campus dining

Dining Daries: Rating All the Meals I Ate at Commons for a Week

September 29, 2024 by Elena Parisi

Over the course of a week in September, I ate six lunches and dinners at the Commons Center dining hall. I have rated the meals in various categories. They are listed in the order in which I ate them.

Tex Mex Bowl

Taste: ★★☆☆☆

Chipotle dupe? Yeah 100% but it’s really not bad. The tex mex rice is one of the better rices they serve, the beans are well cooked and flavorful, and adding in your own toppings like salsa and corn elevates the dish. The two point deduction was because the day I ate this, the pork was so so salty. Usually it’s never that salty. I don’t know what was going on.

Visuals: ★★★★☆

This picture was taken after I mixed it up because I forgot to take one before. It was much prettier when all the ingredients were separate. The corn and tomatoes add a nice pop of color.

Health: ★★★☆☆

There’s no way that much sodium is good for you. Make sure you’re drinking water guys.

Turkey Cheddar Wrap

Taste: ★★★★☆

A little skimpy on the turkey but overall pretty good. The cucumbers always hit and the basil pesto sauce is so good. The tortilla was nice and crispy, so crispy that it was literally crumbling in my hands as I ate. That slice of pizza kinda sucked though. Should’ve known when I saw the artichokes on it (sorry to my artichoke lovers).

Visuals: ★★★★★

That green tortilla is doing a lot. Also great artistic choice by me to hold up half the wrap to take the shot.

Health: ★★★★★

I have no clue what they put in that basil sauce (probably straight mayo), but otherwise everything in this is quite healthy.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

Taste: ★★★★☆

My family is Italian, so I have very high standards for pasta. That being said, this was quite decent for dining hall food. The pasta was well cooked but not mushy, the broccoli tasted fresh, and the chicken was neither dry nor flavorless (shocking, I know). The alfredo sauce did not taste quite like real cheese, but what was I expecting? This is about as close as I can get to my dad’s home-cooked Italian food on campus (literally not close at all but I’m desperate).

Visuals: ★★★★☆

As I said, green really does a lot for visuals. That broccoli is carrying an otherwise plain, colorless meal. But you know what, sometimes plain food tastes good if you smother it in enough cheese sauce, which seems to be what we’re going for when it comes to dining hall cuisine.

Health: ★☆☆☆☆

I think alfredo may be the least healthy invention of all time.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Taste: ★★★★★

I may in fact have a sweet tooth because I’m pretty sure this sauce was just straight sugar, but I ate that stuff up. The rice was pretty good and the veggies were well cooked. And those fried vegetable wontons are so freaking tasty. What do they put in them? Also, I have a medium-level spice tolerance, but can we talk about how they always say “spicy pork” and sometimes that means no spice at all (like this dish), but sometimes it will literally burn your tongue off? And there’s no way of knowing which of the two you’re getting.

Visuals: ★★★★☆

The red and green is such a nice color combo. And you can see the crispiness of the wonton through the photo.

Health: ★★★☆☆

Once again, most of the foods they serve in Commons are healthy enough… until you put the sauce on. Unfortunately, a few of the only ways to make a sauce tasty when you’re not a Michelin Star restaurant are butter, mayonnaise, and sugar, which are not exactly the staples of the balanced diet. Also I’ve seen the Commons deep friers. Those things are scary.

Orange Chicken

Taste: ★★☆☆☆

Commons wishes it could be Panda Express. Although this orange chicken initially tasted decent (the sauce was straight sugar), by the time I got four bites in I was over it. The texture of the chicken was rather nasty. Chewy, uncrispy, and way too much batter to chicken ratio. I was fighting for my life trying to find any real chicken in that chicken. The rice was not bad but those unseasoned vegetables get tiring day after day. Also, these wantons were the meat ones (don’t ask me which meat), not the veggie ones, and they are not nearly as good. In fact, I would go so far as to say they are bad. The pizza was better this time though, which is the only reason it’s rated a two instead of one.

Visuals: ★★★★☆

The shine on the chicken and the color from the veggies make this meal look much more appetizing than it really was.

Health: ★★☆☆☆
Most of this is actually decent health-wise, except for the fried stuff. However, is rice really all that healthy if you’re eating it for every meal?

BBQ Chicken, Brocolli, Baked Potato, and Tomato Soup

Taste: ★★☆☆☆

The only part of this meal with any flavor was the chicken. The potato? Unseasoned. The broccoli? Unseasoned. The “tomato basil soup?” It was straight-up marinara sauce, like from a jar. And not even the good kind either. The barbeque chicken, however, was scrumptious, juicy, and the only thing keeping me from rage-quitting the dining hall after that meal.

Visuals: ★☆☆☆☆

You can tell just from the picture that there’s no seasoning on this food. And why was there so much broccoli on that plate?

Health: ★★★★★

Usually baked potatoes are slathered in butter, however, since this one lacked any flavor, it remains healthy.

Just some RAND(om) tips :D

August 16, 2024 by Michelle Lin

You’ve just taken your first steps into Vandy, so (for sure) I wouldn’t want to scare you off. So let’s just start this week off with some light “must-know” details about our popular, go-to Rand Dining Hall. Please sit back, relax, and follow along!

First off, don’t come to lunch at 12! The area will be very packed, and you’ll find yourself waiting in line for a long time.

You may already know this, but I certainly didn’t when I first came to Rand is: How do meal swipes work? How much food can you take?

These are the two plausible combinations that equates to a full meal swipe.

Just a quick plug in here: the iconic Rand Cookie is a must-try, but the thing is, your first one must be fresh out of the oven when it’s warm and gooey. That’s how I had my first one, and I promise you it hits differently.

Another shoutout is to the Rand Ladies. They are truly gems on campus. If you are having a bad day or just need someone to rant to, they are open ears, ready to be approached at any time. They are also just fun to chat and joke around with!

Also, if you are searching for a fun, on-campus place to hang out with friends, The Pub at Overcup Oak (known as “The Pub”) located on the third floor is a good classic diner to eat at and play some pool or foosball.

If ever want to work on campus, Campus Dining employs students to help out in the dining halls. Rand is among the options!

Now let’s travel a little back in time and walk down memory lane together. As someone who loves holidays, this is a mixture of wows and disappointments. The Rand Ladies who have been here for over two decades told me they stopped doing this a while back, but Rand Hall used to be regularly redecorated. Some memorable themes were Frosty the Snowman, the North Pole, Gingerbread House, Candyland, and Seafood dining, where they brought tropical trees indoors. There also used to be Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, and a smoothie shop next to the Chef Bill James plaque. As a coffee and smoothie lover, it’s a little sad to hear this news… but 2301’s “make your own” smoothie line makes up for it while Suzie’s can cover your caffeine. You might meet confused alumni asking you where the Vandy bookstore is because the two-story VUBookstore, now turning into a pizza shop, used to be there. You can point them in the right direction :)).

This might be all for today, but don’t you worry… the tea has only just begun to brew :)) So tune in next week when things slowly begin to spice up.

Campus Dining: More Options, Please!

April 17, 2018 by Amira Vivrette

Let’s be honest, Vanderbilt’s Campus Dining weekend hours are ridiculous. This is my first year on Vanderbilt’s campus. I have spent many weekends complaining about dining hall hours with other students. There aren’t a lot of options when it comes to finding a good meal on weekends. Most dining options for students have unconventional hours or they don’t open at all. I have been let down many times due to these hours. Let me tell you, there is nothing more disappointing than walking to the Campus Store in Rand just to find out that it is closed! I strongly believe that the Vanderbilt’s Campus Dining hours fail to deliver to the needs of students during the weekends. It is time to extend the hours and satisfy the hunger of our student body.

First of all, a lot of students rely on their meal plans to get food. Freshman are fortunate to have twenty-one meals a week. However, these meals don’t matter when everything is closed. Students often miss their meal swipes because the meal periods and dining hours do not correspond. Say it’s Friday and I want to use my meal swipe on snacks at 4:00 PM in Rand. I can’t do that because the Campus Store closes at 3:00 PM. Then, all that I’m left with is Pi and Leaf. There are not enough places open for food.

In my experience, the markets are your best bet for meals on the weekend. But not just any market; just Common Grounds and Branscomb Market since they are the only markets open 24 hours. However, as a first-year student on the Commons, Branscomb Market is far away and not really an option for a sad, hungry freshman. I mean, who wants to trek a mile to get food? I just don’t have the energy.

I asked a few students from the class of 2021 what they thought about the weekend dining hours. A student named Seth voiced that “it’s so hard to find a good meal on the weekends, especially Sunday. If I want to eat breakfast I can’t get a hot meal before 10 A.M.” This is because the Commons dining hall does not open until 10 A.M. on Sundays. As someone who wakes up early, wanting to enjoy a beautiful morning with a full stomach, this is extremely inconvenient. If I want breakfast, I have to settle for a snack from Common Grounds because a hot breakfast is not even an option. The same student said, “A lot of upperclassmen may leave but most freshmen are stuck here. Where can freshman eat?” Since first-year students are not allowed to have cars on campus, we don’t have the luxury of driving to get food. We are stuck with quick fixes at the markets and trying to make it into the dining halls before they shut down.

Furthermore, Caroline, a first-year student at Vanderbilt, stated that a lot of students will wake up and use their lunch swipe “to get food at 11 AM.” But, “On Sunday, not everyone sleeps half the day away.” There are students who like to wake up early and can’t rely on the Commons for breakfast. If students don’t get a swipe at a market, they will most likely miss out on their breakfast swipe. So now I ask you, what’s the point in having twenty-one meal swipes if you can’t use them? If we are forced to use our swipes during designated times, then why can’t we have corresponding dining hall hours?

Don’t get me wrong, I realize that it may be difficult to keep dining halls open later. This will change the workday for campus dining employees. I know that no one wants to be away from their family until 1 in the morning and students can’t work those hours. However, we could change the closing time 6:00 PM instead of 2:00 PM. and 10:00 PM instead of 8:00 PM. And if changing the hours is too much to ask, let’s add more restaurants to the Taste of Nashville list. I’m tired of only being able to buy pizza during late nights. And there should be more options available for delivery. If not, we should add more options close to the Commons seeing that freshmen can’t drive. There are many restaurants located in Hillsboro, a quick walk from our dorms. Adding places like Urban Juicer or Taco Mamacita would give freshman more options for weekend dining. It is time to change our options and the hours of Campus Dining. Maybe one day I will be able to eat an early breakfast in the Commons on a Sunday.