<p>Looks like I'm going to be living in Sargent so I was wondering if anyone could describe and give their opinion of the dining hall</p>
<p>I'm living there next year as well. I've heard that the food at Sargent is supposed to be better than all the other dining halls.</p>
<p>You heard wrong, sorry. 1835 Hinman is generally considered the best. I lived in Bobb for two years and generally found Sarge inedible. It's not awful, but not the best.</p>
<p>I think Sargent is lackluster in many ways, and is inferior to other dining halls such as Allison.</p>
<p>The chairs in Sargent have wheels on the bottom of their legs, which I find annoying because the wheels cause my chair to roll undesirably when I sit down or shift in my chair (Allison has fixed chairs.) I don't particularly care for the ice cream selection available at Sargent. There are only four different types of ice cream available at any given time (Allison and Elder offer six) and there aren't many different flavors offered. I get tired of the crowds that form in the undersized food-service area. And I often have trouble finding an empty table at peak hours. I think Sargent is pretty dirty. I often get frustrated when I fill up a cup of water because I mistakenly hold down a latch too far, which causes Nestle sweet tea to dispense. What results is a bad mix of Sweet tea and water. I don't like how music is played at Sargent; I'd rather eat without Rihanna singing "Umbrella" to me. The dessert selection at Sargent is definitely sub-par. It usually consists of crappy, three-day olds pieces of cake and two-week old pieces of rice crispy bars (Allison has much better desserts.) I usually have to fill up two cups at Sargent in order to quench my thirst because the cups are so small. (Allison has much bigger cups.) I wish the pizza at Sargent had better crust.. like the pizza at Allison does. In general, I think Sargent is lacking, and it's older, dirtier, and less diverse in food selection than other dining halls.</p>
<p>On the bright side, I find it convenient that Sargent is open continuously from breakfast to dinner on weekdays. I like the Grill at Sargent; it serves up good, well-cooked hamburgers and chicken. I got along with the employees at Sargent.</p>
<p>For what it worth, I live on south campus (usually eat at hinman), and I Like Sergeant. It's definitely not as good as Hinman or Allison, but its not by any means bad- their hot food options are frequently the best, and their grill is definitely the best. Of course, I almost never go there other than for Sunday or Saturday Brunch</p>
<p>First, let me preface this by saying that, you should not be expecting gourmet meals when entering a dining hall.</p>
<p>That said, I think Sargent isn't too bad. Since Sargent is one of the only full-service dining halls on North Campus (and really for the most part people eat in Elder only when they know someone there or they live in the Freshman Quad, from my experience), it's convenient. The hours are spectacular. Sargent is open more than any other dining hall with the exception of Foster-Walker (and Hinman may have caught up since they started doing "late night"). That already makes Sargent hands down ahead of Allison (M-F only, and dinner is from 4:45-6:45??).</p>
<p>The staff at Sargent is GREAT. They REALLY care about suggestions that people make--it's one of the few dining halls where this actually occurs. Most dining halls have a little feedback card--Sargent has a big board with markers to write suggestions. The one time that I tried to write on the board to make a suggestion, THREE staff people came over to me to see if they could fix the issue right away. I was floored.</p>
<p>+++The sandwich lady. 'Nuff said. But for those of you who haven't been into Sargent, I'll explain with a quote from a graduated friend: "Man, that sandwich lady is SOOOOoo slow. But, you know, she makes them sandwiches with LOVE." You'll find her there every night for dinner--strike up a conversation and you'll have a world of extra-meat, special ingredients she's scrounged from the kitchens, and overall a pleasant dining experience.</p>
<p>I think Allison's a decent dining hall, but point of comparison: Allison staff members used to have a habit of yelling at you if you don't pick up your plate to serve yourself because they don't want to clean up potential spills (they've gotten a little friendlier since last year, but Sargent's staff still beats them out, imho).</p>
<p>As for the food itself, Sargent again is NOT gourmet dining. However, the selection DOES change every day, Sargent has a large rotisserie machine that they use often (as does Allison), a pretty large salad bar (almost on par with Hinman's, I'd say). Desserts are usually fresh that I've seen--Sargent has a dessert chef who chills out there ALL the time--I don't know where you've been eating, blaze.</p>
<p>Speaking of what blaze said...</p>
<p>Crowds/small serving area: Yes, Sargent can get crowded. It DOES serve practically all of North Campus, so there will be times when it gets crowded. The serving area is still larger than Hinman, and although the lines can get long, they usually keep moving. Although it looks scary, a long line at Sargent usually last at most fifteen minutes. Compare to Hinman, where you'll be waiting 30mins+ on stir fry nights. Allison lines aren't as long because it's <em>gasp</em> not as popular!</p>
<p>Rolling chairs. I'm not a huge fan of the remodeling job Sargent did, but it's not terrible. It's a little dark, but I like it more than the Big 10 scheme. Okay, you don't like rolling chairs. Sorry.</p>
<p>Ice cream. Yes, Sargent does not have as many ice cream canisters as Allison. However, that's not such a big advantage when Allison's canisters are empty. Plus, Sargent has a good froyo machine--better than Allison's sloppy sputterer.</p>
<p>Sargent is Dirty. Are. You. Serious. Because you cannot operate a water dispenser on a soda machine, you claim that Sargent is dirty? Seriously? Northwestern students have stooped to new levels, apparently. Here's a hint. Run the water for a second first, without your cup under it--it'll wash out any residue if someone used the Nestea or Pink Grapefruit right before you. And don't push the big bar for Nestea if all you want is water. How difficult is that?</p>
<p>Music. Sargent has different "music days", and although not publicized, it's generally pretty popular. Granted, it's sometimes a talking point during dinner: "What a random song, lol", "I haven't heard this in AGES". But the volume is not to an intrusive level, and Sargent's definitely one of the few dining halls where I've seen the entire serving area dancing/bobbing their heads to the music (with the exception of Allison, whenever Jackson 5 comes on their oldies station/Jack FM).</p>
<p>Less Food Options: Granted, sometimes Sargent will not be operating at full-capacity, and it won't have all its food stations open. Fortunately, you can see this BEFORE you swipe your card to enter, so if you really have a hankering for a certain food, then you can switch before the moment of truth.</p>
<p>Sargent got remodeled last summer. It's <em>newer</em> than the other dining halls, actually, my friend.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies guys.</p>