There are many perks to sticking around campus after graduation. Abandoned furniture post-move out, continued printing access, and the air conditioned Smith Campus Center Living Room rank high on the list, but none can compare to my return to Taco Tuesday at Frank.
The esteemed Taco Tuesday was not always on my radar as a student. Rather, much like my Southern heritage, I began to appreciate it only when its imminent inaccessibility dawned on me as my time at Pomona drew to a close. My relationship with Frank dining hall has always been intimate – we were practically roommates freshman year, when every morning I would gaze upon it from my window and wonder, how difficult would it be to just install a zip-line directly onto the back patio? My sponsor group knew that we would ABEM (Always Be Eating Mexican) ASAFO (As Soon As Frank Opens) most nights of the week, which was perhaps the start of my journey away from Frank, away from Taco Tuesday….
Sometimes I didn’t want to ABEM on Tuesdays. I wanted to take my tastebuds far from North America and out to the wilds of Mongolian Wok at CMC or the various culinary cultures at Oldenborg’s dining hall. But by the time senior spring rolled around, I would find myself in the far-off foreign lands of Harvey Mudd’s sushi night and realize, There’s No Place Like Home. Home, where the tortillas are warm; home, where the guac is chunky; home, where the red and green sauce flows freely; home, at Frank Dining Hall. I would’ve clicked my ruby red slippers three times and been transported if I’d had them, and if I hadn’t already used my meal swipe elsewhere.
It was a sad day when I realized, then, I had eaten my last Taco Tuesday meal before graduation – goodbyes were said, tears were shed. Imagine, then, my elation at the news that Frank would be open for lunch during the summer! And, lo and behold, they’re still serving tacos on Tuesday! Usually, You don’t know what you got until it’s gone, but at least I am fortunate enough to be able to get it back a little while longer!