What Carrie Klaus wouldn’t give for a heaping order of gado gado from the Red Herring right about now.
“I can still taste it. Mmmm,” says the DePauw Professor of Global French Studies, who comes from a long line of Illini.
The dish (a mix of rice, veggies and peanut sauce) and the Red Herring (a cozy vegetarian restaurant in the basement of the Channing-Murray Foundation) were two Klaus favorites throughout the fall of 1993, when she and a small group of fellow grad students in the Department of French would go on daily group lunch outings.
“We’d share stories from our experiences living in France and other French-speaking countries and would exchange anecdotes and ideas from teaching elementary French — that semester was the first time in front of a class for many of us,” says Klaus, who earned both her master’s and Ph.D. from Illinois.
“Another favorite place for lunch was the Y Eatery on Wright Street, where we would get the most delicious pad thai — it was so good. Our time spent together in these unexpected lunch spots tucked away in buildings on campus was incredibly valuable for us in building friendships and community.
“Some of us have gone on to be French professors, some to other careers, but I will always remember those lunches with fondness.”
