Bon Appétit: New Disappointments

By Julie Herman

Bon Appétit, I am disappointed.

Toward the end of last year, it seemed as though the food and service were finally starting to improve. The institution of the comment board (coupled with sporadic responses to student feedback) increased the quality of the food and service. Some of the specials were more than decent. Although they were not always full, the water coolers provided fairly consistent access to water and kept students from having to haggle with confused cashiers over their ability to obtain a glass of water (for meal points or even at all). So I returned from summer expecting the system to be mostly the same — passable, with a few new pleasant surprises.

The first thing I noticed upon returning was that the water coolers were gone, replaced by a single water bottle filling station installed on the drinking fountain in the rear of Benson. The second thing I noticed was the lack of cups.

For my first meal, I was forced to argue with a cashier about getting a cup.

When I went to Marketplace for the second time, cups were provided in a metal container at one of the silverware stations. This was better, but awkward, considering that I walked all the way to the front of the cafeteria area to get my cup, and then all the way to the back where the water fountain is located.

The third time, there were no cups in the container. I'm torn between whether this is worse than asking a cashier for a cup. At least in that situation, I usually end up getting water.

I encountered a similar situation many other times. I have seen very few people actually making use of the water bottle station. I believe that more people are buying soda, which is neither healthful to oneself nor beneficial to the cashiers' efficiency.

The new "Eat Local" initiative disturbed me as well. I understand the desire to be sustainable, but I do not understand the need for sustainable food to be less than edible.

The Sauté special that day involved pappardelle pasta, and it seemed to be cooked paradoxically well in comparison to the pasta from Marketplace and Bronco, which are traditionally subpar and overcooked. This was the dish's saving grace.

However, the problems started when the cashier informed me that the vegetarian option was unavailable. Not wanting to stand in another interminable line since I needed to get to a meeting, I decided to take the pork option. The meat that was edible was stringy and tough, but most pieces were striated with fat or fatty in their entirety. As far as I am aware, you cannot purchase such a cut of pork commercially.

Additionally, the meat had supposedly been marinated in apple cider and cooked with garlic. A unique skill of mass-produced food is, apparently, to deprive the food of all its flavors since I tasted neither apple nor garlic (though I did succeed in finding the garlic cloves).

It mostly just tasted slimy.

The vegetables (tomatoes and some type of leafy green) also suffered from overcooking. At that point I was too repulsed by the floating fat globules to look for an upside to the mess that was my meal. I threw away over half the meal.

Bon Appétit, I know Marketplace food can be good. For now, I'll trust that this decline originates from the back-to-school madness; but please, get organized and get better.

Julie Herman is a sophomore biology major.