The Occidental Weekly

Media Credit: Linni Kral Dorm Dining Quail brings gourmet dining to Oxy's campus.

Delicate tea candles decorate the white linen with high and low lights, casting shadows between clear glass and creamy porcelain. I dip a crusty slice of French loaf into balsamic vinegar and olive oil, while making small talk with my date and the other diners at our communal table.

The air delivers gusts of bacon fat to my nose from the visible kitchen, where a self-assured woman, no doubt adept at her craft, tinkers with plating. Her crisp chef's jacket never bars the fluidity of her movement as she shaves parmesan and tears herbs from the stem.

I am well on my way to mesmerized, when this reverie is interrupted by the sound of snickering nearby. I shift in my seat, which I suddenly realize is a metal folding chair, to see three student athletes returning from practice through the front door of this dining establishment. But wait-this isn't a restaurant. It's a dorm.

When all of my senses suggest otherwise, it's hard to remember that Café Norris is, in fact, located in the Norris common room. The occasional interruption might remind you that you're on campus, but the food, atmosphere and décor certainly won't. That is, if you ignore the Chuck Norris-themed posters on the walls.

Café Norris is the lovechild of Saul Sutcher (sophomore) and Elissa Chandler (junior), two enterprising student chefs looking to provide palatable Saturday night dining, when the Marketplace closes its doors and most students are either forced into unwilling contracts with Cooler hot dogs, or off-campus altogether. They suggest a donation of $10 per customer to cover ingredient charges, looking for a chance to show off their skills, rather than turn a profit.

I'm not even sure how they break even, to be honest. The start-up costs of creating this atmosphere couldn't have been low, and the ingredients are impressively classy.

Chandler and Sutcher put on a few practice dinners at the start of the semester for their friends-one consisted of tagliatelle pasta, made on site, with roasted zucchini and parmesan, braised leg of lamb with sautéed green beans, shallots and brown butter and warm chocolate cake with fresh pink grapefruit and candied lemons. Another test-run featured butternut squash agnolotti with ricotta and reggiano sauce, baked red snapper in parchment paper with lemon and basil and apple tarte tatin with almond-Meyer lemon ice cream.

I visited on opening night, when waters were refilled from the bottle by student waitstaff and baby quail wrapped in pancetta were the main event (which explains the crackling pig fat sounds and smells wafting from the dorm's kitchen). Seating was delineated by place cards, printed on formal paper that was also used to make menu cards. Our prix fixe menu started with butternut squash and ricotta ravioli with butter and sage, the quail with a baby arugula salad and tart aux pommes with crème anglaise.

Considering that they originated in a dorm kitchen, these dishes were pretty close to restaurant-quality. The portions are a tad miniscule, but that's no different than what you find at similar white-tablecloth establishments across town. While the ravioli themselves did not possess standout flavor, the sage and parmesan on top were great garnish choices that raised the dish beyond it's amateur surroundings. The roasted carrots and fennel accompanying the quail were also of a caliber beyond Norris, although the quail itself was almost too small of a serving to enjoy. The tart and lemon cookies served at the meal's end failed to sweep me off my feet in terms of flavor, but I can hardly criticize such a high-class attempt coming from a kitchen most frequently used for popcorn.

The chefs were already planning their next menu at this meal, hinting at the possibility of oxtail. These rumors enticed diners, inciting whispers from the crowd and elevating the venture to an almost-cult status. On February 21, they did indeed whip up an oxtail ragu with homemade gnocchi and sautéed brussel sprouts next, further stretching their budget to include seared big eye tuna with sautéed pea sprouts and a time-consuming trio of ice cream sandwiches-ginger snaps with strawberry ice cream, Dutch almond cookies with Earl Grey ice cream and chocolate blackberry cookies with chocolate ice cream. I haven't visited again, but I've tasted Chandler's chocolate blackberry cookies and can attest to their addictive quality. My lips quiver at the thought of them bathed in chocolate ice cream.

Café Norris prepared a special menu this past weekend on Feb. 26 for Chandler's birthday-homemade cornbread, goat cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto with roasted almonds, a salad of grapefruit and artichoke hearts with Dijon vinaigrette, braised duck legs with turnips and farro salad and roasted asparagus with lemon. This was set off by a selection of cheeses with strawberries and roasted grapes, and a sauternes cake with pear sorbet and candied chocolate covered orange peel. How they can afford to do this without charging fifty bucks a pop, I don't know. But if I can enjoy a meal like this without waiting for my mom to visit from Chicago and foot the bill, I'm happy.

For more information, visit cafenorris.blogspot.com

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