Regent Review-- October 2016

Regent Review Staff
Co-Editors in Chief
Nell Williamson Shaffer
and
Katie Buhman
Layout Editors
Hadar Ohana
and
Cailin Jordan
Layout and Design Advisor
Ms. Engelbart
Faculty Advisor
Mr. Nepper
Page 2
Feature
Restaurant Review: The Café Hollander
by Quinn Buhman
The Café
Hollander is Belgiumthemed
casual dining
establishment located at
the Hilldale Shopping
Center.
The atmosphere of
the restaurant resembles a
Dutch café - with bicycle
memorabilia galore.
With multiple seating
areas, (including a rooftop
patio) and a massive
bar, the Hollander can
hold a large number of
patrons. Unfortunately,
the high roof makes for
a noisy atmosphere as
the sound fills the space.
photo courtesy of cafehollander.com
The cuisine is
wide-ranging, from a
‘kale, spinach & quinoa’
salad to a ‘Rustic House
Jambalaya.’ However,
the main attractions are
the burgers and frites (the
Belgian equivalent of
French fries.) The portions
are quite large, usually
enough for two meals.
On my latest visit,
I chose the ‘Pretzel
Breakfast Sammy,’ a hot
sandwich loaded with
Muenster cheese, thickcut
bacon, herb garlic
cheese, hollandaise and
scrambled egg. It was
quite a messy ordeal to
eat but well worth the
struggle. Each flavor was
excellently pronounced
and blended beautifully.
The meal also
came with frites and I
chose the ‘basil aioli’
and the ‘roasted garlic
aioli’ as dipping sauces
for the frites. In Belgium,
it is traditional to dip
frites in mayonnaise
or mayonnaise-based
sauces. The sauces
each had their own
flavor, and beautifully
complimented the frites.
The ‘basil aioli’ had a
smoother, earthy taste
whereas the ‘garlic aioli’
had a pronounced “zing.”
For dessert, I chose
the ‘Fudge Brownie
Skillet.’ A massive
brownie, lathered in
salted-caramel pretzel
ice cream and whipped
cream was extremely
satisfying. The cold ice
cream and warm brownie
made a delightful
combination of chocolate
and vanilla, and I couldn’t
put my fork down.
Overall, I had a
wonderful experience
at the Café Hollander.
The service was
prompt, friendly and
helpful, with excellent
knowledge of the menu,
the food delicious,
and the atmosphere,
while loud, was not too
distracting. I cannot
wait for my next visit.
Page 3
Feature
Seniors reminisce on their time at West
by Tessa Doty
At a school with
over two thousand
students, surviving
to reach another year
could be considered an
achievement in itself.
Amidst a modern day
jumble of standardized
testing, club activities,
and sports, high
schoolers often have
a hard time taking a
breath and appreciating
the
moment.
Cue the seniors.
Where others would
be frazzled, seniors
seem to remain cool
and collected; where
the other students are
stressed, they have
taken time to reflect on
their personal journeys
and chill on Ash street.
“Senioritis is
definitely a real thing,”
says Nell Geer, a senior,
lounging on a floor
pillow and glancing
subtly at her phone
screen. “But everyone
gets it to a different
extent. Senioritis,
to me, means taking
mostly the classes
I’m interested in and
having a late arrival.”
And, truly, not
all of senior year is
defined by sitting
back and having a
good time. With less
than a year left of
photo courtesy of Google
photo courtesy of Google
high school, many are
flooded with daunting
college application work.
Nell exclaims that “You
feel like it’s never done!”.
Geer, along with the
other seniors interviewed,
shared a couple college
application tips for next
year’s upperclassmen:
1. Know who you
need recommendations
from ahead of time.
2. Try to get them
started the summer
before senior year, but…
3. … if you don’t, you
have to convince yourself
to work on them right away.
4. Keep a binder
or download an app to
organize all the ones
you’ve completed.
Some West seniors
plan on taking a gap year
rather than go straight to
college. Leonie Wieben
described it as “not a
year to get behind, even
though some people think
so. I think that if you’ve
found your life revolving
around school work,
then you should consider
taking a year without
school to refresh yourself.”
Wieben plans to use
her fluency in German and
live in Germany as an au
pair for a year. “I’m very
excited!” she said, “I want
to meet new people and
create memories before
I move on to college.”
The seniors
interviewed also described
feeling like they’d miss the
opportunities that West
gives them.
Davante Jackson, a
senior considering working
with theater in the future,
mourned the loss of West
High’s drama department
she will experience once
out of high school.
“I didn’t join theater
until junior year, but
the experience has been
incredible! All of the staff
involved, especially Holly,
Kelle, and Cao, have
created such a positive
environment.”
Jackson also
mentioned that she’ll miss
Maggs, the Latin teacher:
“She really cares about us,
and about personalized
education, and it’s helped
shape who I am today.”
Stefo Livorni, a
senior member of Stage
Crew, said “It might sound
funny, but I think that Rhys
Enderle has impacted me
a lot. Everyone in high
school has their own
friend groups, but Rhys
is willing to be friends
with people outside of
his inner circle. I’d like to
think that he’s motivated
me to make the same
impact, and to bring many
different types of people
together as a community.”
Geer spoke to me
for a while about how
getting involved in West’s
extracurriculars has given
her a new chance to impact
the school’s environment
as well. “Out of all the
past years, I think that
senior year is the year I’m
continued on page 7