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"Food"

April 26, 2006

Greetings R-Journal readers!

It’s getting to be that time of the year for those of us in Winter Park. (I might have mentioned that in the last journal—but I underestimated how much more, well, busy things would become.) Also, thanks so much for your e-mails!! I’ve enjoyed corresponding with many of you and helping to answer some of your questions. Seniors: remember that the national deadline for confirming your matriculation at a school is May 1! Time is at a premium for us all.

In many of my journals, I’ve addressed some of the bigger issues on campus—the quality of our academics, extracurricular activities, residence halls, surrounding city, etc. Today, however, I’d like to address an even more important issue: food. Well, maybe it is not the biggest issue when choosing a college, but I know it was something that I wondered about before arriving at Rollins.

So, how is the food? I must say that I’ve been impressed. Mom might be disappointed that I don’t miss her home cooking too much, but our food services chefs can cook! Let’s talk about some of the main dining options (there are several others, but I’ll talk about those in another entry).

Cornell Campus Center:
Beans “The Skillman Dining Room”: Beans is our main dining room. It’s gorgeous, large, and overlooks Lake Virginia and the Alfond Swimming Pool. So, is the food as pleasing to the palette as the location is to the eyes? Normally. Breakfast is served from 7 to 10:30 a.m. and a brunch is served on the weekends from roughly 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. (I only approximate on the numbers because they vary from time to time.) Breakfast always consists of a station with a chef who will make you eggs however you’d like (I’m an omelet man), a cereal station, a toast station (picture being able to choose the type of bread and topping of your choice—bagels, bread, English muffins, etc. with peanut butter or cream cheese, etc.), and a waffle station. The waffle station is awesome because you are able to add chocolate chips or blueberries…as well as the essential powdered sugar, whipped cream, butter and syrup. Our waffles are incredibly healthy. There are always a bunch of other choices for breakfast, ranging from pancakes to Chick-fil-A chicken breakfast sandwiches. I love Rollins’ breakfasts.

Lunch is served each day from roughly 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is always a deli station with Boar’s Head meats, a salad bar and a vegetarian section. In addition, there are typically three to four entrées available with several side options. Some variation of pizza and pasta is served each day as well. Wednesday is a special day at Beans…it’s Chick-fil-A day! Chick-fil-A sandwiches and nuggets are served…they are the best.

Dinner is served from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. nightly. Dinners typically have a specialty chef station (picture made-to-order tacos or stir-fry, etc.) and a carving station with a couple of meat choices. In addition, there are always a couple of vegetarian options and a few other entrée choices.

I think you’ll find that Beans is quite good and consistent. However, the food can be a bit meager on the weekends, especially for a Saturday or Sunday dinner. Choices are normally a bit more limited, but still decent. Also, we just got a new pastry chef—desserts are amazing!

C-Store: The C-Store, located on the bottom floor of the Cornell Campus Center, offers virtually any food a college student would ever want to buy…for cooking and for snacking. If by chance the store does not have what you are looking for, simply submit a request form, and your item will be brought to the store for you very quickly. The C-Store also makes sandwiches and wraps to order…an excellent weekend or late lunch choice. The C-Store is open from around 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.

The Grille: The Grille is basically the place to be if you are in the mood for some fast food. Sure, they do have salads, but no one goes to The Grille for a salad. You go for the curly fries, chicken fingers and ice cream. It is open until 2 a.m. each morning, so late night snacks are the norm here. Oh, and Mae at the counter is amazing. Become friends with her, and you’ll definitely graduate from Rollins (well, at least never starve at Rollins).

Well, this definitely gives you a run-down of many of the great dining options in the Campus Center. I’ll update you on some of the other options on campus and in the local community next time.

Keep the e-mails coming! Good luck with your college decisions and in finishing off your school year.

Steve

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