “The Luther” consists of a single, one pound patty, five strips of bacon, cheese, and is served between two Krispy Kreme donut.

Tipping the scales at a minimum of 1,000 calories, The Luther is named for famed R&B singer Luther Vandross. According to urban legend mill snopes.com, some allege that Vandross was a fan of the burger, and some even go as far as to claim that he created the concoction out of necessity when he ran out of hamburger buns, but like most urban legends, these are unsubstantiated.

To cook this behemoth, I went to my place of employment, Top of the Wornall on 90th and Wornall in south Kansas City. The one pound patty took about 15 minutes to cook, the bacon took half that time, and the donuts were only lightly toasted. I added only three slices of cheese, as I am trying to watch my girlish figure. As I stacked the bacon onto the patty, I had the oncoming feeling that I was in for a world of pain and disgust. I added the donuts and placed a piece of bacon on top as a garnish of sorts. My fellow employees watched in awe as I picked up this least kosher of burgers, and took the first bite. My expectations of gluttonous displeasure were tossed aside.

It tasted good, this being the only positive attribute of the burger. The sugar from the Krispy Kreme blended with the meats quite well, the burger was cooked to a perfect consistency, it was pretty tasty. The whole thing took about 15 minutes to eat, and almost immediately following the meal, I went home and took a very long nap, experiencing “The Itis,” as promised. There were no immediate stomach problems, and I was able to move around and go about my day just fine.

Andy, my manager at Top of the Wornall said that he thought “The Luther,” at least a lighter version, would be a good addition to the menu. I thought not, I feel that if the Food and Drug Administration were operated in a similar manner to the Drug Enforcement Agency, The Luther would be placed in Schedule one-no legitimate medical use, high risk of abuse, and in heavy enough doses, probably lethal.

Ladies and gentlemen, I do not recommend you eat “The Luther” at all.

Special Section: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year