Believe it or not, one of the things I miss most about college is the food. Meals at university dining halls may not seem so inspiring to most, and of course Virginia Tech had its own share of unsavory cafeteria meals. But we have West End Market, which makes up for it all. Serving up steak by the ounce, fresh lobster, gourmet soups & salads and mouthwatering wraps, it is hands down the most popular dining center on campus. Built relatively recently in 1999, it has since received several awards, most recently earning Virginia Tech the title of No.1 Best Campus Food in the United States in the 2010 edition of The Princeton Review! You read right, NUMBER ONE in the nation, bitches.
The dish I miss most from West End Market is without question the London Broil. It’s marinated just right, cooked to perfection, and the mushroom sauce that it’s topped with harmonizes so well with the steak. I still suffer from cravings for it, three years after graduating from Tech. I’ve talked to some other alumni and it appears that this is a common condition that hits during post-college life. I just do not have the same luxury that most of them do to make the 4-5 hour drive down from DC to quench such cravings every so often, since I am now on the opposite side of the country from my beloved London Broil.
The other day, as I was daydreaming once again about those moist, tender cuts of steak, I got curious and tried doing a search to see if there was a recipe out there to replicate West End’s signature London Broil. Sure enough, there was. I nearly peed my pants with excitement! I scurried off to the supermarket to gather the ingredients and set to work on preparing my favorite college meal. Instead of marinating for 3-4 hours as the recipe instructed, I let the steak soak in the marinade overnight to make sure the flavors really sank in. Also, we don’t have a gas grill that we can use, so we had to improvise in the way that we cooked the steak — I seared them a couple minutes on each side on the stove, then stuck them in the oven for approximately 7 minutes.
…and devour it I did. To tell the truth, I was a little disappointed. The London Broil itself came out pretty good, although it probably could have been better had it been cooked on an actual grill. I think the failure was mainly in the mushroom sauce. I’m not sure if the recipe has it all wrong or if the type of teriyaki sauce I bought was too strong, but all I could taste was teriyaki, and it kind of ruined the London Broil altogether. Absent were the flavorful notes and subtle mushroom taste that I had loved so much in West End’s London Broil. It just wasn’t the same. And so my quest for West End’s London Broil continues. If one of you Hokies out there has mastered how to recreate this nostalgic dish, please share your recipe with me! Because if I don’t find a way soon, I may just have to kidnap one of the cooks at J.P.’s Chop House at West End to personally make it for me….
P.S. This was the 100th blog post on our blog! I’m personally impressed with myself that I’ve been able to consistently stick with this blogging project thusfar. Truth be told, it’s me blogging 95% of the time and Dan only 5%, so I’m not sure if you can really call it a couple’s blog… ::sigh:: Gotta step it up, hubby!
Claire
June 2, 2010 @ 8:01 am
Misono this is too funny… I miss it too!!! I remember one year, at the end of the semester, I used up extra dining cash on two lobsters, and made lobster rolls. I was eating better in college than I do now!
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 8:05 am
haha* Me too! I get hit by regular cravings. I think West End food and trips to Homeplace are some of the top things I miss about Tech. 🙂
Brian
June 2, 2010 @ 8:31 am
this has amused me to no end and I’m not even a huge fan of london broil!
When my friends came to visit from UPenn I just took them to D2 and they were amazed by our dining program. Man…we were spoiled…
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 9:21 am
How can you not be a fan of London Broil? Especially from West End?! haha*
D2 was really good too! Such a huge upgrade (both in terms of food and decor) from when it was Dietrick. Any dining hall that has the words “die” and “trick” in its name is bound to be sketchy…. ::sigh:: I miss college food! We WERE spoiled, weren’t we?
vinci
June 2, 2010 @ 8:58 am
I dun recall teriyaki sauce for the marinate for London broil, also bourbon was used. Bay leaves were in whole (but probably from making a batch). And yeah, actual grill would defiantly make the difference.
And for the mushroom gravy, they were made in the main kitchen, and I only saw it made like twice. Maybe I can get some information on it later.
And yes, I miss them very much
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 2:28 pm
Ah, Bourbon! That was definitely missing from the recipe. It seems like the recipe got it all wrong. 🙁
Yes! If you could find out how to make the mushroom sauce, I would be forever grateful! Oh how I miss it….
stef
June 2, 2010 @ 9:29 am
how cute are you to try to make it yourself! =)
you must’ve really wanted it huh? keke
a valiant effort!!
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 2:30 pm
Stef! Yes, I have been totally craving it for the past three years since leaving Tech. I actually hadn’t gone to West End that often during the last couple years I was a student because I was living off campus and all my classes were on the other side of campus so West End was a little too far… I totally miss it now though! Should have gone more often when I had the chance!
Kaori Zinke
June 2, 2010 @ 9:40 am
Hey Misono! I LOVE your blog! And I didn’t discover it until just now! awesome~~ mmm those pictures had my mouth watering~ I would love to learn how to make that, also! And I am a foodie, too! I love food! haha, have you seen Julie and Julia, the movie?? I love it! Keep me posted on this blog, k? Keep up the great work!!
-Kaori
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
Kaori! I’m so glad you like our blog!
I saw that you love cooking too, from your photo project on Facebook! We should definitely get together and have cooking/baking time since I’m right over in El Cerrito. Foodies unite!
I did see Julie and Julia just recently ~ really good movie! 🙂 It inspired me to cook more, too!
Sang
June 2, 2010 @ 2:07 pm
geez you must have been rich with your flex, haha. I would only eat the wraps and burgers and fries at west end. Sometime to stretch the flex dollars, i would get just fries. Those were some dang good fries. I would get london broil if they had it at D2. I ate at D2, ALOT. Best bang for the bucks in my opinion. Sometime express. Best meal at D2? Chicken Pan Pie. Man, I miss D2. Just chilling out with people, eating alot of food after coming back from the gym. Man, sigh…..
Although I liked D2 better when it was Dietrick! I love that no thinking cafeteria style layout. We were spoiled….
Sang
June 2, 2010 @ 2:08 pm
I didn’t eat outside of the campus actually. I was so cheap….also we had chik fila and that BBQ place. Man we had so many options!
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 2:18 pm
LOL, I noticed that the Major Flex plan was always too much for the girls and not enough for the guys! We’d have like $100 left over at the end of each semester while the boys would keep having to put more money in. I think I ended up eating at Owen’s the most because it was less crowded than West End and D2 and was more central to campus… when I lived offcampus it was all about Au Bon Pain because work and my classes were all in Torgerson/Squires area and upper quad.
I remember my last year at Tech, they were doing a survey on possibly adding a Chili’s on campus… don’t know if that ever came to fruition. Although I’d take West End over Chili’s any day!
Ahhh I miss Tech! I just got a little teary-eyed remembering all this.
Akiho
June 2, 2010 @ 2:42 pm
I thought this looked familiar! I had forgotten how good west end is until I saw your blog. I loved the london broil and it was fun getting lobster at the end of the semester with the left over flex money 🙂
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 8:06 pm
Akiho, at least you can still go eat there! Do it so I can live vicariously through you… 🙂
Amy
June 2, 2010 @ 9:33 pm
my friends were pretty impressed when i told them our dining halls~ i miss west end too.. i miss how i used to live in AJ and i could see west end from my window~ made to order salad, cuban sandwich, smoothies,… i think i gained my freshman-15 from west end…=X
Misono
June 2, 2010 @ 11:18 pm
I gained my Freshman 15 from West End and from eating ice cream everyday at Deets… heehee*
Amy
June 4, 2010 @ 8:06 pm
deets ice blend chai tea… so good…
are we forgetting the smoothies from west end? =D
Misono
June 4, 2010 @ 10:59 pm
OMG I totally forgot about the smoothies! SO good!
Peter
June 3, 2010 @ 6:39 am
omg, West End is the one place I miss the most at VT… oooh that steak..
Misono
June 3, 2010 @ 8:19 pm
I miss it the most too! To have some of the food there again….
mari
June 3, 2010 @ 3:01 pm
Congrats on your 100th blog!!
I enjoy reading it so much 🙂 although i coundn’t leave you comments every time…
Ahhh now that you blog about London Broil in a very….. eloquent way, I started missing it so much too!
Misono
June 3, 2010 @ 7:18 pm
Thanks Mari! 🙂
I’m happy for loyal readers like you! heehee*
I miss London Broil all the time! I just miss college in general… ::sigh::
Jon
June 3, 2010 @ 5:37 pm
i’m with sang haha… wraps and the triple decker sandwich at west end… and then once in a while i splurge on london broil
Misono
June 3, 2010 @ 8:19 pm
I think I ate the wraps more often than the London Broil too, because the line was always so long. My favorite was the jerk chicken wrap!
Jon
June 5, 2010 @ 5:39 am
dietrick was great for starved dude after a mccomas workout
Misono
June 5, 2010 @ 10:29 am
I liked going to Deet’s for ice cream after McComas… rewarding myself, but at the same time it kind of cancelled out the workout. haha*
Osamu
June 4, 2010 @ 12:37 pm
theyre making the campus food better with the construction of a new dining hall at the upper academic side between randolph and ICTAS. suppose to have qdoba, japanese teppanyaki, brueggers bagels, jamba juice, etc. Replacing shultz and the corps cadets eating place when they are constructing the new performance art building by snohetta on henderson lawn.
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/14929/dining-center-planned-for-academic-side
Peter
June 4, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
@Osamu: Niiiiiice, almost makes me wanna go back. *Almost* Hope it’s good tho. Their attempt to make Dietrick better wasn’t a huge success.
Misono
June 4, 2010 @ 1:03 pm
Wow, so many new places, and they sound so good! I’m glad they’re replacing Shultz… that was the one place I really did not like going to eat at. I think I only ate there once out of my 5 years at Tech.
geminivt via Livejournal
June 4, 2010 @ 9:26 pm
Great entry! Love it.
# 1, bitches. So funny!
I hear you on everything.
You’re quite the cook!
Misono
June 5, 2010 @ 10:31 am
Thanks! 🙂
I really need to find a recipe that will taste just like West End’s, though. 🙂
Kaori Zinke
June 7, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
!! a foodie party sounds awesome!!
Misono
June 8, 2010 @ 6:37 pm
Let’s do it! 😀
bestest
June 8, 2010 @ 12:00 pm
haha who drives 4 hrs all the way to VT to eat london broil? i don’t know if that’s a luxury so much as it is a bit crazy… i did have london broil the last time i was in blacksburg (i never realized how expensive it was without a dining plan) and it actually wasn’t as good as i remembered it to be… and they slice is so thin that you don’t get much anymore 🙁 i was kinda sad!
Misono
June 8, 2010 @ 6:38 pm
Well, maybe I should have rephrased that to say that they have the privilege of being able to visit Tech from time to time and have London Broil while they’re there. At least you live within driving distance. I haven’t been able to go back ever since the summer I graduated, even though I miss Tech terribly and would have loved to go back for every culture show and graduation. Oh, to have a taste of college life again!
That’s too bad that the London Broil is not as good anymore. I guess we had it good while we were there….
gnownaym via Livejournal
June 16, 2010 @ 6:30 am
Oh, man. I miss london broil sooooooo much. ;_;
Misono
June 20, 2010 @ 11:39 pm
Me too! :'(
Kara
July 22, 2010 @ 3:50 pm
Great Recipe! London broil is my favorite type of steak. I would recommend trying grass fed Black Angus beef when cooking your london broil steak. It is absolutely delicious and a healthier option. I work with La Cense Beef and because our beef is 100% grass fed it is higher in omega 3 acids and lower in calorie and fat as opposed to traditional grain fed beef. Try grass fed Black Angus Beef and you will be able to taste an even bigger difference!
Misono
July 23, 2010 @ 12:13 am
Good to know! Thanks for the tips! 🙂