I love this image of the sign outside Autry House. Even without enlarging it you can see that it says near the bottom “Refectory Cafeteria, Open for Lunch Monday – Friday.” It was taken in the fall of 1990 (by Caroline Conn per the label on the back), just before I arrived at Rice:
I ate there often in my first years here and I have fond memories indeed of the chicken and sausage gumbo, followed by a piece of coconut cream pie. I also love the old fashioned word “refectory,” which nicely captures the warm feeling of communal meals with my fellow graduate students.
Those were really the days.
Hmmm. Chicken and sausage gumbo, coconut cream pie. Wonder if they were a satellite of the Treebeards at Christ Church Cathedral?
It’s been there a while. The late History Professor Charles Garside took his Baker College freshman group there in 1969.
Oh my, the food and atmosphere were so good! I went a few times when doing my ortho sports fellowship at Hermann Professional Building and with the Rice sports teams in 1994-95. Had to stop going or would’ve looked like a blimp with all those awesome lunches!
Was the Chef at the time the lady who had done the food at Autry House when they served meals there daily? I cannot recall her name but her food was special. Could explain Refectory.