Dining Guide: Food For Thought: Keeping Heritage Alive in the Kitchen

Walking into Matt Piamonte’s apartment while you’re hungry is probably not the best idea. Herbs, spices and ingredients are stuffed into almost every corner of his kitchen, and, often, the smell of something cooking will make your stomach grumble. 

“My mom worked the night shift as a nurse, so, rather than have my dad cook the same three things over and over, my mom taught me how to cook,” Piamonte, a sophomore emergency medicine major, said. “She started with what I liked to eat, then we started with traditional Filipino foods.”

According to the Pitt Fact Book 2014, 8 percent of Pitt students are international, coming from a total of 111 countries. This is not counting all the students who have grown up eating international foods. Pitt students are finding ways to keep their heritage alive in the kitchen.

Along with cooking at home, students can easily find places around Oakland that serve international foods, including Asian, Mexican and Middle Eastern food.

Salim’s, located on Centre Avenue in Oakland, has served students and residents since 1979 when it started out as a small grocery store. Under the direction of Salim El-Tahch, the small store now sells prepared foods and has a dining area. 

“Most of my customers are students and faculty from the schools around here,” El-Tahch said.

According to El-Tahch, only about a quarter of his customers are Middle Eastern — the rest are all types of nationalities. 

“The atmosphere is very informal, very casual,” El-Tahch said. “Some take food home with them. Others eat here. We often send party trays to the University, too.” 

Students have the opportunity to eat international foods on campus as well. According to Cara Masset, director of University News, Pitt and Sodexo work together to meet the dietary needs of students. They also listen to students directly about what they want.

“An example of this [cooperation] is the monthly food committee meeting where students can come and let Sodexo know what they like about dining on campus and where they think there are opportunities to improve. The meetings are held in partnership with the Student Government Board,” Masset said. 

Meeting times for the monthly food committees are posted on the Pitt Foodies Twitter account.

While the University is still determining the exact number of students who took part in Pitt’s meal plan this year, Masset said that generally, there has been an increase in students on meal plans. 

“The selection of food is constantly evolving based on communication with students,” Masset said.

Students also find way to blend American food choices with their own own foods. Sophomore biology major Yisu Xu can’t decide if he prefers American food or Chinese food.

“I would say half and half,” Xu said. “American food and Chinese food equally share my diet. I do like to eat at the Chick-fil-A down in Cathy.”

Piamonte favors cooking in his own kitchen rather than going out to eat. He says it’s easy to go out and buy food at a local grocery store, and then look up recipes online. It also gives him a feeling of accomplishment.

“Saying ‘I can cook’ feels like an achievement in itself,” Piamonte said. “I can keep my family tradition going while also feeling healthier and being able to share what I love with friends.”