I couldn’t help but stop and read when I saw that the Google Cafe people are looking for a new chef on their main campus. Employees get the benefit of free meals made from organic/sustainable ingredients. As part of their search, they posted their typical weekly menu.Read more if you want to be depressed about the cubicle farm you work in.
Via the Washington Post:
From the good folks at Google:
Just to give you an idea of what our chefs turn out, here’s the daily menu for one (admittedly the largest) of our 5 cafes.
SALADS
Ahi Tuna & Avocado Poke
Fresh line caught Ahi tuna diced with organic avocados and minced ginger, habanero chilies, cilantro, green onions and sesame seeds, tossed with a fresh dressing of orange juice, rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, lime juice, tangerine oil, sambal oeleck and garnished with black and white sesame seeds.
Calypso Rice Salad
Perfectly steamed wild rice with Valencia orange segments, currants, diced red bell peppers, cilantro, green and red onions, mint, coriander and cayenne, tossed with orange juice and extra virgin olive oil.
Tuna Melt Salad
Al dente elbow macaroni tossed with mayonnaise, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and lemon juice, then topped with tuna salad, cheddar cheese and green onions.
VEGHEADS
Eggplant, Tomato & Onion Skewers
Organic eggplant, tomatoes and onions, skewered, baked, and topped with cilantro chutney and yogurt sauce.
Stir-fried Cauliflower
Organic cauliflower stir-fried with mustard seeds, turmeric, diced tomatoes and red onions.
Greek Spinach Salad
Organic baby spinach, Greek feta cheese, roasted tomatoes, red onions, Kalamata olives and toasted pistachio nuts, tossed to order with a dressing of fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, oregano and minced garlic.
CHARLIE’S GRILL
Pork Loin Steak
Berkshire Farms pork loin brined in marjoram, paprika, red wine vinegar and brown sugar, then seared to perfection. Served with a roasted red pepper sauce.
Eggplant Ratatouille
Organic eggplant roasted with Roma tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, white onions, bell peppers, garlic, basil, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and a splash of red wine.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Organic russet potatoes mashed with buttermilk, cream and butter.
BACK TO ALBUQUERQUE
Agua Fresca… Mora
Blackberry infused water.
Pollo en Huerto
Free range chicken with garden vegetables: organic zucchini, onions, fresh corn off the cob, tomatoes, green, red and yellow bell peppers, carrots, jalapeños, cilantro, garlic and oregano.
Vegetarian Tamale Casserole
A casserole of organic zucchini, carrots, onions, green and yellow bell peppers, corn off the cob, green peas and diced tomatoes, with chili powder, oregano, cumin and garlic.
Snap Peas
Organic snap peas sautéed with garlic and extra virgin olive oil.
EAST MEETS WEST
Seared Day Boat Scallops in Green Coconut Curry Sauce
Day Boat scallops seared to perfection and tossed in green curry coconut. Topped with a red bell pepper coulis and daikon sprouts.
Pad Thai Noodles
Pad Thai noodles stir-fried with yellow and red bell peppers, garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro and Thai basil.
Broccoli, Cauliflower & Haricot Verts
Stir-fry of organic broccoli, cauliflower and haricot verts with garlic, ginger and Dave’s special brown sauce.
Jasmine Rice
Jasmine-scented rice steamed to perfection.
AL FORNO ROMANO
Roasted Pork Loin
Berkshire Farms pork loin with mozzarella and bell pepper sauce.
Roma & Green Onion
Organic Roma tomatoes, green onions, Gruyère and fontina cream.
I PIADINI
Arugula with Dried Apricots
Organic arugula with dried apricots, shaved Parmesan cheese, tossed with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.
IL SECONDO PIATTO
Herb Roasted Chicken
Free range chicken legs and thighs roasted to perfection with extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs and herb salt.
Creamy Tomato Polenta
A lush blend of polenta, slow roasted tomatoes, cream and butter.
Sautéed Wild Mushrooms
Organic shiitake, cremini, button and oyster mushrooms sautéed in garlic and herb salt.
Capelin Pesto
Toasted pine nuts, basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic and herb salt.
SOUPS
Spinach Lentil Dahl
Tropical Shrimp Bisque
Wild Rice & Pork
Sweet Onion with Peas (chilled)
DESSERTS
Red Velvet Cake with Bright White Frosting
Hazelnut Shortcakes with Plum Compote
Chocolate Coconut Cheesecake
Creamy Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies
Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
KT says
I will be very interested to hear your thoughts on Mother’s. I have yet to be impressed when I go there, but I seem to be alone in that opinion. They were recently highlighted in Budget Travel magazine (along with Jake’s).
girl_cook says
Off-night dining- there are pluses and minuses. The minuses are that the chef isn’t normally there on Sunday or Monday, and, as Bourdain says, never order fish on a Monday. The pluses, from my experience, are not dealing with crowds and a lot of times getting better, not worse, food and service. Fridays and Saturdays (although to a lesser extent than say New Year’s Eve and Valentines Day) are widely regarded as amateur nights. EVERYONE in Portland and the surrounding ‘burbs wants to eat at 7-730, and, because in Portland the customer controls the restaurant rather than vice versa, restaurants will pack and shove and turn and burn as much as necessary. Quite obviously, there’s no way I can cook and plate 20 meals at one time and give them the same attention and detail as if I was cooking 11, for example. It depresses me sometimes when I know something isn’t as good as it should be just because I have to get too much food out at once. One time, after expressing this, I was told by a prominent Portland chef that it’s just the way it is and that only 5% of people would notice 5% of the time that the food isn’t necessarily as it should be. And you know, he’s right, but that doesn’t make it okay or make me feel better about it.
I’ve ranted enough so my final words are this- eat out on Tuesday.
Anonymous says
One more meal to go, but so far I have a pretty strong opinion.
Based on your earlier comments, I’m guessing this does not bode well for Mothers…
rah says
Geez… who would somebody have to sleep with just to be able to get a simple hamburger? Or do they have to leave Googleville under the cover of darkness and go to BK?
PDXFoodDude says
Girl_Cook, what you say makes sense. I knew the chef isn’t normally there on Sun-Mon but always hope to have a good meal those days anyway. Only place that has happened is Gotham and Paleys. It is too bad because I really like going out to dinner on Sunday. To tell the truth, I never got the whole closed Sun thing, but I grew up in California where everything is closed Monday. That makes much more sense to me.
Years ago when I moved to this area, one of the first ‘good’ restaurants I went to was Higgins on Thanksgiving. The entire meal sucked and I didn’t go back for a long time.
KT, I should have the Mothers review up Thursday. One more meal to go, but so far I have a pretty strong opinion.