The Grills Next Door

By day, they lie dark and dormant in the basement labyrinths of nine houses. But come nightfall, their stoves heat up and so does the atmosphere.

From "Hell's Kitchen" in Currier House to "The Grille Scouts" in Eliot, the House grills are a nocturnal haven for connoisseurs of food ranging from hamburgers to omelettes. Their menus, accessability, and commercial facets like delivery, credit, and even shares of stock assure the grills of a steady late-night clientele.

But these institution of the Houses (Eliot's grill was constructed with the rest of the dorm in the 1930s) have recently become a sticking point for administrators who fear student operators do not follow proper hygiene standards. Coupled with a fear that the grills should be licensed by the city, the concern has prompted University Health Services to design a hygiene course for managers.

This did not keep grills from opening this fall, however. All nine except Winthrop House's are doing a brisk business, dishing out such House Specialties as the "Bott Dog" in Dunster, in honour of Master Raoul Bott, and the "Wacker Burger," named after South House Master Warren E. Wacker, Winthrop's grill will open November 3.

Currier House: Included in the original blueprints for the Houses. "Hell's Kitchen" is attached to the dining hall and equipped for facilities for deep frying potatoes and making frappes. It is the only House to boast an over for baking pizza, which goes for 75 cents a slice, 85 cents with pepperoni, and $4.75 or $5.50 for a whole pie.

Located in the middle of a ground level hallway/lounge, Currier's grill is the center of action on a typical weeknight. Students gather to watch TV. Pay video games, pinball, or foosball, or congregate on several couches while enjoying their snacks. On weekends, the grill-one of the few open those evenings-attracts students attending movies or dances at the Quad.

The grill serves as many as 150 people on a typical night, according to Kurt C. Schluntz '84, one of the three managers selected by the house committee to run it on a non-profit basis. The threesome hires about 20 additional workers.

"It defines the social center of Currier House," Schluntz says.

Dunster House: Located in the basement of E. entry, the Dunster grill is thriving under a new ownership system, according to manager Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins '85. At the beginning of the year, the House Committee sold 100 shares in the grill for $10 apiece. In May, investors will receive their money back, plus whatever profits the grill earns.

With the capital created by the sale of shares, the Dunster grill expanded its line, venturing into baked goods in addition to hamburger and bagel fare. Brownies go for 75 cents and are described by one enthusiastic patron as "incredibly rich."

In deference to those who don't make breakfast, Dunster is the only House to offer omelettes as a late night snack. These sell from $1 to 1.50, depending on contents ranging from plain cheese to "western"-bacon, cheese and tomato.

Dunster offers in-house delivery as well as efficient service: customers use an order form available on the counter and go off and watch TV or play pinball in the adjacent room while their order is filled.

Dunster also sells a wide selection of ice cream-six flavors including oreo and heavenly hash-for as little as 50 cents a cup, prices which make the walk to Cahaly's seem less than appealing, say some patrons.

Eliot House: A typical night in Eliot sees two "Grille Scouts" working behind the counter and a third delivering orders in the Eliot-Kirkland-Winthrop vicinity.

The specialty of the grill is nachos-packaged chips served with your choice of American or Cheddar cheese, melted over the chips in a toaster.

Items such a frappes are more expensive here-$1.75 compared to $1.25 at Quincy-but such exotic flavors as M&M and mocha chip make them thick and well worth the price. Other specialties include the Dolly Dog-a bacon and cheese hot dog named for the House superintendent, and Elsie's M&M cookies. "We order them from the same bakery which Elsie's gets its cookies from," said co-owner Stefanie P. Scheer '85.

Kirkland House: Other wise known as the "delilounge," Kirkland's grill has the air of a Tuesday lunch "sandwich-bar," Instead of making the investment in a grill, managers have opted to stick to cold-cut sandwiches and toasted bagels. Sandwiches range from $1 to $2 and feature roast beef, turkey and tuna fish, with garnishes such as onions, pickles, and mustard: they come on several types of bread, including pocket-style pita bread. The lounge also sells beer by the bottle-as little as 60 cents for a bottle.

Managers say competition with Eliot's delivery service would make it pointless for Kirkland to buy a grill and probably result in losses. Workers earn about $4.50 an hour, said co-manager James P. Lowe '85. "It pays about as much as a work study job, and it's at lot more exciting than passing out towels at the ITT," he explained.

Leverett House: Perhaps the least known among grill connoisseurs, Leverett is an undiscovered gem. Set in the basement of G tower, the Leverett grill has the greatest variety of any grill, and according to the managers, the best quality food.

For example, managers say they recently beefed up the quality of their meat: "We use 3/4 pound. 100% pure Black Angus beef a sign above the counter boasts. Quantity meets quality in the "slim burger," a 3/4 pounder with everything on it. French fries, for 75 cents, are thick and "corrugated."

Like Dunster House, Leverett also offers eggs in the form of a ham and egg sandwich, one of their most popular items. To complete the line of dairy products. Leverett serves six kinds of ice cream which managers will scoop of frappe. Imported from the outside world is the "Chippey Pie," an ice cream sandwich trimmed with chocolate chips--a cousin of the popular Chipwicin sold by street vendors.

This year, managers are experimenting with an extensive deli line, including cheese, salami, roast beef and turkey.

Leverett is one of the few grills to offer sodas, or "tonic" as it is labelled on the menu. Most other grills exploit a location near a vending machine.

"It's good way to meet people, and besides you can eat free food," said co-manager Kevin Wattles '84.

Lowell House: The nascent "Edible Complex," which opened last May, is small fry compared to the other operations. Converted from a men's room in the basement of Lowell's dining hall, the snack bar is really more of a coffee house than a grill, according to House Committee Chairman Judith Kessler '84, who adds, " we haven't gotten rid of the urinals in the room yet."

Mangers keep food at the Edible Complex simple-just bagels, poptarts and muffins from Warburtons. Facilities consist of a toaster oven and a refrigerator to store fresh fruit, yogurt and sodas.

Mather House: The most nondescript of the House grills, Mather is also the tiniest. Its counter is wedged into the corner of a multi-level recreation center, below the pool table. TV and video games which are spread over the complex.

Bagels seem to be the thing to order in Mater, the only House which has a variety spanning whole wheat and sesame seed. To add to their repertoire of hamburgers and grilled cheese, owners hope to acquire a freezer and blender for frappes.

Mather's grill is not a social hot spot. The area tapers to a sharp corner which only fits one ice cream parlous table and a vending machine: the action is in the video arcade upstairs.

Quincy House: Like Currier's. Quincy's facilities were designed along with the House and set in a broad thoroughfare, with room for tables, vending machines, and video games. This grill, along with Currier's is probably the liveliest of all. Students not clustered around the built-in counter are often immersed in a game of foosball across the room. A color TV perched bar-style in the corner above the counter is the focal point for those waiting for their food.

The busy atmosphere and central location (non-basement) make Quincy's grill an alluring trap for the procrastinator. "I've been here since dinner," lamented a student one evening around 11.30 "Now it's too late to get any work done, so I might as well finish enjoying myself here," she added.

Equipped to make french fries and frappes items which are "gravy" for most grills which get by on hamburgers and bagels. Quincy enhances its appeal by offering credit. Students can charge their snacks and pay their tab when they are billed once a week.

The food itself gets rave reviews. "Quincy makes the best hamburgers in town. "Says Master David A. Aloian '49.

South House: The new kid on the block of Quad grills. South's grill, know as "Floyd's" has achieved almost cult status among Quad residents too cold to make the trek to upper Mass Ave.

Named after Floyd's Barbershop on the Andy Griffith Show. Floyd's is more than a humburget cum-candy store. It's a way of life Customer who come to the basement of Briggs Hall for the fried egg sandwiches. Wacker Burgers, and Maull frappes are soon indoctrinated by workers sporting T-shirts with cockroach emblems on the front and the slogan "we don't fuck around" on the back. And they mean it. This year, managers plan to feature weekly jazz concerts in conjunction with South House Music Society.

But this year's concerns about hygiene increased this "we mean business" attitude, and managers are concerned about the T-shirt, or at least the cockroaches running around the back.

"In the spite of the [new UHS] hygiene course. I don't want to betray a table image by wearing cock roaches on my shirt. "Says manager D. Kim bro Services '84 adding. "This a classy establishment." Whether the slogan will change remains unclear.