Plate & Pitchfork revamped its menu in an effort to attract more students to the restaurant, adding 10 new items to its menu.
At its meeting Monday night, the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee sampled the eatery’s new food and discussed ways in which the venue could further improve the dining experience.
“We are listening to students and taking in suggestions and advice,” said Plate & Pitchfork pastry chef Amelia Lindsey. “We want to make sure students feel comfortable and taken care of.”
The Faculty Commons becomes Plate & Pitchfork during dinner hours and is open Monday through Friday. The restaurant promotes healthy and locally grown dining options. Lindsey noted that the restaurant’s meat is freshly ground and from local areas, adding that Plate & Pitchfork provides gluten-free and vegan choices.
The dishes DUSDAC members sampled included pork buns, two different pizzas, vegan stuffed pumpkin and various desserts.
The restaurant’s new menu items include an appetizer, six main menu dishes and three desserts. New dishes include a seared salmon hotpot, braised beef short ribs and a seafood pasta bowl. Pumpkin chocolate chip bread pudding and vegan apple crisp are two of the new desserts.
In addition to tasting the food, committee members gave a number of suggestions to improve Plate & Pitchfork’s visibility among Duke students. DUSDAC co-Chair Alex Klein, a senior and former online editor for The Chronicle, recommended that the group provide suggestions for new ways to advertise.
Members noted that although the food is high-quality, many students are not especially familiar with Plate & Pitchfork. The committee noted the importance of prominent signs bringing attention to the new menu.
Franca Alphin, director of nutrition services at Student Health, suggested that Plate & Pitchfork focus on a signature dish with a name that could spread among students.
The committee also recognized the positive effect that serving beer, liquor and cocktails could have on the restaurant’s business.
DUSDAC dedicated its meeting to Drew Everson, a senior who passed away Saturday after sustaining severe head and body trauma from an accidental fall. Everson served as Campus Council liaison for the group last year. At the start of the meeting, Klein and rest of the committee members held a moment of silence for Everson.
Klein noted that Everson “meant a whole lot to DUSDAC” despite coming in at a time when the committee’s members did not necessarily want to include a Campus Council member. He called Everson the best liaison he could have asked for and someone who created a deep bond between the two organizations.
In other business:
Additionally, DUSDAC will host a table at the Clock Tower Quad on Friday for Foodweek from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.