The Dining Hall: Hit or Miss?

How the Middlesex dining experience could improve

Every day, most Middlesex students go to the Dining Hall for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and maybe a snack before sports. Unfortunately, unlike day students who can leave campus when they want, if the food that day isn’t up to expectations, the boarders can’t just go home for an alternative option. Instead, they will need to resort to DoorDashing, which can quickly become expensive, or quick microwaveable meals like ramen that are unhealthy. What do the students at Middlesex think about the Dining Hall, and how can the Dining Hall improve?

Sophomore Elizabeth Welles thinks that on Sundays, the Dining Hall closes too early, as it is only open for an hour for dinner, making it quite easy to accidentally miss the time slot or get hungry again at night. She hopes that they can extend the dinner time to be a little longer. Although Sunday dinners are shorter, the weekday lunches and dinners are the perfect length. In general, however, she thinks that this year’s food has improved from last year's, and her favorite meal served is chicken parmesan. Kat Stephens, also a sophomore, thinks that the Dining Hall has its “moments of yumminess” but it also needs to diversify its meal options as not everyone eats pork. Sophia Nguyen is an avid advocate of the Flik menu, especially the chicken, calling it “especially delicious.” Katie Tantillo, a junior, thinks that there is a good selection of food but says she wishes that “there are more foods for picky eaters.” Even though pasta is available for every meal, it can be hit or miss, with the noodles being either too overcooked or undercooked. One thing Tantillo always enjoys is the biscuits and she wants them to be served more. A lot of students also enjoy the fries, especially the waffle fries, along with the sugar cookies, and hope to see them more often. Many students have also expressed their happiness with the desserts served this year, such as the oreo balls and the mud cake. 

Overall, students do hope to see more variety offered as even the fallback options of making a sandwich, salad or having some pasta can get tiring.

Allison Luo