and preparing fresh fruit and yogurt for pickup in the deli. We added coffee, teas, and warm banana breads and muffins. These were all easy to hold, toasted at the deli and could be served all day with no real wait. For lunch we had a deli sandwich station. Breads were classic rye, whole wheat, fresh and sliced. Meats, cheeses, tomato and greens were all available. Salads could be assembled, too. Given the cool and rainy northwest weather, we had at least one or two daily soups. Sure enough, The Closet was a hit. As the year went along and the menu grew, the old coat rack area became the best, new profitable addition to the entire food service program. In 1976, I ended up starting a Mexican restaurant, Papagayo, in Corvallis. For eight years, I had a fun and supportive OSU community, all starting with the confidence from The Closet deli. —RANDY STERN, ’73 In the northwest corner of the MU cafeteria was a small food service called The Closet in the ’70s. Great weird sandwiches like peanut butter with apple slices on raisin bread. Many others were notable, so I have kept a menu from there all these years.Another favorite of mine was at the eastern end of the MU that had the best carrot cake, only equaled by Rose’s Restaurant in Portland. —SCOTT NINNEMAN, ’79 1980s My food memory is “Fresh Roast Grosbeak” on the menu at the entrance to the dining hall when the birds were thick in the quad and walking under the trees was inadvisable. It was pretty funny! Hopefully, whoever did the whiteboard didn’t get in trouble. — PROFESSOR EMERITUS VIRGINIA DISNEY BOURDEAU, ’80 My first year at OSU, I lived in Sackett Hall where, if I remember correctly, they made the granola we had in the mornings. I loved that granola, so much so that the “Freshman 15” came on more quickly than I’d expected. I would love it if anyone can re-create it! —GRETCHEN BREE BROWN, ’81 My husband, Bill Merrill, ’85, and I met at OSU and have been married for 40 years this August. Our food memory is our first date at that legend, Woodstock’s. At the time, Bill was a full-time vegetarian. His housemother at the Delt house had even started some veggie meals for a number of the guys, which was very progressive for the early ’80s! Bill and I met at a fraternity function and bonded over a mutual dislike of James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. So when he asked me out, I was excited. He was cute and smart! Apparently, he thought the same of me. However, what I found out later is that he was afraid I might think being a vegetarian was weird, so when we got to Woodstock’s, he ordered pepperoni pizza, which was the first meat he had eaten in quite a while. Pepperoni or veggie, it was a successful first date of many and the first of many visits to Woodstock’s as well. Forever tied to our romance is pizza and Oregon State. —GIGI MERRILL, ’84 1990s During the ’80s, I felt that cafeteria food wasn’t that bad. I mean, if they’re going to let you eat Cap’n Crunch whenever you want — come on — that’s livin’, baby! —CHARLIE JOHNSON, ’91 Huli Huli Chicken changed my life! They gave it a new name while I was at OSU, but I try to stop at Local Boyz every time I’m in Corvallis and never order anything else. I don’t even know what the name is now, I still just say Huli Huli Chicken. Side note: when I still lived in Southern California, I took my son on a trip to Corvallis. He also fell in love with it. Later, when he was on campus for a summer wrestling camp, he would sneak off campus to get Huli Huli Chicken, too. —DEREK ABBEY, ’99 2000s Campus food was fine as a student, but you didn’t feel truly grown until you got a meal off campus beyond Monroe. There were many options — from budget-friendly to must-haves — in the town. I always appreciated Corvallis’ “if you know, you know” delicious hidden gems. One such place was Old World Deli on Second Street, where I’d get an on-point pastrami sandwich after walking in to see cobblestone streets, old-world murals and charming decor that made you feel like you weren’t just grabbing a meal but were escaping the college town vibe for a little while. —TORY CAMPBELL, ’00 48 OSU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES; NANCY FROEHLICH; BLAKE BROWN continued on p.61 2004: A Queer Resource Center ice cream social. 2010: Enjoying food and conversation at Marketplace West. 2020: OSU’s first delivery robots take to campus sidewalks.
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