Throughout my first two semesters at Swarthmore, I can truly say that I have made some of the best memories in the dining hall on campus. In a span of a year, the Dining and Community Commons (DCC) has given me new friends, fun traditions, and most importantly, a multitude of ice cream concoctions.
The Dining and Community Commons is Swarthmore’s recently renovated buffet-style dining center, featuring seven different stations, meeting rooms for leisure productivity, as well as a scenic balcony overlooking the Swarthmore neighborhood. One of these stations is the lovely ice cream and dessert bar, offering both dairy and vegan options for students to indulge in. One can simply grab a scoop of chocolate ice cream and take a slice of brownie on the side. In my own fashion, however, I took my desserts into some routes of experimentation. I would love to show a few of them here!
- Pink-a-boo
Strawberry cheesecake and coffee ice cream with a hefty spoon of Nutella and a blondie slice. I remember this being one of my very first creations! I enjoyed the visuals of this dessert and the contrast being given by the color of the strawberry cheesecake among the neutral colors. As someone who does not drink coffee often, I enjoyed this coffee ice cream in particular!
- Ryan
Vegan and gluten-free oatmeal acai berry ice cream, decorated with saltine crackers and topped with a chocolate chip cheesecake. The soup station always offers a variety of breads and toppings, and I decided to take some inspiration from there. I grew up eating acai back home in Guam, so it was nice to indulge in both flavors in one bowl. I do not often go for cheesecake, but the chocolate chips spoke to me. This is probably one of my favorites. I definitely recommend saltines in ice cream!
- Monster mash
Vanilla and caramel ice cream with mountainous scoops of Oreo crumbs, M&M’s, and rainbow sprinkles. This was created during my ice cream meeting break with my ORAA (Organizing to Redefine Asian Activism) family. That evening, I was craving Cold Stone, so I decided to make my own with the ice cream bar toppings. 10/10 with a cherry on top!
- Cake slop
Oat vanilla ice cream mixed with white chocolate chip peanut butter, regular vanilla cupcake, and gluten-free vanilla cupcake. I created this in the middle of a dinner study session with a few friends. It tasted better than it looked! This will certainly be a go-to if I am ever craving an ice cream cake. I would love to make this again using other cupcake flavors!
Beyond the endless possibilities of ice cream concoctions available in the DCC, the time I have spent in this dining hall is one I simply cannot emulate in other places. My love for the dessert bar was further greeted with the dining staff’s love and care for the sustenance and students they served. One staff member named Gary, in particular, looked forward to my run at the ice cream bar before I finished every dinner. He called me “flower,” as I constantly wore flower accessories throughout the year. “Dessert time, flower?” he would ask, as I gave a massive grin and an enthusiastic confirmation.
These moments have truly made me cherish the simple routine I have made here at Swarthmore. Thanks to the dining hall’s ice cream, my first year here has been filled with nothing-but-sweet moments with friends and the Swat community.
