There is only one man who consistently keeps GW students coming back to campus after days, weeks, months, and even years away from their college days. He is known quite simply as Manouch, and he opens his hot dog stand every Thursday to Saturday from about 10pm to 4am by the SMPA building (21st and H). This weekend, I chatted up a few alumni and plenty of fellow students while on line to get some of the best late-night food DC has to offer.
Upon returning from a night out (or sometimes in the midst of a painful all-nighter at Gelman), students flock to Manouch’s cart to get some salty, smoky, cheesy, and all-around delicious fare. He makes the absolute best hot dogs, half-smokes, and pretzels—all served up with nacho cheese, chili, or his famous GW Sauce: it’s a stewy concoction with herbs, potatoes, leeks, and possibly kidney beans? It’s actually a version of this Persian stew that I adore (Manouch himself is Persian, though he likes to be cryptic about his origins and life story).
More than the food, however, is the experience of Manouch. He’s got the wit and charisma of a stand-up comedian, with the intelligence and plethora of experiences that one can only attribute to an esteemed academic. He offers up advice on love, school, and friendships, whether you ask him or not, and he’s got some of the greatest one-liners. One of the alum I spoke with on Saturday night (3 years out of GW and still coming back for Manouch!) told me that he once said to her, “Your face tells the story of a woman with many friends and suitors, but no time for homework.” Another friend of mine had a lengthy conversation with him about time-space compression.
Simple perfection. And thus goes another tribute to the man who has made my weekends at GW all the merrier. I’ll likely post a third before I graduate, one to end the trilogy—and it will be packed with quotes. Just you wait! In the meantime, however, I implore all of you to pay a visit to the hot dog stand where everybody knows your name.
As always, email with questions! ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu
~~~Shireen
No comments:
Post a Comment