Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee met Thursday to discuss changes to Il Forno’s menu as well as the possible addition of Sake Bomb to Merchants-on-Points.
Kyle Rosch, general manager for Enzo’s Pizza Company which operates Il Forno's, presented Il Forno’s idea to add Italian wraps and antipasto options to their menu as either grab-and-go items or as part of an Italian wrap bar. Il Forno hopes to incorporate a pick-two option to their menu—half a wrap, salad or antipasto—priced at around seven dollars.
“Most people consider pizza and pasta to be heavier dinner options, so we are aiming to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner through lighter and healthier choices such as wraps and antipastos,” Rosch said.
DUSDAC taste tested pasta salads, chicken bruschetta, basil chicken pesto and marinated portabella wraps for Il Forno’s menu. Members came to a general consensus that both the wraps and antipastos would be good additions to Il Forno’s lunch menu.
Additionally, after adding gluten-free pizza to their menu earlier this month, Il Forno aims to serve gluten-free pasta by the time students return from Fall Break. Because Enzo’s already has gluten-free pasta, all that Il Forno has to do is find the best way to isolate gluten-free pasta in their pasta bar, Rosch said.
Il Forno will also be adding several new desserts and an evolving list of dinner specials. DUSDAC members were particularly excited to hear that "cinna-bits"—called "cinna-zos" on Enzo’s menu—tiramisu and cannolis are now all available at Il Forno’s station. Although the vendor is still testing out the popularity of certain dinner specials, Rosch said he predicts regular specials to include lasagna, baked ziti, chicken parmigiana and chicken marsala.
“Since the beginning of the year, DUSDAC has been receiving massive amounts of feedback on West Union… we pass this feedback on to vendors like Il Forno who then get better,” senior Nelson Winrow said.
Following Il Forno’s presentation, DUSDAC discussed the addition of Sake Bomb, an Asian bistro and sushi bar, to Merchants-on-Points. Although DUSDAC members plan to hear from Sake Bomb representatives next week, they expressed concern over the restaurant’s location—approximately 15 minutes off campus—and menu items being priced higher than they had imagined, mostly in the eight to nine dollar range.
“We currently have three openings for Merchants-on-Points, but it might be best to wait to fill them. We want to collect data first semester and figure out where there is demand… Sake Bomb might not be unique enough,” said senior Brian Taylor, chair of DUSDAC.
In other business:
Duke is organizing a rotation of celebrity chefs to come to campus and host cooking demonstrations for the community. In addition, plans are being made to offer a six-week cooking class each semester that will meet one night a week.
“Students continually express interest in learning how to cook," Director of Dining Services Robert Coffey said. "We want to offer a course that will teach them everything from how to eat healthy to which knives to use to how to marinate meat."
The meeting concluded with remarks about concerns over the demand for lower-priced lunch options and complaints regarding a charge on water cups in West Union.
“Everything is still in flux,” Taylor said about DUSDAC’s efforts to find what works best in West Union.
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