Friday, December 05, 2003
Final entry
This is the final entry at this blog as far as the group project goes, but if situation permits, I will try to have some more posts.
This project was an excellent experience. I do not remember how we came up with the topic, but it worked out well as our group included the non-meal-planner guy, the non-meal-planner girl, vegetarian (myself), and couple of other non-vegetarians (Raghav & John). So, I guess at the end, our blog should be a good source of information for incoming Tech students at least.
During the course of project, I found out that I was wrong about my view that there are not many varieties available for vegetarians at Dining Halls(Brittain & Woodruff). But I was right about it is bad to be a vegetarian because despite several varieties, the food do not taste good enough. Also, I found out the other options for meal-plan at Dining Halls in form of Culture 2 Go and campusfood.com, but I still have to explore these options before the end of spring semester, and I want to blog the reviews for these two options.
Anyways, one thing I found out that I have to adjust to American food to survive as a vegetarian.
This is the final entry at this blog as far as the group project goes, but if situation permits, I will try to have some more posts.
This project was an excellent experience. I do not remember how we came up with the topic, but it worked out well as our group included the non-meal-planner guy, the non-meal-planner girl, vegetarian (myself), and couple of other non-vegetarians (Raghav & John). So, I guess at the end, our blog should be a good source of information for incoming Tech students at least.
During the course of project, I found out that I was wrong about my view that there are not many varieties available for vegetarians at Dining Halls(Brittain & Woodruff). But I was right about it is bad to be a vegetarian because despite several varieties, the food do not taste good enough. Also, I found out the other options for meal-plan at Dining Halls in form of Culture 2 Go and campusfood.com, but I still have to explore these options before the end of spring semester, and I want to blog the reviews for these two options.
Anyways, one thing I found out that I have to adjust to American food to survive as a vegetarian.
Tin Drum---asia cafe
When reviewing the food places on campus, how can one forget the sophisficated Technology Square. This newly created and developed part of campus is on the opposite side of I-75 as is the whole campus. But there are equally new Tech Trolly running all the time for west campus residents while for East Campus residents it is five minute walk, and even as near as Brittain Dining Hall fro several East Campus residents.
Tin Drum is the cafe with varieties not as many as Food Court especially vegetarians. They serve spring roll with dipping sauce ($1.00), soup ($2.50), salad ($4.50 - $6.50), noodle ($6.00 + $1.50 for shrimp), rice varieties ($6.00), and drum roll & namwich ($3.75- $4.75) with beverages and desert of Ice cream ($1.50) and Coconut cake ($2.00). All of these have vegetarian option with tofu replacing the meat.
(Personally, I do not want to spend $6.00 for rice nor for noodle nor salad, while namwich does not appeal) I went on to order vegetable spring roll and vegetable soup with water costing me $3.75 with tax. Within 10-15 minutes hot spring roll with sweet n sour dipping and soup was at my table.
Generally, I am not a huge fan of soups. Only one that ever appealed to me is tomato soup, but this one was better than the tomato soup. Besides, the spring roll was good too.
I won't say Tin Drum is a great place to eat everyday, but in absence of meal plan it can be a great change. In fact, I would say if one likes soups and salads, it is better than Food Court considering the health aspect. Expense wise it is not that cheaper than Food Court.
One thing I would like to mention will be excellent customer service.
Remember to not go alone. Have some company!
They do not have any website.
Ratings: (each category rating consider worth for your bucks)
Location: 8/10
Convenience: ( timings, time between order and receiving the food) 8/ 10
Food Quality (consistency, variety, taste) 7/10 (variety kills the rating)
Customer service: 10/10
overall: 8 / 10
When reviewing the food places on campus, how can one forget the sophisficated Technology Square. This newly created and developed part of campus is on the opposite side of I-75 as is the whole campus. But there are equally new Tech Trolly running all the time for west campus residents while for East Campus residents it is five minute walk, and even as near as Brittain Dining Hall fro several East Campus residents.
Tin Drum is the cafe with varieties not as many as Food Court especially vegetarians. They serve spring roll with dipping sauce ($1.00), soup ($2.50), salad ($4.50 - $6.50), noodle ($6.00 + $1.50 for shrimp), rice varieties ($6.00), and drum roll & namwich ($3.75- $4.75) with beverages and desert of Ice cream ($1.50) and Coconut cake ($2.00). All of these have vegetarian option with tofu replacing the meat.
(Personally, I do not want to spend $6.00 for rice nor for noodle nor salad, while namwich does not appeal) I went on to order vegetable spring roll and vegetable soup with water costing me $3.75 with tax. Within 10-15 minutes hot spring roll with sweet n sour dipping and soup was at my table.
Generally, I am not a huge fan of soups. Only one that ever appealed to me is tomato soup, but this one was better than the tomato soup. Besides, the spring roll was good too.
I won't say Tin Drum is a great place to eat everyday, but in absence of meal plan it can be a great change. In fact, I would say if one likes soups and salads, it is better than Food Court considering the health aspect. Expense wise it is not that cheaper than Food Court.
One thing I would like to mention will be excellent customer service.
Remember to not go alone. Have some company!
They do not have any website.
Ratings: (each category rating consider worth for your bucks)
Location: 8/10
Convenience: ( timings, time between order and receiving the food) 8/ 10
Food Quality (consistency, variety, taste) 7/10 (variety kills the rating)
Customer service: 10/10
overall: 8 / 10
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Pizzas, that's too delivery one!
Lifestyles of most of the Tech Freshmen incorporates staying late at night. With Dining Halls closed by 10pm (in fact nothing good available after 9pm), the evil mice of hunger start crawling by 11 pm, then walking by 11:30pm, then running by midnight, and finally jumping by half past midnight. Under such dark situations only ray of light that shines comes (not from any torch or any star from sky, but)from the headlights of the Pizza delivery cars, especially for vegetarians (Wingnuts is alternative option for non-veg; wings were as vegetarian as nuts)
So, for this blog I chose to honor the hirers of the drivers of those headlights and decided to write on delivery Pizzas.
Well! Well!! Well!!!
The real reason is:
This was a very short week at Georgia Tech with Thanksgiving Break starting Wednesday evening, and even Tuesday or Monday or Friday(11/21/03) evenings for some. So, our plan to visit some Thai Restaurant @ TechSquare enjoyed the break too. In fact, there were those evil tests again, which hamper all the plans.
I will focus on Dominos and Papa Johns in this blog and for others, I plan to write an update blog on delivery Pizzas.
Anyway, to start with both Dominos and Papa Johns are open late, so timings not really an issue. Location? Take a break, it's delivery! Both (Papa Johns and Dominos)have equal varieties of toppings, especially for vegetarian. And Pizza quality, again both are good at that. Atleast better than Dining Halls. And Prices? Uff! Check out for the recent coupons or Georgia Tech Students special offer! One day Dominos will be cheaper by a cent and other day it is the turn of Papa Johns. In fact, Dominos is a Buck or atmost two cheaper on an average day and that is a great advantage with college students (short of free-money) trying to spend minimum possible on late night food. And I have heard that at least Papa Johns have great offers during Finals Week!
One thing that favors Papa Johns is that it accepts Buzzcard. So, no risk of carrying cash in middle of night. Also, not many college students keep cash.
I do not think it is a huge advantage for college students, but Papa Johns do provide online ordering, while Dominos has email offers!
Papa Johns
Store :
990 STATE STREET NW
ATLANTA, GA 30318
Phone: (404) 872-5252
Dominos
Store
515 N Central Ave
Hapeville, GA 30354-1603
Phone: 404-669-2666
Store number: 4150
I will try to write an update blog on delivery Pizzas during the finals week so that further details on each offers can be made available.
Ratings: (each category rating consider worth for your bucks)
Location: N/A (for Both)
Convenience: ( timings, time between order and delivery) 10 / 10 * this one is comparative rating
Food Quality (consistency, variety, taste) 10/10 (for both)
Customer service: Not of that much importance (for both)
Overall: 10 / 10
Lifestyles of most of the Tech Freshmen incorporates staying late at night. With Dining Halls closed by 10pm (in fact nothing good available after 9pm), the evil mice of hunger start crawling by 11 pm, then walking by 11:30pm, then running by midnight, and finally jumping by half past midnight. Under such dark situations only ray of light that shines comes (not from any torch or any star from sky, but)from the headlights of the Pizza delivery cars, especially for vegetarians (Wingnuts is alternative option for non-veg; wings were as vegetarian as nuts)
So, for this blog I chose to honor the hirers of the drivers of those headlights and decided to write on delivery Pizzas.
Well! Well!! Well!!!
The real reason is:
This was a very short week at Georgia Tech with Thanksgiving Break starting Wednesday evening, and even Tuesday or Monday or Friday(11/21/03) evenings for some. So, our plan to visit some Thai Restaurant @ TechSquare enjoyed the break too. In fact, there were those evil tests again, which hamper all the plans.
I will focus on Dominos and Papa Johns in this blog and for others, I plan to write an update blog on delivery Pizzas.
Anyway, to start with both Dominos and Papa Johns are open late, so timings not really an issue. Location? Take a break, it's delivery! Both (Papa Johns and Dominos)have equal varieties of toppings, especially for vegetarian. And Pizza quality, again both are good at that. Atleast better than Dining Halls. And Prices? Uff! Check out for the recent coupons or Georgia Tech Students special offer! One day Dominos will be cheaper by a cent and other day it is the turn of Papa Johns. In fact, Dominos is a Buck or atmost two cheaper on an average day and that is a great advantage with college students (short of free-money) trying to spend minimum possible on late night food. And I have heard that at least Papa Johns have great offers during Finals Week!
One thing that favors Papa Johns is that it accepts Buzzcard. So, no risk of carrying cash in middle of night. Also, not many college students keep cash.
I do not think it is a huge advantage for college students, but Papa Johns do provide online ordering, while Dominos has email offers!
Store :
990 STATE STREET NW
ATLANTA, GA 30318
Phone: (404) 872-5252
Store
515 N Central Ave
Hapeville, GA 30354-1603
Phone: 404-669-2666
Store number: 4150
I will try to write an update blog on delivery Pizzas during the finals week so that further details on each offers can be made available.
Ratings: (each category rating consider worth for your bucks)
Location: N/A (for Both)
Convenience: ( timings, time between order and delivery) 10 / 10 * this one is comparative rating
Food Quality (consistency, variety, taste) 10/10 (for both)
Customer service: Not of that much importance (for both)
Overall: 10 / 10
Friday, November 21, 2003
Food Court @ Student Center
Hi guys! My last blog was long despite my writing that it won’t be. So, for this blog no promises, but I will try to keep it short.
Yesterday, I dined at Food Court located on second floor of Student Center. Student Center is located at the center of the campus, making it convenient for both East Campus and West Campus residents. Also, with computer cluster and music room on the same floor besides Ferst Center Theater located next door, makes it the most populated place on the campus. Also, Stinger honors Student Center with three of its four routes, namely, Red, Blue, and Green routes having the stop for Student Center.
Food court has Far East Fusion, Rosita’s Cantina, PepperJack Deli, Fresh Fruit, Chick-Fil-A, Chef Café, Burger King, Dairy Delight, Salad Bar, and Chilly Beans, with Pizza Hut on the first floor.
Each of these has the vegetarian specialties, at least one.
To start with Far East Fushion, they have Veggie Entrée ($4.49), Steamed Rice ($1.09), and Fried Rice ($1.49). Pepperjack Deli has Veggie Sub ($3.29), Burger King has French Fries and Onion Rings (each $1.49 medium, $1.69 large), and Chef Café has Vegetarian Entrée ($4.99). And of course, Fresh Fruits (and Dairy Delight will have only vegetarian, and in case of Salad Bar (Bowl -$1.49, Plate -$4.49), it is self-made, so one can enjoy vegetarianism with salads. Now the best option for Vegetarians (even non-veg), especially those who thrive for spicy food and variety, is Rosita’s Cantina. The options ranges from Chips & Salsa ($1.79, with cheese $2.29, large $ 2.19, large with cheese $2.69) to Taco Salad ($3.69, large $4.49) to Quesadilla (cheese $2.79, veggie $3.39, large veggie $3.99), Tacos ($1.59, large $2.19), and Burritos ($2.99, large $3.69) to Rice & Beans ($2.49). Also, each of these comes with Nachos & dipping. And do not forget the wide variety of Drinks.
I had so far the great experience at Student Center, thanks to the meal plans at Food Court at the beginning of the year. There is no doubt about the food quality it is great! There is a great consistency with the food quality, and as these people are here to make business the food are very well labeled. In case, there is no label just ask someone behing there, and the problem is solved. And the food is healthy too (depends on what you opt to eat). So, nutrition factor won’t go against it.
Also, the sitting arrangement is awesome. Even some MACs are available.
Even though it seems cheaper to eat here, compare to the meal plans at Dinning Halls it is very expensive, especially for the students who tend to eat very well in their growing age. Even if one does not eat lot, it won’t come out to be cheaper than Dinning Halls.
What kills Food Court more than anything else is it timings. Food Court is open from 7 in the morning till 4 pm. This makes it a very bad choice for dinner.
So, if the timings are extended to suit dining and if money is not the matter (which won’t be true for most of the students), this is the best place to satisfy your growing hunger.
I will rate it as:
Location: 10/10
Convenience: (set-up, timings) 6/10 (bad timings for dinner)
Food Quality (consistency, variety, labeling): 9/10
Customer service: 9/10 * based on my experience
Overall : 8/10
Hi guys! My last blog was long despite my writing that it won’t be. So, for this blog no promises, but I will try to keep it short.
Yesterday, I dined at Food Court located on second floor of Student Center. Student Center is located at the center of the campus, making it convenient for both East Campus and West Campus residents. Also, with computer cluster and music room on the same floor besides Ferst Center Theater located next door, makes it the most populated place on the campus. Also, Stinger honors Student Center with three of its four routes, namely, Red, Blue, and Green routes having the stop for Student Center.
Food court has Far East Fusion, Rosita’s Cantina, PepperJack Deli, Fresh Fruit, Chick-Fil-A, Chef Café, Burger King, Dairy Delight, Salad Bar, and Chilly Beans, with Pizza Hut on the first floor.
Each of these has the vegetarian specialties, at least one.
To start with Far East Fushion, they have Veggie Entrée ($4.49), Steamed Rice ($1.09), and Fried Rice ($1.49). Pepperjack Deli has Veggie Sub ($3.29), Burger King has French Fries and Onion Rings (each $1.49 medium, $1.69 large), and Chef Café has Vegetarian Entrée ($4.99). And of course, Fresh Fruits (and Dairy Delight will have only vegetarian, and in case of Salad Bar (Bowl -$1.49, Plate -$4.49), it is self-made, so one can enjoy vegetarianism with salads. Now the best option for Vegetarians (even non-veg), especially those who thrive for spicy food and variety, is Rosita’s Cantina. The options ranges from Chips & Salsa ($1.79, with cheese $2.29, large $ 2.19, large with cheese $2.69) to Taco Salad ($3.69, large $4.49) to Quesadilla (cheese $2.79, veggie $3.39, large veggie $3.99), Tacos ($1.59, large $2.19), and Burritos ($2.99, large $3.69) to Rice & Beans ($2.49). Also, each of these comes with Nachos & dipping. And do not forget the wide variety of Drinks.
I had so far the great experience at Student Center, thanks to the meal plans at Food Court at the beginning of the year. There is no doubt about the food quality it is great! There is a great consistency with the food quality, and as these people are here to make business the food are very well labeled. In case, there is no label just ask someone behing there, and the problem is solved. And the food is healthy too (depends on what you opt to eat). So, nutrition factor won’t go against it.
Also, the sitting arrangement is awesome. Even some MACs are available.
Even though it seems cheaper to eat here, compare to the meal plans at Dinning Halls it is very expensive, especially for the students who tend to eat very well in their growing age. Even if one does not eat lot, it won’t come out to be cheaper than Dinning Halls.
What kills Food Court more than anything else is it timings. Food Court is open from 7 in the morning till 4 pm. This makes it a very bad choice for dinner.
So, if the timings are extended to suit dining and if money is not the matter (which won’t be true for most of the students), this is the best place to satisfy your growing hunger.
I will rate it as:
Location: 10/10
Convenience: (set-up, timings) 6/10 (bad timings for dinner)
Food Quality (consistency, variety, labeling): 9/10
Customer service: 9/10 * based on my experience
Overall : 8/10
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Woodruff Dining Hall
Hi guys! This blog entry won't be that long as one on Brittain because Woodies, alias, Woodruff Dining Hall is nothing but the former's counterpart for West Campus residents. So, the accessibility, timings, and costs would be the same as Brittain.
As I have not been to Woodies lot of times, I cannot say what is available all the times, but I assume it must be the same as Brittain.
I have been to Woodies several times for breakfast and found that Brittain rocks in breakfast. First of all, Woodies do not have pancakes all days, which I think is the best dish on dining hall's menu. Also, the variety in fruits available at Brittain is not provided at Woodies. Other than that the breakfast is same as Brittain.
I had been dining at Woodies for last two days so that I can write better on the food quality. Again I cannot comment on pasta service because I do not like them, at least here on campus. There were couple more fresh-made lines with on veggie substitute. Yesterday one of these fresh-made lines had veggie substitute. So, I guess depending on the available dish, veggies substitute can be available or not. Like Brittain pizzas are everyday items, but they are lot better in taste (and yeah even in look).
Surprisingly the every day dish of beans and rice at Brittain was not there at Woodies. So I do not know about how well the rice are steamed or how well the beans taste. Another surprise was that at Brittain there is always refried beans whenever beans-n-beef burritos are available but today at Woodies there was no refried beans and, hence, no question of asking for Taco -shells or tortillas. But yeah I did ask for bean burrito, which was ununderstandable, so I asked for veggie burrito, and only response I got was that those burritos have beef in them. So, you can figure out the customer service.
Another option for vegetarians would be Veggie Burger or Salad, none of which I have tasted, but assume them to be the same as one in Brittain.
And the drinks and fruits options are same as Brittain.
Regarding the setup of tables, I will prefer Brittain setting because in the Woodies's case I have to find a way to the tables. It seems very crowded inspite the huge area.
One thing Woodies rocks is at the great dessert. Brittain cannot beat Woodies in that case. And not to forget the labeling! While in Brittain, the most common items labeled are potatoes and rice, Woodies has each and every item labeled with the calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fat, and all that.
Compare to Brittain, Woodies great newly renovated look, better food quality (not variety), and the second floor sophiscated area (unexplored by me) takes it a step ahead.
What made my day at Woodies was that I met my high school friends after a very long while. And this was the case on both the evenings.
I will rate it as:
Location: 10/10
Convenience: (set-up, timings) 7/10
Food Quality (consistency, variety, labeling) 6/10
Customer service: 3/10
Overall: 4/10
PS: I will add links to my Brittain Blog later.
Hi guys! This blog entry won't be that long as one on Brittain because Woodies, alias, Woodruff Dining Hall is nothing but the former's counterpart for West Campus residents. So, the accessibility, timings, and costs would be the same as Brittain.
As I have not been to Woodies lot of times, I cannot say what is available all the times, but I assume it must be the same as Brittain.
I have been to Woodies several times for breakfast and found that Brittain rocks in breakfast. First of all, Woodies do not have pancakes all days, which I think is the best dish on dining hall's menu. Also, the variety in fruits available at Brittain is not provided at Woodies. Other than that the breakfast is same as Brittain.
I had been dining at Woodies for last two days so that I can write better on the food quality. Again I cannot comment on pasta service because I do not like them, at least here on campus. There were couple more fresh-made lines with on veggie substitute. Yesterday one of these fresh-made lines had veggie substitute. So, I guess depending on the available dish, veggies substitute can be available or not. Like Brittain pizzas are everyday items, but they are lot better in taste (and yeah even in look).
Surprisingly the every day dish of beans and rice at Brittain was not there at Woodies. So I do not know about how well the rice are steamed or how well the beans taste. Another surprise was that at Brittain there is always refried beans whenever beans-n-beef burritos are available but today at Woodies there was no refried beans and, hence, no question of asking for Taco -shells or tortillas. But yeah I did ask for bean burrito, which was ununderstandable, so I asked for veggie burrito, and only response I got was that those burritos have beef in them. So, you can figure out the customer service.
Another option for vegetarians would be Veggie Burger or Salad, none of which I have tasted, but assume them to be the same as one in Brittain.
And the drinks and fruits options are same as Brittain.
Regarding the setup of tables, I will prefer Brittain setting because in the Woodies's case I have to find a way to the tables. It seems very crowded inspite the huge area.
One thing Woodies rocks is at the great dessert. Brittain cannot beat Woodies in that case. And not to forget the labeling! While in Brittain, the most common items labeled are potatoes and rice, Woodies has each and every item labeled with the calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fat, and all that.
Compare to Brittain, Woodies great newly renovated look, better food quality (not variety), and the second floor sophiscated area (unexplored by me) takes it a step ahead.
What made my day at Woodies was that I met my high school friends after a very long while. And this was the case on both the evenings.
I will rate it as:
Location: 10/10
Convenience: (set-up, timings) 7/10
Food Quality (consistency, variety, labeling) 6/10
Customer service: 3/10
Overall: 4/10
PS: I will add links to my Brittain Blog later.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Brittain Dining Hall
Staying on East Campus, the Brittain Dining Hall [commonly called just Brittain] is the closet place to dine at. With Stinger Red Route stopping 2 couple of minutes of walk away from Brittain, it can be accessible from anywhere in the campus even when you are among the ones who hate walking. Opened from 7 am till 10 pm on weekdays and 11 am till 10 pm on weekends, Brittain is mostly visited by the tech students with meal plan because otherwise it is quite expensive (Breakfast---$5.30 + tax, Lunch---$6.65 + tax, Dinner---$7.65 + tax, Late Night---$6.65 + tax, Brunch---$6.50 + tax).
Before going ahead on the description of food at Brittain, let me warn you. I am vegetarian, so I will review the dining place based on the vegetarian food quality. It will be tough for me to say how good the non-veg food is.
Brittain has cereals, bagels, salads, waffles, pasta, French fries/ Hash browns, fruits, ice-cream/frozen-yogurt, dessert, and drinks all the time, with chicken patty and pizza all the time except breakfast time. So, if someone has a bad day with menu, he/she can still pacify the hunger. What for the students/customers who do not have any meal plan? After all you do not want to spend about 8 bucks for cereals and that! Well, then the menu is supposed to be listed on
Gatech Dining Hall Menu
Well, as I have the meal plan I do not have to worry about that. So, last night I visited Brittain hoping to find something worth my meal plan money. Like usual, I got my buzz card slided, picked-up the tray and plate, headed to the vegetarian section (I skipped the pasta section, because I hate pasta) and again as usual I found white rice and beans, sweet potatoes, and pizza with veggie toppings followed by non-veg food. The variety in vegetarian section was some spinach thing. In non-veg section, there were refried beans and Spanish rice (quite a usual site). There were two other fresh food sections where you can get vegetarian version of whatever is available. Then outside in sitting area there are salad with various dressings and soup for vegetarian. And there is veggie patty available on demand.
It seems that there is lot available for vegetarian, but if you are a strict vegetarian then you do not want to eat from the fresh food sections because the same gloved-hands are used to pick up both non-veg components and veg components. Even if you ignore that the only thing you end up getting is lettuce, tomatoes, and stuff like that. Pizzas and French fries are not that great, white rice is not properly steamed most of the time, and beans that do not taste consistently same (after considering the human error) get worse with the black pepper added to it. Salads are awesomely good but soup is not worth even a look (do not know how it taste). Refried beans and Spanish rice are great, but in absence of tortillas / taco-shells, the otherwise satisfaction is not obtained; while veggie patties are worth once a while.
Again strict vegetarian won’t find dessert suitable because of eggs. And the only whole fruit they have all the time is orange. Even if they have apples and bananas often, those are not fresh.
Also, on weekends the Brittian opens late at 11 am, bad for early-risers. Not only starting Friday evening till Sunday evening there is no variety at all, even for non-vegetarian. You are expect to survive on breakfast and drinks. Same problem after 8 pm on weekdays because the fresh food line close around 8pm and it will be long wait to get fresh pizza.
One thing for which Brittain rocks is Breakfast with fresh-made omelet (if you eat them), buttermilk pancakes (my favorite), Hash browns, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, grits, and other breakfast I mentioned earlier. Also, not to mention lot of very tasty sliced fruits.
And yeah how can I forget large variety of drinks (even though the sodas are only coke products) and frozen-yogurt/ ice cream.
And yeah a very neat set up!!!!
If you have meal plan, you might want to get some changes through comment board, but consider this, I have asked for tortillas with refried beans each time they served refried beans and no favorable result yet. For once-a-while eaters, you might think of finding out menu on web, but they might not have it online. For example, I tried to check yesterday menu online to find out the names of various dishes mostly non-veg (because mostly they do not label, even if just name, which won’t tell you a lot) and I found out that they do not have menu till this Saturday but they have it for Sunday onwards.
As far as a normal vegetarian goes, if you do not mind pasta, and salad every day it is not a bad place as I made it sound.
Brittain has a long way to go to be better or attractive dining place.
I will rate it as:
Location: 10/10
Convenience: (set-up, timings) 6/10
Food Quality (consistency, variety, labeling) 2/10
Customer service: 7/10
Overall: 3/10
P.S. I forgot to mention that Brittain provides Buffet service so, if youu do not eat lot or are in hurry it won't be a good choice, because there is no carry-out service.
Staying on East Campus, the Brittain Dining Hall [commonly called just Brittain] is the closet place to dine at. With Stinger Red Route stopping 2 couple of minutes of walk away from Brittain, it can be accessible from anywhere in the campus even when you are among the ones who hate walking. Opened from 7 am till 10 pm on weekdays and 11 am till 10 pm on weekends, Brittain is mostly visited by the tech students with meal plan because otherwise it is quite expensive (Breakfast---$5.30 + tax, Lunch---$6.65 + tax, Dinner---$7.65 + tax, Late Night---$6.65 + tax, Brunch---$6.50 + tax).
Before going ahead on the description of food at Brittain, let me warn you. I am vegetarian, so I will review the dining place based on the vegetarian food quality. It will be tough for me to say how good the non-veg food is.
Brittain has cereals, bagels, salads, waffles, pasta, French fries/ Hash browns, fruits, ice-cream/frozen-yogurt, dessert, and drinks all the time, with chicken patty and pizza all the time except breakfast time. So, if someone has a bad day with menu, he/she can still pacify the hunger. What for the students/customers who do not have any meal plan? After all you do not want to spend about 8 bucks for cereals and that! Well, then the menu is supposed to be listed on
Well, as I have the meal plan I do not have to worry about that. So, last night I visited Brittain hoping to find something worth my meal plan money. Like usual, I got my buzz card slided, picked-up the tray and plate, headed to the vegetarian section (I skipped the pasta section, because I hate pasta) and again as usual I found white rice and beans, sweet potatoes, and pizza with veggie toppings followed by non-veg food. The variety in vegetarian section was some spinach thing. In non-veg section, there were refried beans and Spanish rice (quite a usual site). There were two other fresh food sections where you can get vegetarian version of whatever is available. Then outside in sitting area there are salad with various dressings and soup for vegetarian. And there is veggie patty available on demand.
It seems that there is lot available for vegetarian, but if you are a strict vegetarian then you do not want to eat from the fresh food sections because the same gloved-hands are used to pick up both non-veg components and veg components. Even if you ignore that the only thing you end up getting is lettuce, tomatoes, and stuff like that. Pizzas and French fries are not that great, white rice is not properly steamed most of the time, and beans that do not taste consistently same (after considering the human error) get worse with the black pepper added to it. Salads are awesomely good but soup is not worth even a look (do not know how it taste). Refried beans and Spanish rice are great, but in absence of tortillas / taco-shells, the otherwise satisfaction is not obtained; while veggie patties are worth once a while.
Again strict vegetarian won’t find dessert suitable because of eggs. And the only whole fruit they have all the time is orange. Even if they have apples and bananas often, those are not fresh.
Also, on weekends the Brittian opens late at 11 am, bad for early-risers. Not only starting Friday evening till Sunday evening there is no variety at all, even for non-vegetarian. You are expect to survive on breakfast and drinks. Same problem after 8 pm on weekdays because the fresh food line close around 8pm and it will be long wait to get fresh pizza.
One thing for which Brittain rocks is Breakfast with fresh-made omelet (if you eat them), buttermilk pancakes (my favorite), Hash browns, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, grits, and other breakfast I mentioned earlier. Also, not to mention lot of very tasty sliced fruits.
And yeah how can I forget large variety of drinks (even though the sodas are only coke products) and frozen-yogurt/ ice cream.
And yeah a very neat set up!!!!
If you have meal plan, you might want to get some changes through comment board, but consider this, I have asked for tortillas with refried beans each time they served refried beans and no favorable result yet. For once-a-while eaters, you might think of finding out menu on web, but they might not have it online. For example, I tried to check yesterday menu online to find out the names of various dishes mostly non-veg (because mostly they do not label, even if just name, which won’t tell you a lot) and I found out that they do not have menu till this Saturday but they have it for Sunday onwards.
As far as a normal vegetarian goes, if you do not mind pasta, and salad every day it is not a bad place as I made it sound.
Brittain has a long way to go to be better or attractive dining place.
I will rate it as:
Location: 10/10
Convenience: (set-up, timings) 6/10
Food Quality (consistency, variety, labeling) 2/10
Customer service: 7/10
Overall: 3/10
P.S. I forgot to mention that Brittain provides Buffet service so, if youu do not eat lot or are in hurry it won't be a good choice, because there is no carry-out service.
