Spring Break
New campus eatery fits budgets, fills stomachs
Mego, short for Mediterranean-to-go, offers pitas, sandwiches, potatoes in the Riverfront Center near the Bookstore
Linda Le
Issue date: 4/4/07 Section: Dining & Nightlife Guide
At least there's one place on campus where construction is complete. The little corner in the Riverfront Center is no longer boarded up, and in its place is Sacramento State's newest eatery.
Mego, short for Mediterranean-to-go, is now up and running on campus. It has a wide range of food to choose from, and most of the food served is pretty healthy. It brings a different flavor to campus and is a nice alternative to the hot dogs and burritos offered on the side of campus where the Riverfront Center is located.
Mego serves sandwiches, pitas, salads and potatoes. The variety of toppings for the sandwiches and potatoes are broad and would fit most people's tastes. Also, the price is reasonable for a student's budget.
Of the three standard baked potatoes offered, I chose the Original ($3.99), which comes with salt, butter, mozzarella cheese, beef or polish sausage, Russian salad (a mix of peas, carrots and pickles with mayonnaise), Thousand Island dressing, ketchup, green olives and corn.
Keep in mind that you can mix and match when you order. I opted to not have Thousand Island dressing, ketchup and corn on my baked potato. I chose mushrooms instead. I was also able to have Monterey Jack cheese instead of the mozzarella.
I thought the baked potato had good flavor and was big enough to eat as a meal. The clerk will smash up the potato and mix the cheese and butter in first, then briefly re-heat the potato to melt the cheese. It made the flavor more mixed in, which I liked.
What I didn't like was that the polish sausage was cold - only heated from the potato itself. Personally, I prefer my meat hot, not cold. Also, the Russian salad was a bit foreign to me, and made my potato seem overwhelmed by mayonnaise. I would order the Original again, but I would ask that the sausage be heated with the cheese and butter too.
The other two baked potato options are the Vegetarian ($3.99) and the Back to Basics ($1.99). The Vegetarian comes with salt, butter, mozzarella cheese, a choice of sautéed vegetables, Russian salad, creamy French dressing, green olives and corn. The Back to Basics comes with salt, butter, ranch and bacon bits. The only thing I'd say the baked potato bar is missing is sour cream and chives.
In addition to the baked potato, I also tried the Chicken Gyro pita ($3.49). It comes from a cone of chicken (where the chicken is cut up and placed on a spinning cone to cook), a warm pita, tomato, red onion and Tzatziki sauce (a cucumber yogurt sauce).
The Chicken Gyro pita was very good. The chicken wasn't processed and had a good texture and the seasoning was yummy. The pita bread was toasty and buttery (not greasy like you'd find in other places) and had a good flavor, even though it wasn't homemade. The Tzatziki sauce was a little thick, but was delicious. It has a nice, subtle taste that brought together the flavors of the chicken and the pita nicely. It's very filling and at $3.49, it would make a great meal. You can even add a large soda for just $1 or add the soda and an order of Mediterranean steak fries for $2.
Mego also offers beef and lamb gyros on a sandwich ($3.99) or pita ($3.49). Other items on the menu include a variety of Italian panini sandwiches. They have the Siciliano, a roast beef panini ($4.25), the Napoletano, a chicken panini ($4.25), the Portofino, a roasted turkey panini and the Vegetariano, a vegetarian panini ($3.49).
Mego offers a healthy alternative to students at a reasonable price. It's also a great place for vegetarians to grab a bite. The biggest gripe I observed from Mego's patrons was the line. Once it forms, prepared to wait a long time. Hopefully, once all of the employees become comfortable with their jobs, the process will speed up. In the meantime, be prepared to wait. But given the quality of the food, it's worth the wait.
Linda Le can be reached at features@statehornet.com
Mego, short for Mediterranean-to-go, is now up and running on campus. It has a wide range of food to choose from, and most of the food served is pretty healthy. It brings a different flavor to campus and is a nice alternative to the hot dogs and burritos offered on the side of campus where the Riverfront Center is located.
Mego serves sandwiches, pitas, salads and potatoes. The variety of toppings for the sandwiches and potatoes are broad and would fit most people's tastes. Also, the price is reasonable for a student's budget.
Of the three standard baked potatoes offered, I chose the Original ($3.99), which comes with salt, butter, mozzarella cheese, beef or polish sausage, Russian salad (a mix of peas, carrots and pickles with mayonnaise), Thousand Island dressing, ketchup, green olives and corn.
Keep in mind that you can mix and match when you order. I opted to not have Thousand Island dressing, ketchup and corn on my baked potato. I chose mushrooms instead. I was also able to have Monterey Jack cheese instead of the mozzarella.
I thought the baked potato had good flavor and was big enough to eat as a meal. The clerk will smash up the potato and mix the cheese and butter in first, then briefly re-heat the potato to melt the cheese. It made the flavor more mixed in, which I liked.
What I didn't like was that the polish sausage was cold - only heated from the potato itself. Personally, I prefer my meat hot, not cold. Also, the Russian salad was a bit foreign to me, and made my potato seem overwhelmed by mayonnaise. I would order the Original again, but I would ask that the sausage be heated with the cheese and butter too.
The other two baked potato options are the Vegetarian ($3.99) and the Back to Basics ($1.99). The Vegetarian comes with salt, butter, mozzarella cheese, a choice of sautéed vegetables, Russian salad, creamy French dressing, green olives and corn. The Back to Basics comes with salt, butter, ranch and bacon bits. The only thing I'd say the baked potato bar is missing is sour cream and chives.
In addition to the baked potato, I also tried the Chicken Gyro pita ($3.49). It comes from a cone of chicken (where the chicken is cut up and placed on a spinning cone to cook), a warm pita, tomato, red onion and Tzatziki sauce (a cucumber yogurt sauce).
The Chicken Gyro pita was very good. The chicken wasn't processed and had a good texture and the seasoning was yummy. The pita bread was toasty and buttery (not greasy like you'd find in other places) and had a good flavor, even though it wasn't homemade. The Tzatziki sauce was a little thick, but was delicious. It has a nice, subtle taste that brought together the flavors of the chicken and the pita nicely. It's very filling and at $3.49, it would make a great meal. You can even add a large soda for just $1 or add the soda and an order of Mediterranean steak fries for $2.
Mego also offers beef and lamb gyros on a sandwich ($3.99) or pita ($3.49). Other items on the menu include a variety of Italian panini sandwiches. They have the Siciliano, a roast beef panini ($4.25), the Napoletano, a chicken panini ($4.25), the Portofino, a roasted turkey panini and the Vegetariano, a vegetarian panini ($3.49).
Mego offers a healthy alternative to students at a reasonable price. It's also a great place for vegetarians to grab a bite. The biggest gripe I observed from Mego's patrons was the line. Once it forms, prepared to wait a long time. Hopefully, once all of the employees become comfortable with their jobs, the process will speed up. In the meantime, be prepared to wait. But given the quality of the food, it's worth the wait.
Linda Le can be reached at features@statehornet.com
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