<p>"Some of the best food in the armed forces is on a Navy aircraft carrier...after the renovation is complete i expect the quality to return.."
xchefmike</p>
<p>Good food hasn't been served in King Hall for the last couple of years, probably much longer than that. Okay, so you're saying that the preparation of good food for large groups of people is possible. That makes sense. Why do you think the food at USNA is so poor? Captive audience? My dogs eat better than Grade D meat. My mid got a veg chit right away so she could get extra fruit/dairy. Nonetheless, I spend a bloody fortune sending fruit, Uncle Ben's microwavable rice packets, and things from Trader Joe's to Bancroft Hall.
Oh, and then there's the problem with some mids stealing other's food from the ward room refrigerator. Reminds me of that TV commercial when that mild-mannered lady tackles the dude stealing her salmon lunch from the lunchroom refrigerator. At least this year my mid can drive her car to Trader Joe's in Annapolis to supplement the slop served to the mids. 20/20 should do an investigative report on Service Academy kitchens! Better yet, they should have a cook-off to encourage better quality food at the Service Academies.</p>
<p>My nephew is USCG in Destin, FL... what a life! They all put a list in each week and the cook goes to the Grocery Store and buys and then prepares what they request!</p>
<p>They should do a HELL'S KITCHEN for the SAs.</p>
<p>Correction: Cooking well for 4K ain't easy.</p>
<p>Still, I hear the food is sub-par @ USNA. For what it's worth, this similar observation comes from both Mids (as might be expected regardless) and food service pros. My guess is that there may be some valid "meat" to this criticism. btw, one said it's NOTHING like shipboard feed. I don't believe he was suggesting it was "better."</p>
<p>However, I've not heard of a single Mid starving to death during plebe or any other year there. ;)</p>
<p>These are USDA Meat grades I'm familiar with and am in the business.
Where and how do you know about the Grade D being purchased by USNA?
I happened to know 2 major companies that sells to USNA and they don't even "stock" Grade D(much less calls that label)? I never heard of selling meats below Select label ????</p>
<p>U.S. Prime
U.S. Choice
U.S. Select
U.S. Standard
U.S. Commercial
U.S. Utility
U.S. Cutter
U.S. Canner</p>
<p>I'm sure the post was probably made in jest. It's probably not as bad as described but obviously not Mom's homecooking. I would think it's probably not prime meat but doubt seriously if it's utility or worse.</p>
<p>NavyDad09
You're right about the nomenclature; D must be the grade the mids give the meat. Since you seem to have good intel about USNA foodservice, tell us exactly which USDA meat grade is sold to USNA. What is your opinion on the meals served to the mids?</p>
<p>krypter, would you put KoolAid in the car's gas tank?</p>
<p>jadler - yes, grew up in Central FL & graduated from WPHS.
Now living in the sunny, historic South Carolina Lowcountry (20 yrs).
Are you from CF or WPHS?</p>
<p>All this talk about the food at USNA is rather disappointing. I thought my mid was eating pretty well (he never complains). After reading my two editions of "Brigade, Seats!" (the USNA cookbooks) I was pretty impressed with the logistics of serving all 4,000 mids at the same time, and the recipes looked pretty good also. I had expected good meals for him. Guess I'm going to have to step up the care package production next year.</p>
<p>When do they expect all the renovations to King Hall to be completed?</p>
<p>I've been to a noon meal every year or so for the past dozen years and see absolutely no degradation in the quality of the food. Tastes pretty good to me. I haven't eaten in the temporary mess hall so I cannot comment on that. I think what the mids are experiencing is the boredom of sameness. Eat the same thing for four years and it IS going to get old.</p>
<p>USNA69....on what occassion do you eat at USNA every year?</p>
<p>Additionally, one day does not paint the whole picture!</p>
<p>Food is food, and I am not making a statement that we MUST get the best food. I am just making an observation in comparisson to what I have ate out in the fleet during summer training (at sea and shore). I was amazed at how well the food quality was at some shore establishments, when comparing it to USNA.</p>
<p>jadler03,
yep, food served this summer at NAPS was better than USNA. </p>
<p>Monotony isn't the issue; nutrition is. Why would the mids need strength & energy pills (multi-vitamins) if they were eating a balanced diet? If many of the plebes find the food disgusting during plebe summer, they're not bored by the same menus.</p>
<p>There seems to be a contradiction of terms here; is everyone saying the food TASTES bad or is unhealthy? Somehow, I find it hard to believe the Academy would feed its' Midshipman poor quality food. Now, maybe the food doesn't TASTE all that great, but it can very well be nutritious. Look at MRE's...they don't all taste glorious yet they serve their purpose 10-fold.</p>
<p>Also, the strength and energy pills probably serve to simply supplement the Mids' diets. Why do weightlifters and athletes take multi-vitamins and supplements? It's not because they're eating crap but to help boost their energy and other body functions.</p>