Quality over quantity

<p>I was looking at UVA's campus dining website, and I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the sheer number of available dining options on campus. What I would really like to know, however, is how good the food is at these venues.</p>

<p>Personally I had pizza and a vanilla milkshake at Monroe Hall</p>

<p>The pizza was good, however the milkshake had way too much vanilla extract dumped in it. Would of been better if milk shake was purely made of the frozen yogurt, I actually saw the woman pour vanilla extract, I’m sure she used more than the original directions allotted for.</p>

<p>The burrito place looked good, I would of chosen that but I had chipotle the day before. Chik fi la is always good. </p>

<p>All in all the quality of food was good 3/5 stars</p>

<p>There are all-you-can eat dining halls and places where you can just buy food a la carte. The a la carte stuff is generally pretty good – the menu never changes, so you know what to get. The dining halls can be iffy sometimes, but they’re generally pretty decent.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that a lot of the locations on the website are minor locations, they’re designed to provide a quick snack or boost of energy.</p>

<p>In general the a la carte stuff is higher quality. It’s usually fresher, prepared to order, and often has the advantage of brand-name recipes. That said, the dining halls aren’t necessarily bad, but they do have the disadvantage of being sporadic. Not only does the food change every day, but it’s not uncommon that they’ll run out of a certain food (not to mention trying to find silverware in Newcomb). I feel like they could easily upgrade the electronic system as well, you should be able to check your meal/plus dollar balance online as well as nutritional information.</p>

<p>All-in-all it’s definitely enough to live off of, but it’s not Virginia Tech quality dining either (yeah I said it). This is one of the very few areas where UVA could learn some lessons from VT.</p>

<p>Dardy…Did you not go to the all-you-can-eat at Newcomb when you were there for Jefferson Scholars weekend, or did they just have y’all eat at the foodcourt? I know at DOTL students/parents were on their own and could eat at the all-you-can-eat; however, most everyone opted for the foodcourt. During orientation this summer, though, you will be eating at the all-you-can-eat dining hall so you can judge for yourself and see what you think. </p>

<p>Our D spends a lot of time at the cafes around campus (Wilsdorf is her favorite because it’s across right by all of her science classes. It’s become her Starbucks substitute. They serve sandwiches, wraps, salads, cookies, and of course, coffee in addition to other items. You can use your Plus Dollars to pay.) Her roommate loves the grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches at the Castle which is in old dorm complex and SUPER convenient for students housed there. D isn’t crazy about it though because most of the food there is high fat (fast food). There’s also a neat little grocery on the first floor of O’Hill that offers a variety of things you can take back to your dorm. </p>

<p>I would say that pretty much EVERY kid she knows changes their meal plan when you can (between semesters) and opts for maximum Plus Dollars. The two items she says she misses most: a variety of fresh fruit and grilled chicken breasts.</p>

<p>@ymon</p>

<p>You actually can check your plus dollar balance online now, as well as how many meals you’ve used!</p>

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