There's an infallible sign that autumn has arrived at UAM, and it's not the calendar. It's seeing someone in the cafeteria queue with their sweatshirt up to their chin, looking at the daily menu and saying with relief: "today there's a spoon dish."
Gone are the September salads, when we still believed that this year we would keep our notes up to date. Now it's time for something else: hot dishes, the kind that reconcile you with life between a 9 AM class and a 3 PM internship.
Spoon dishes that have been on campus this week
No inventions: this is what really appeared on the daily menus published on ComeCampus these days.
Sports Centre and Economics Large: chickpeas and pumpkin cream soup
If there's a dish that says "autumn" without opening its mouth, it's the pumpkin cream soup. And if there's one that says "I won't fall asleep in class this afternoon... well, maybe I will", it's the sautéed chickpeas. Both have been on the menus of the Sports Centre and Economics Large, with the menu at 6,75 €.
Law: stewed potatoes with meat and potatoes with ribs
At the Faculty of Law Cafeteria, they've taken autumn very seriously: stewed potatoes with meat on the €6.75 menu and potatoes with ribs on the €8.75 menu. Dishes with solid arguments, like a good appeal for cassation. No lawyer has filed any allegations.
Philosophy Large: seafood soup
In Philosophy and Arts, the seafood soup has been proof that you can go to the sea without leaving Cantoblanco. Ideal for warming up before a three-hour class about some thinker who was also cold.
Economics Small: vegetable cream soup
For those looking for something warm but light (or for those who say "this month I'm starting to take care of myself"), the vegetable cream soup from Economics Small. Menu at 8,75 €: an investment with guaranteed emotional return.
And the terraces? There's still a game to play
Just because it's cool in the morning doesn't mean you have to give up the sun. Autumn in Madrid is like this: you leave with a coat at 9 AM and by 2 PM you don't even need a scarf.
The Sports Centre terrace, always
We already said it back then: the terrace of the Sports Centre Cafeteria is the best terrace at UAM. And in autumn, with a little sun at midday, it's still the place where half the university ends up. The perfect plan: first a spoon dish, then coffee in the sun and a "short" after-dinner chat that, as always, will last longer than reviewing an exam.
Veteran tip: take advantage of the good days, because when the really cold ones arrive, you'll have to look at the terrace from inside, with nostalgia and a coffee with milk in your hands.
The spoon dish as a university lifestyle
Let's be honest: the spoon dish is a student's best friend in autumn. It warms you up, fills you up, costs the same as any other menu (around €6.75-€8.75 on campus) and gives you the energy you need to face the library... or to convince yourself that today is better for tomorrow.
Also, the menus change every day, so today's spoon dish doesn't have to be tomorrow's. That's why it's worth taking a look before deciding where to eat.
Before going down to eat, check the menu
Is it stew, cream, or soup today? Don't risk it: go to comecampus.com and check the daily menus of all UAM cafeterias before leaving class. That way you choose your spoon dish with knowledge and, if the sun comes out, you already know where to have your coffee.
Happy autumn, and may you never lack a spoon dish.