BY LIANA KATZ

In print | October 4, 2007

The Saturday night Target shuttle is an unusual place for an interview, but Gabriel Zacarias ‘09 is an unusual guy. Bouncing between Parrish Circle and Target, I learned the words to "You Don’t Own Me," tasted a special spice blend from California and got to know Swarthmore’s most effervescent van driver.

Many know Zacarias as the fixer of flank steaks, the man behind the wonderful smells emanating from the Sharples wok station. Once every four weeks, Sharples makes flank steaks and Zacarias is there to make them better. “Sharples can’t devote the amount of time [needed to make good steak],” Zacarias said. He usually arrives at 4 p.m. and grabs the steaks before they get overcooked from sitting too long behind the counters. He then proceeds to re-season and cook the meat. Zacarias offers his steaks to his friends and all those who ask him to fix up their meat.

For vegetarians and those unfamiliar with beef cuts, flank steak comes from the hindmost underbelly of a cow. According to the Angus Beef website, flank meat “is lean, muscular and very flavorful.”

How does Zacarias improve upon an already delicious cut and produce steaks described by Josh Lipman ‘11 as “restaurant quality?” The answer lies in a spice mix known as Suzy Q. Suzy Q is a simple combination of garlic, salt, pepper and parsley developed in Zacarias’ hometown of Santa Maria, California. Zacarias is (truthfully) rumored to carry a bottle of the spice at all times.

Zacarias began cooking for his family at age seven. Thus, he sees food as a way to unite people and build a sense of community. “brings people together,” he said. “No one should ever be going to Sharples alone.”

For Zacarias, food can even ease potentially uncomfortable social situations. In order to meet new people, he once walked around his dorm with a big tray of cookies and ended up making a close friend in the process.

As well known as he is for his enthusiasm for cooking, Zacarias’ personality bursts forth when he drives the Target shuttle. He blasts show tunes and pop songs and keeps conversations going with his passengers. “I like showing people a good time,” he said. Zacarias recounted talking to Sarah Ting ’10 about swing dancing while driving on the Baltimore Pike. After the pair jokingly discussed stopping and swinging, Zacarias pulled over and got out to dance with Ting. Judging from this incident, anybody who takes the shuttle with Zacarias at the wheel is in for a crazy ride.

However, Zacarias has a deeply serious side. A political science major, he intends to go to law school after graduation and hopes to become a judge. Zacarias feels that there is currently little faith in the legal system, a problem that he aspires to change. Zacarias has also been actively involved in two summertime youth leadership conferences. One teaches young people how to “dismantle oppression” while the other serves as a springboard for “future Latino, Latina leaders of America.”

Student, chef and driver, Zacarias is many things — but never downbeat. “I am in love with laughing. I don’t like moroseness,” he said. Like Bette Midler sings in “You Don’t Own Me,” Zacarias truly lives his life the way that he wants to live it… all he asks is to let him be himself.

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