COSMOSIS
Brandywine Top Lunches of ALL TIME
By: Shefali Prasad
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Last issue I wrote about Brandywine’s top 3 lunches of the week, and this time I’m going to scale it up by highlighting the top lunches served throughout the duration of the ENTIRE PROGRAM.
First off we have the sushi rice bowl: I received numerous comments reflecting the sheer euphoria that COSMOS students felt when searching up the Brandywine menu in class (pls pay attention to your professors everyone!) to their first bite of sushi rice in 3 weeks. A quote from my roommate: “It was the best meal in the program”. The combination and option of spicy mayo and soy sauce as sides enhanced the lunch even farther to what it was and for that I can confidently put the sushi rice bowl as the top lunch at Brandywine excluding anything served before July 8th, 2024.
Second, I talked about this last week but a few of our students can’t stop thinking about it: The alfredo shrimp pasta. Like I mentioned, it was a nice break from the week of chicken lunches. The shrimp was “cooked perfectly” and the option of chili flakes and parmesan was a nice touch. When I took ratings, this dish accumulated scores of 8 and higher across the board, putting it up there on the list of Brandywine lunches, deservedly so.
Now, those were the two lunches that I felt were showstoppers, but obviously there were many more that were great meals for COSMOS students to enjoy before their afternoon classes. Thank you to the Brandywine staff for making these last 3 weeks of meals so amazing, only 4 more lunches to go!
A Glowing Review of the Campus Plaza
This Friday, I, along with the other girls who live on the third floor of Calmindon Hall, had the opportunity to visit the campus plaza. It was nice to have a trip to an off-campus mall that was not the University Town Center, which has lost its initial excitement since Week 1. The Campus Plaza was small but enjoyable, with sushi (I am pescatarian and have missed fish here terribly), spicy tteokbokki (my friends have been craving spicy food for weeks), and Starbucks (the four we have on campus close right before our lessons end). My personal favorite store was Saffron and Rose, a Persian creamery with delicate, local flavors and a line out the door. I hope I have the opportunity to visit the Campus Plaza (and try more ice cream flavors!) in the future.
An Ode to Life After COSMOS
By: Fiona Pauli​
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There are over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, yet, even in the most optimal conditions on Earth, the keenest person alive will be lucky to see 1,000 stars all at once. In this fast-paced, ever-changing way of life, it often feels as though conventional ways of thought and living have led us to solely gaze upon the brightest stars. These captivating celestial bodies form the infrastructure for everyone’s favorite flashy constellations. They paint stories across the night skies for all 8.1 billion residents of Earth to awe, and are crystallized within countless legends and flamboyant tales. They are the stars of the stars.
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The other 99,999,999,000 stars become lost and forgotten underneath layers of pollution and careless oversight. However, although they may not be visible, each body’s fiery performance constitutes the great Milky Way galaxy as well as galaxies infinitely farther into the great beyond. We would not exist to gawk at the “celebrity” stars if it weren’t for every other star in the universe playing its part.
Each one sparkles amicably throughout every passing day and shines for the sake of burning to its fullest potential. They are not seen, but their presence is felt underlying the vividness of our existence. Even without a beating heart or spirited feelings, every star vicariously feels its importance through our cordial acknowledgement and our willfulness to step into each passing day and continue living while basking under their careful watch.
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On that premise, we should begin to further thank the stars and listen more closely to the lessons they gift us. We must acknowledge all successful sparks and put good thoughts behind their marks. As stars ourselves, there is a noble need to respect one another and grow towards our own self-actualizations within this Earth-bound galaxy made up of countless populations. It is imperative that we cultivate our skills of empathy and enrich our talents of sympathy in a sincere effort to truly open our eyes and take in the dazzling, unique, and positively sublime COSMOS around us.
Brandywine's Dessert Delights
As students sit in their morning lectures, a few browsers wander over to https://uci.campusdish.com/en/locationsandmenus/brandywine/, scrolling through the various stations: The Grubb, The Twisted Root, Ember, Hearth, The Farm Stands, Compass, and Honeycakes.
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Each station has its good and bad days, and every student has their preferences, but one thing remains consistent—the beauty, the majesty, the consistently gorgtastic Honeycakes.
Each day, Honeycakes offers an array of cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin (some of the best I’ve ever had), and the occasional gigantic snickerdoodle or sugar cookie. After a hearty meal, many students head over to the left aisle of Honeycakes, grabbing a cookie with the long white tongs and placing it in a brown napkin, ready to eat it at their table. Yet, by the time they sit down, half the cookie seems to have mysteriously disappeared.
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Sometimes, along with the cookies, there are extremely dense fudgy brownies loaded with fat chocolate chips. Homemade rice crispy treats also make an appearance, cut into cute little triangles and topped with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles. These desserts often get wrapped up and hidden in pockets, ready for students to munch on while trekking to class.
On the other side of the Honeycakes bar is an ice cream station. The first two weeks were magical—huge tubs of vanilla, birthday cake, coffee, and acai ice cream sat in a freezer. Students would go up, choose their flavor, and be asked, “In a cone?” They would then return to their table with a beautiful cone or bowl of ice cream. This week, the selection dwindled, replaced by ice cream bars and sandwiches, often half-melted by the time they were eaten.
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Directly to the right of the ice cream station is another section, always a surprise. Some days, my favorite red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting appears—a delectable delight that is moist, buttery, and not too sweet. Cakes with whipped cream and fruit, chocolate puddings with Oreos, and other delectables also appear in this section, making for a perfect meal closer.
And who could forget—the soft-serve station on the other side of Brandywine. Strawberry, chocolate, and dole whip slide out onto cones, each student creating their own design—a perfect swirl, a dollop, a mountain, or a straight stick of soft serve, ready to be devoured.
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The desserts at Brandywine may be adding a few pounds to COSMOS students, but they are an unskippable meal closer.