Hellooo Ladies & Gents,
So I have been at WashU for a mere month now, and already I can see some flaws in our dining system. Overall, I think it’s fair to say that I, along with most people I know, have been considerably underwhelmed by the dining here. Frankly, I can’t even imagine what the food must be like at other schools, given that (last I checked) we’re in the top 5 schools for dining in the country. Conclusions? It’s rough out here.
As a food F A N A T I C and athlete, I honestly spend half my day eating (and this might be under shooting it). I have genuinely already made a list of the food that I’ll be getting when I go back home.
Now you might be thinking, well duh Rachel, just go off campus. But this is college, and therefore I’m on a college budget.
So… what? Below is a list of my proposed revisions & additions to the WashU Dining System. (do enjoy ;p)
1. MAKE. THE DUC. STAY. OPEN. LATER.
Look I’m sorry BD, but the same 5 options for dinner every night gets old fast. The DUC has stellar looking chinese, italian, superior quesadillas, but I can never get these for lunch because, personally, I like to save my big meal for dinner and eat a salad for lunch to avoid the post-meal lethargy midday. Keeping the DUC open late would not only please the students, but employ more people, and honestly probably increase productivity as more students would stay on campus and do HW in the DUC and then go straight to their club meeting.
2. SMOOTHIES & SHAKES
While the barber shop is awesome, I’m fairly confident in asserting that more people would get a smoothie or protein shake for breakfast every day then their haircut once every three months. We ladies (& gents) MISS our smoothies. I FULL ON bought a nutribullet, almond butter, almond milk, and protein powder, but it’s just not the same (b/c a good shake is THICC and this requires ice, yet somehow, and I swear I‘m not making this up, the ice here is objectively weird). The student-run businesses are perfectly situated on your way to class, and if you could order ahead, I don’t know a girl (or guy) who wouldn’t get one. Moreover @WashU, your athletes are protein deprived. The nutritionists here genuinely encourage you to eat cookies daily, and like I’m sorry, but I’m trying to be superwoman over here. To build muscle, you need 1g per 1 lb in your body. And according to the nutrition index here, to meet that would require eating nonstop. So ultimately protein shakes would be giving benefit back to WashU in athletic success. It’s a win for everyone.
3. TOAST FOR BFAST
Listen WashU, this the Midwest. Not the south. There is no reason to cater to our Southern Bells and have biscuits at breakfast- we just want toast. Toast and biscuits are NOT the same. Moreover you could peanut butter, cinnamon, etc. out right next to it. This would require zero staffing and students could prepare everything.
4. OMLETTE STATION ON THE SOFO
Eggs are an awesome source of protein for breakfast. But the watery scrambled and fried egg at the sandwich station aren’t cutting it. I for one am a HUGE omelet girl, and the ones at Bauer are totally fire. However for all of us on the SoFo, this is a HIKE, and B-school kids & grads, I don’t think you reeeally want all us freshies infiltrating your space. The stir-fry station could just as easily be converted to an omelet station in the mornings, using the same put-your-toppings-in-a-bowl system that they use for dinner.
5. ADD A BAGEL TO IT
The one redeeming quality of breakfast here is the made to order breakfast sandwich station. Since they sell bagels in the cafe directly adjacent to the grill, why not add bagels to the breakfast sandwich stations so you can have your bacon egg & cheese ON A BAGEL. Boom. A concept, I know.