Some students come to the Student Dorm Cafe (Didlaukio g. 57) and order just a soup, while others go for the full day's menu, which varies daily.

It may include Chicken Kiev, a pork cutlet or a stew of some sort.

The Cafe under new management, opened on Oct. 14th.

Already it has proved popular with students and MRU staff. Sometimes, on Thursdays lines form for the Lithuanian potato cepelinai dish, which is served each Thursday with a hearty sour cream sauce.

But only half of the Student Dorm Cafe's clients are students. The others come from MRU's Library or the Uuniversity. Some are construction workers, or employees from the area. There are those that trek from the neighboring Forensic Institute located across the street, says Cafe Manager Inga Stanionienė.

She works behind the counter and welcomes each client.

If needed, she even puts together separate meals for students with special needs.

Each Cafe client receives special attention and she is attentive to their needs.

"I taste each and every dish," she said. "You have to check everything."

Perhaps it is her attention to detail that keeps the Cafe full of clients during lunch hours - especially Wednesdays, when Chicken Kiev is on the menu and on Thursdays, when cepelinai are served.

But many MRU international students have not taken a liking to the local Lithuanian cuisine, she explains.

French students prefer casseroles with vegetables, while Turkish students, she said, prefer only to eat soup at the cafe.

All meals are made from scratch on the premises.

Some students say that the Cafe is "as nice as a restaurant" and the cooking is simply "homemade good."

Stanionienė puts together the daily meals and specials herself. She often works past opening hours, until 19:00 hrs., to get it all right.

The Cafe is open daily Mon-Thur from 10:00-16:00 hrs., and Fridays from 10:00-15:00 hrs.