Serving up a new culinary focus at Union South
By Emily Connor
For many, Union restaurants have only served as a place to grab a quick bite before heading to work or between classes. But a vision for something more inspired Union chefs and restaurant managers to imagine bigger dining possibilities for Union South. This fall, the transforming of Wisconsin Union’s usual eating spots into unique culinary destinations will continue with the opening of Harvest Grains and Ginger Root.
Over five years ago, questionaires and student surveys were handed out on campus for ideas for the new Union South. Many students agreed they wanted more upscale restaurants and food options available in the new Union. Restaurant managers and chefs quickly went to work designing the concept and menus for the Union South dining kiosks. “While planning for the food operations at Union South the students were always on our mind,” said Union South head chef Tim Vertein. “We wanted to create restaurants for them that go beyond a place to simply meet and eat.” Per student and Union member request, Urban Slice, a pizza-by-the slice pizzeria was created as well as The Sett, a restaurant-quality burger and sandwich grill.
Students and Union members also wanted dining spots that were unique in both cuisine and food preparation. Ginger Root and Harvest Grains were developed to give students and Union members the interesting food options they craved. Harvest Grains features American lunch classics, including made-to-order flatbread sandwiches, soups and salads.
In addition, Ginger Root serves pan Asian inspired dishes, including fresh stir-fry, sushi and seasoned noodles. “A lot of research went into the equipment so that we could keep Ginger Root as authentic as possible,” said Tim. Chef Tim also said both restaurants’ food preparation will be kept as fresh as possible. “The research to create the recipes has taken months and we are constantly working on new items and improving the ones we have. Nearly all of the items are hand prepared in our kitchen.”
Selling items that are great-tasting, healthy and sustainable became a big focus of the menus for Ginger Root and Harvest Grains. “It was our goal to serve the highest quality food at a price that would be affordable for students, staff and Union members,” said Union South food service manager John Kesling. “It was also important for us to offer healthy options and to try to accommodate certain food allergies in a way that we hadn’t been able to before.”
But actually putting together well-tasting and quality menus complete with healthy and allergy conscious items for Ginger Root and Harvest Grains was no easy task for food managers and chefs. After figuring out affordable prices, managers began researching product costs. With some creative solutions, food managers realized they could create high quality products with minimal costs. For example, they discovered ordering chicken breasts and having staff cut and bread the meat themselves would be cheaper and fresher than ordering pre-breaded breasts. “We never took the easy way out when developing our recipes and menus,” said Jeff. “We were able to find creative ways to keep costs down and didn’t stop tweaking our recipes until we had a product that would make us proud.”
Union food managers and chefs figured out other ways they could further their sustainable food goals. Managers decided to take part in a community suppported agriculture (CSA) program through the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition. The program helps Ginger Root and Harvest Grains support local farms and offer special locally-grown products. Each week, the restaurants receive about one to three full grocery bags of locally harvested products. Items are often fruits and vegetables including sweet corn, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli and more. The items vary depending on what produce is in season and what has been recently harvested.
The selection does limit the amount of menu items which can be created, but the opportunity to support local farms and buy fresh produce was an opportunity managers couldn’t resist. “When using the CSA products, we have to create a selection that can only be offered while supplies last,” said John. “But so far we have made salads, potato salad, used some for pizza toppings and also created a gluten-free CSA vegetable stir fry.” The CSA specials will be served on Thursdays in Harvest Grains.
After only being open for a limited time this summer, Harvest Grains and Ginger Root will be fully operational this fall. Managers and chefs are confidant their new menus will be well-received by students and Union members and expect many to frequent these new culinary destinations.
Harvest Grains Fall Semester Hours (Sept. 2 to Dec. 15)
Monday through Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Ginger Root Fall Semester Hours (Sept. 2 to Dec. 15)
Monday through Friday: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: Closed
For more information about Harvest Grains and Ginger Root, please visit the Wisconsin Union website.
