The Chickpea is a Mediterranean platform serving a variety of bowls and shawarma wraps
By JESSICA YUNG — campus@theaggie.org
This fall quarter, The Coffee House (CoHo) introduced The Chickpea, a Mediterranean platform located in the spot that formerly housed the salad platform Croutons.
The menu includes wraps, bowls and salads that feature chicken shawarma or falafel, pita bread, chickpeas, turmeric rice, sauces, vegetables and multiple types of hummus. Customers can customize the bowl, salad or wrap with chicken shawarma or falafel. The chicken options are priced at 8.95 dollars and the falafel options at 7.25 dollars, according to the menu. The CoHo’s website states the platform’s hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Megan Li, a fourth-year philosophy major and student manager of the front of house staff at The CoHo, said that The Chickpea is gaining in popularity.
“It’s good [and] it’s healthy,” Li said. “You can get your fiber intake, carbs [and] protein and it’s delicious. I think that’s probably why people have been responding to it so well.”
The CoHo also makes most of the ingredients that The Chickpea serves.
“We make almost all the ingredients in house,” Li said. “We pickle our own onions, we make all the sauces ourselves, the chickpea salad [and] the chicken [we make] ourselves as well. We make all of these things for it, and they’re all really good.”
Additionally, The Chickpea offers halal chicken, a new switch that the entirety of The CoHo made earlier this quarter.
On Oct. 7, ASUCD President Gaius Ilupeju, Internal Vice President Aaminah Mohammad and the Muslim Student Association released a joint statement on Instagram about the inclusion of halal chicken at The CoHo.
“All chicken served at the Memorial Union including TXMX Grill, [The] Chickpea and Fickle Pickle Deli is 100% halal,” the statement reads. “[This change] makes delicious, inclusive dining options more accessible on campus.”
Li affirmed their statement and further explained The CoHo’s intentions behind the switch.
“[The Coffee House] definitely [wants] to be more inclusive and make it so that more people can enjoy [The] Chickpea with whatever background they’re coming from,” Li said.
Li went on to explain how The Chickpea was a passion project by one of the kitchen staff members.
“One of the kitchen student managers had a passion for this kind of cuisine and created the entire menu, and it was distinctly different enough from the other platforms for it to be feasible [and] for it to be a separate platform,” Li said.
The Chickpea currently occupies the space where the previous platform, Croutons, once stood. Li said that one of the reasons why Croutons has been transformed into The Chickpea is because it was less popular.
Sean Aralar, a student worker at The CoHo, offered his opinion on why Croutons did not succeed.
“I’m not a salad person,” Aralar said. “But the thing is, The Coho already [has] pre-made, assembled salads that you could get there, so having Croutons with the pre-made salads [would] be pretty redundant, honestly.”
Aralar acknowledged that The Chickpea’s presence in The CoHo introduces something different for their patrons.
“I think [The] Chickpea […] introduces a much-needed […] expansion in food variety for The CoHo,” Aralar said. “So, I’d say we definitely fulfill a very certain niche.”
Students are becoming increasingly interested in The Chickpea’s Mediterranean offerings.
Bethany Qamer, a UC Davis alum, spoke about her experiences eating at The Chickpea.
“It’s important that I’m getting more of a variety of nutrients in my body, and these bowls help provide that,” Qamer said. “Chickpeas, falafel, rice, greens […] It’s a good mix of carbs, proteins and important nutrients that makes for good fuel for your body.”
Written by: Jessica Yung — campus@theaggie.org
