Food fight: I say “tomato” you say “tomato”
Photo Credit: Leanda Vinson/Special to The Tempest
Taking the meaning of crusty rice to a whole new level.
Meg Currier, Staff Writer
October 17, 2012
Filed under Health, On campus, Opinion
What do you see while standing in the lunch line–crusty rice and rotten bananas? For those of us who live on a tight budget, finding good affordable food in the cafeteria is like taking your car into the shop: there’s a good chance you could be ripped off. I myself have eaten the crusty rice time after time, but what choice do I have when there’s not much in the realm of cheap and tasty?
It’s time that we all take a long hard look at our options. If we have the power to change our cafeteria maybe we should exercise that power. Let’s venture into the cafeteria and listen to what our student body has to say. Armed with a note pad and pen I made my way to the cafeteria to seek out the opinions of hungry students. The questions were:
• What’s your favorite meal
offered?
• What makes you yak?
• How satisfied are you with
our cafeteria?
• If you’re unsatisfied, then
why?
Jessica Traxler, a returning student at Solano asks me if she can sit at my table in the lunch room. She’s eating a Teriyaki chicken bowl in a rather hurried manner. “My favorite is this,” she said, smiling and pointing to her bowl with her plastic fork.
She seems to be enjoying it and speaks to me between chews.
“The burgers here are the worst item, they have a weird texture, and I’m pretty sure they’re not made from real beef,” Traxler said.
“The cafeteria is a good place to hang out with friends and have lunch, but the place should have a secluded area to separate lunch students from study students,” Traxler said.
She also said that our cafeteria could use more seating, she usually has a problem finding an open seat during peak lunch hours. At this point I am thinking about my usual scoop of rice, and how it might taste better if I load it up with the Teriyaki sauce. I am wondering that will make it adequate. I sigh as I contemplate the mystery of the white rice.
Dennis Megary, a long-time and former student of Solano, sits at a far table playing cards with his buddy. He smiles at me as he answers my questions.
“I don’t go here anymore, but my favorite meal was the hotlinks,” Megary said.
He said they were cheap and had an appealing taste. I cringe as he goes into more detail, first because I’m a vegetarian, and second because the details get too indecent to print in this newspaper. Megary also said the sushi made him yak the most, “it’s not edible, plain and simple.”
Jessica Lally, a first year student at Solano says her favorite meal comes from the salad bar. “You can create your own salad, and having those options are great for me,” Lally said. She also said that she loves the Chinese food section in the cafeteria. When asked what makes her yak, she said, “Oh god, the burgers and all their grease.”
Jessica nods her head when I ask her if she is truly satisfied with the cafeteria, “Yes, they always have something good.”
So there you have it folks, Chinese food leads by two, while burgers are down by two. Hot links are on their own level of greatness, and the cafeteria staff gets the gold trophy in excellence. Unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out what to do with my crusty rice.
Bananas anyone?
