“I want to express my immense gratitude and appreciation for the campus dining staff and administration! I feel incredibly lucky to have access to a campus dining system that is so genuinely dedicated to and passionate about providing meals that are nutritious, delicious, healthy, diverse, ethically conscious, and considerate of all dietary cultures and restrictions. Truth be told, I would choose to eat at the MP/campus dining facilities over most restaurants or other food places almost any day-- the quality and love that goes into the food that the MP staff and administration work so hard to serve is far superior (and, additionally, is much traceable/openly-sourced to those who want to learn more about it!). Additionally, the staff and administration are extremely friendly, patient, and caring with students, and never fail to cheer me up! Us Oxy students are so privileged to have our amazing campus dining system. Thank you so much for all that you do!! :)”

-and-

“I LOVE the MPs has sustainable/creative meals and food options! Meatless mondays??? LOVE! SLO lunches?? Always DELICIOUS!!! The soups?? SO slept on [sic] and tasty!! Organic bars and sustainably produced food options daily?? Amazing!! The most DECKED OUT speciality salads you offer have genuinely taught me to love vegetables!!! So many fruits and berries!!?? SMOOTHIES?? Meals themed according to holidays or cultural events!!?? The MP is so festive and warm and celebratory!! She didn't have to go so hard, but she did!!! :)”

Thank you so much for these lovely and heartfelt compliments! We made sure all of our staff were able to see them.

“I love a lot of the specialty salads but particularly anything with the delicious herb-crusted cauliflower! I would love to see it incorporated more if possible.”

We will try to incorporate it as much as possible. We served it on Thursday 4/6 we hope you had a chance to enjoy it.

“Can we have more tomato soup in the mp? I love tomato soup. It’s offered very rarely and that makes me sad.”

Thanks to your suggestion, Tomato Basil soup was served on Monday 4/1.

“It would be really awesome if you could make a smaller size of the muffins in the market place. I know there are sometimes smaller options for the vegan muffins, and those are just about the perfect size. I absolove the muffins (especially pumpkin!!!) but they’re so big that I don’t like to eat them as a snack any more since they fill me up too much.”

-and-

“More mini muffins”

We are now offering mini muffins daily when we have enough bakery staff. They do sell quickly so try to grab yours during breakfast.

“I would really appreciate it if the MP offered more vegan/vegetarian options that weren’t just fake meat. While some meat substitutes actually taste really good (soy crumbles, vegan meatballs), the so chicken and pork aren’t great. Many vegetarians/vegans genuinely don’t like the tast of meat, and I’m sure many other people would enjoy other options (tofu and tempeh are great!!!)”

We always receive different review from our vegan and/or vegetarian student body. While some enjoy the “fake meat” and dislike the plant based options and vice versa, this is why we always try to offer as much variety as possible. Here are some examples from the Homestyle Station recently for lunch in a given week:

3/25 Vegan Hot Wings
3/26 Vietnamese Lettuce Cups w/ Tofu
3/27 Moo-Shu Asian Tempeh Tostada
3/28 Root Vegetable Jambalaya
3/29 Fishless Fish Sticks

As you can see during this week alone we offered more plant based items than meat substitutes. We try to take everyone’s preferences and suggestions into consideration and balance our menus accordingly.

“Could the homestyle station offer brown rice as well whenever it seves plain white rice?”

Unfortunately, this isn’t feasible with the limited space and labor at Homestyle. The Grill serves brown rice daily during lunch and all day on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays.

“I would love to see grapes stocked more often in the Tiger Cooler and MP.”

At the Cooler grapes and strawberries are alternated based on feedback from our produce supplier regarding both quality and price. This year has been predominantly strawberries, because they are more popular, and prices did not fluctuate, even in the weeks surrounding Valentine’s Day. But when strawberries are unavailable or too expensive, we typically offer grapes instead. At the Marketplace, the sheer volume of grapes and strawberries we would need to produce in the school year precludes us from doing so very often. We do serve them frequently over the summer.

“Butter chicken!”

We will try to work this into our Homestyle rotation soon!

“(Tiger Cooler) chicken nuggets should be added!”

We cannot cook meat items in the fryers, because the side items offered could not be labeled as vegetarian. The Cooler also does not have an oven other than the wood-fired pizza oven, which can only be used for baking other items after the pizza station has been closed. This is how we can occasionally offer specials such as chicken strips, fish & chips, and baked pasta or enchiladas late Friday or Saturday nights.

“I keep finding small bugs in my broccoli, both in the salad bar and steamed broccoli from homestyle, etc. It’s multiple bugs each time, and this is the third time it has happened. Is there anything that can be done to clean the broccoli better (soak in salt water, better/stronger rinsing, etc.)??”

We are so sorry that this has happened to you. The broccoli that we carry is organic, and therefore, it contains no pesticides. We already do rinse the broccoli before we put it out but we will keep a better eye on it.

“When the MP (and berkus dinner) has lasagna, the vegetarian option is made with a white sauce rather than marinara. I would love a vegan/vegetarian option with red sauce (perhaps just switching out the meat for soy crumbles or veggies and using vegan cheese)”

While it is too late in the semester to change our recipe, we will look into it for next semester ;-)

“I would love to know what’s in the soy meat options that are regularly served on campus. Is there a place where I can find this?”

We use a number of faux meats, some of which do not contain soy. Some are vegan, while others are vegetarian. Some are gluten free, and others are not. The faux meat used on a particular menu can be based upon the application, or it could be based on product availability. While we do not have a compilation of all of these products and their ingredients, if you ever have questions about a specific product during any meal period or event we can certainly provide that information. Please contact dining@oxy.edu.

“what were the Saturday dinner options before berkus was built??”

Before Berkus hall was built and opened in 2007, the only option for on-campus student dining on Saturday evening was the Tiger Cooler.

“Cheerios”

Cheerios are available in the Marketplace at our grab and go snack area. The Tiger Cooler also offers Cheerios.

“Keep the chicken sandwich !”

Can you please be more specific? We are unsure of which chicken sandwich you are talking about!

“Will you be able to make the chicken noodle stew again (from the Chef's Corner earlier this semester)? It was sooooo good!”

We are glad you enjoyed this. It was labor intensive and suited the cool winter weather. We probably won’t offer it again this semester, but look for it next fall.

“Could you make the gnocchi with butternut squash that has been made at the pasta bar before?? Thank you!!”

We’re not sure if we can fit it in for spring, but look for the Gnocchi to return next year.

“I would love to see more of the Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby Ice cream! It's super good :) Have a great day and keep up the good work!”

We tend to rotate multiple flavors, just be on the lookout!

“Everyone would love if the mp served the chicken/tofu lettuce wraps again before the end of the year! They are a fan favorite”

-and-

“vietnamese lettuce cup recipe please!!!”

We served the Lettuce Cups once again the week of April 8, as part of our “Senior Wishes” menu ;-)

Here is the recipe. Please note that you will have to downsize the measurements drastically as these recipes are made for about 350 servings. 

“grilled cheese and tomato soup again PLEASE”

We served this on Thursday 4/11 we hope you had a chance to enjoy it again!

“grilled cheese recipe (fig and brie)! https://www.theorganickitchen.org/brie-and-fig-grilled-cheese/

Thank you for the recipe. We will do our research.

“Poutine: French Fries, Gravy, and Cheese curds/cheese, i think that alot of the students here would really enjoy having poutine available as an occasional menu item”

We served Poutine earlier in April. It was quite popular and you will probably see it again next year.

“Can we get new hamburger buns at the cooler? or another bun option like Hawaiian/sesame or potato buns. the buns at the cooler are always super dry and stale and just ruin the overall taste of the burgers”

All varieties are produced using sustainable ingredients and are vegan. With no butter, dairy, egg, etc. to help maintain moisture, the bread and buns can get dry quickly. However, the bread is delivered to the Cooler daily except for Sunday, and only because staff do not arrive until late afternoon.

“Can we get more diverse menu items from redshell sushi? I think alot of the students would enjoy other items like sashimi, or classic salmon/tuna nigiri, or even items like gyoza(dumplings), I know that red shell supplies these items, and I think alot of the students would appreciate some new/different options.”

We currently offer 24 varieties from Red Shell. We have tried others like the cold noodle bowls, cucumber salad, squid salad but sales were not sustained. Though popular for us, the veggie bites (samosas) were discontinued. If the gyoza are still available when we return in the fall, we can certainly look to add those to the lineup. We also communicate with Red Shell regularly for updates on new and sustainable options, while also maintaining a reasonable price point.

“loved the zucchini puree soup this sunday night!! DELICIOUS!! :))”

Thanks for letting us know!

“cheese pastries from porto's please”

The Marketplace does not work with Porto’s. The Green Bean may be able to order them if they don’t already.

“The food options provided at the MP are ok but always seems to fall short on diversity. It will be great to see more afro-centric and African inspired dishes provided at the MP regularly. Dishes such as fried plantains (not the slimy and sticky plantains served on the weekends) with beans stew, jollof rice (spicy rice), meat/vegetable stew, and more fried fish and chicken. There are several great options and recipes available for these dishes and others.”

Perhaps you can provide us with some recipes that’ll point us in the right direction? You can email us at dining@oxy.edu.

VENDING SUGGESTIONS

 “It would be awesome if the vending machines (especially in the snack lounge!!) had healthy (as in, other than just candy and chips) vegan options!! A lot of my       vending monies wasted because there aren’t very many vending items I can eat.”

 -and

 “Hi, the options in the snack lounge are now just junk food. I would like a return to more healthier options like the chipotle chicken pita wrap when the snack lounge   first launched.”

 -and-

“In the library snack room, I like the Maruchan ramen instant lunches from the vending machine. Please stocking them, especially the beef flavour.”

             -and-

            “It would be cool if the snack lounge had fruit! Thanks!”

             -and-

            “Add coconut yogurt to the vending pls :)”

            -and-

           “I really enjoy the mini-Cinnabon rolls and the pesto focaccia sandwiches from the snack lounge! keep up the good work :)”

            -and-

           “I absolutely love the ramen and microwave and hot water dispenser in the library. The food and drink machines are a great idea.”

We have passed along your feedback and suggestions to our vending partner. First Class Vending determines the items ultimately placed in the machines. Just as in our dining facilities, those decisions are driven by coming up with a product mix that is diverse, but also attracts sales. It is important to note that vending money should not be considered “wasted”. Vending funds are part of meal money. For meal plans A or B, unused vending funds would be part of any qualifying Rollover sum at the end of the semester. For those on C or D, all funds must be spent by the end of semester, but vending funds do not have to be spent in the machines. Once you reach a zero balance on your meal plan, vending funds then automatically become meal money for purchases in dining facilities.

            Thank you everyone for contributing your ideas for the new snack lounge :)

Contact Campus Dining
Johnson Student Center

2nd Floor