Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Robert Mullen

Sounds of jazz and the smell of food filled the air and lured the SIUE community to the quad during A Taste of SIUE Monday.

Local restaurants came to the university offering inexpensive food to help celebrate SIUE's 50th anniversary. Bella Milano, Cold Stone Creamery, Culver's, Ravanelli's, Krieger's, Neruda and SIUE Dining Services were just some of the restaurants in attendance.

Since Laura Debo's favorite restaurant, La Fonda, did not have a booth, the junior nursing major was eating rigatoni and garlic bread from Ravanelli's.

"Dude, this is amazing," Debo said. "It was a very popular booth."

Up to 20 people stood in line at the booth for Ravanelli's at one point.

"It must be because people smelled it," Catering Manager Jeanette Kelly said.

Ravanelli's has locations in Granite City and Collinsville, and Kelly said two of her workers attend SIUE. She said the restaurant also makes frequent deliveries to Lovejoy Library.

"If the order is more than $100, we deliver," Kelly said. "Also, all of our food is made from scratch."

Stacy Monroe, who has worked at the restaurant for about a year, said the rigatoni, garlic bread and carrot cake being sold Monday would normally cost about $7, but only cost $3 that day.

Leigh Ann Bluhm, who works at Bella Milano, knew what a good price that those in attendance were getting.

"These places aren't cheap," Bluhm said. "This is a great deal."

Jennifer Atnip, a senior majoring in social work, thought about grabbing some food before class.

"I'm a poor college kid, and this is a good price," Atnip said.

Senior public relations major Ian Ashcraft thought the same thing.

"Ravanelli's seems like the best for the buck," Ashcraft said.

At the Cold Stone Creamery booth, two flavors were being offered, Founders Favorite and Dark Chocolate Devotion. Customers could get one for $2 or two for $3. Karen Becker, who co-owns the ice cream shop with her mother-in-law, went to SIUE in the 1990s.

"We want students to know that there's a Cold Stone Creamery right down the road," Becker said.

Sophomore international business major Maureen Anderson is a shift leader at the Edwardsville Cold Stone Creamery and has worked there ever since it opened. Her favorite ice cream is dark chocolate with brownie and hot fudge mixed in.

Anderson said she loves working the drive through, and she can have customers through it in two to three minutes. She calls it "fast and zippy."

Continued...

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