Harvard Faculty Members Dish On Their Meals

Whether it be getting to know their students over a plate of Spanakopita Turnovers in the dining hall, grabbing a quick bite at one of 14 retail locations operated by Harvard University Dining Services, or meeting with their colleagues at an eatery in the Square, Harvard professors have many dining options, both on and off campus.

Professor Steven R. Levitsky, for example, said he has eaten a lot of popcorn chicken lately.

Levitsky, who teaches Government 20, a popular introductory comparative politics course with about 350 enrollees this semester, said he arranges a weekly group lunch in the undergraduate dining hall to get to know his students better.

“Office hours are great, but these lunches are an excellent way for me to meet the students and try to get my fingers on their pulses,” he said.

Levitsky said he decided to hold student lunches when he realized that too often, he would be walking through the Harvard Yard and passing by his students without even knowing they are in his class.

“It’s very difficult to teach if you don’t know anything about what’s going on inside the head of your students,” he said, adding that the lunches provide him with some sense of what the students care about.

According to Levitsky, between 8 and 10 students are selected to join him for lunch on a first come, first served basis.

“Students with BlackBerries usually win,” Levitsky said.

On other days, Levitsky said he either brings leftovers from home or buys sandwiches from the CGIS Café. Though he tries not to eat in front of the computer, Levistky said he sometimes has to finish his lunch in his office while catching up on emails because “my day is so packed.”

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Alan Saghatelian eats in the Bauer Café between two and three times a week due to its proximity to his office. He said he usually gets premade sandwiches, a bowl of soup, and chips, which he brings to the office to eat while checking his emails.

According to HUDS spokesperson Crista Martin, all members of Harvard community and their guests can dine at any of the 14 HUDS-operated retail locations on campus, which range from small coffee bar style venues to full cafes with breakfast, soup, salad, sandwiches, and hot entrees.

“With locations scattered around campus, there’s always a café nearby,” Martin said. “Retail cafes are specifically designed to forge community by offering menus with broad appeal to the local customer base at hours that best meet the needs of that local audience.”

In addition to these cafes, professors can also dine at the Harvard Faculty Club, which features a fine dining restaurant and a meeting space Harvard affiliates and their guests.

“The Faculty Club is self-operated, though we are both divisions of Harvard Campus Services and often work collaboratively, sharing some support resources,” Martin said.

However, Levitsky said the Harvard Faculty Club is not his most frequent lunch spot unless he is meeting a visitor.

“I’m too intimidated by the Faculty Club. I haven’t tied a tie since Bar Mitzvah,” he said, referring to the formal atmosphere of the Faculty Club.

Likewise, Saghatelian said he goes to the Faculty Club only when there is a guest or a speaker, and prefers to dine out in the Harvard Square if he is meeting someone.

Saghatelian said his favorite restaurants in the Square are Harvest, Border Café, and Cambridge 1. Saghatelian said he visits Harvest every other week with his colleague, David R. Liu, also a professor in the chemistry department.

“We have been to a lot of different places, but Harvest has one of the best food,” he said. “We can also get a quick lunch if we sit at the bar.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Saghatelian said he and his colleagues do not talk about work when eating out, but about TV shows, personal lives, and sports.

“It’s a good mix of just being friends and colleagues,” he said.

For History Professor Emma Rothschild, going home for lunch is an option she can enjoy because she lives close to campus. She said she usually picks up to-go food from eateries in the square because she does not cook much except on weekends, especially since all her children are grown up.

“I go to Felipe’s, Chipotle, or Qdoba about once a week to get the rice and beans,” Rothschild said.

When she stays on campus, Rothschild often meets with visitors from outside of Harvard or has lunch with the teaching fellows. For example, her Thursday lunches are reserved for the postdoctoral fellows. She said the Center for History and Economics gets food catered from Thai or Chinese restaurants. When she has visitors, Rothschild said she goes to Harvest or Casablanca.

According to Martin, students can invite professors, faculty, or staff to eat with them in the dining hall at any meal, any day of the week through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Student/Faculty Dining Program. This is in addition to the biannual Faculty Dinner that each House and Annenberg hosts.

“Nourishment is important, but lunch time is also an opportunity to sit down with someone face to face and interact with either friends, colleagues, or students,” Levitsky said.

—Staff writer Jane Seo can be reached at janeseo@college.harvard.edu.