By Jeffrey Mu ’24
You can always find a line as long as the Liccardo building when the lunch bell rings at Bellarmine. Students flock to the cafeteria, eager to get in and get out as soon as possible. Oftentimes the lunch lines become so crowded that pushing and shoving become commonplace, as people await their turn to get into the cafeteria. This week, we wanted to find some of students’ favorite dishes in the cafeteria and finally unveil the mystery behind faculty lunch.
Anthony Kobzar 24’
Q. How often do you get food at the cafeteria?
A. Pretty much every day.
Q. What are your thoughts on the cafeteria food?
A. Overall, I think its slightly overpriced although the quality of the food is decent. I think they need to bring back food from Fridays to other days, because on Friday since there’s no designated “lunch” time people order less, so there’s a ton of variety during that time when you buy the food. I think it should be more spread out over the entire week.
Q. What’s your favorite dish on the menu?
A. I think that their barbeque pulled pork sandwiches are really good, and there’s a reason why the curly fries are constantly out when you really want them during lunch. I also like the chicken tenders, although that depends on how long they’ve been left out. Usually really good though.
Q. What do you think could be improved?
A. I think the food could be slightly cheap, and the Philly Cheesesteaks could use some improvement, though as it stands it alright. I also think that lines are pretty long and the checkout system could be better.
Sebastian Franke 24’
Q. How often do you get food at the cafeteria?
A. Every other day.
Q. What are your thoughts on the cafeteria food?
A. It’s a hit or miss depending on what the food is featured that day; it sort of depends on the day you go, I find that some foods are good, some are a little worse. I also think that the time you buy the food constitutes how good its going to be, for example a chicken tender left out from break to lunch is going to be worse than right out the cafeteria.
Q. What’s your favorite dish on the menu?
A. Probably the hard-shelled tortillas with chorizo and cheese on them.
Q. What do you think could be improved?
A. I think that overall the foods could be less volatile, so maybe the quality could be maintained everyday. I also don’t pay attention to the prices usually but when I do they can be a little expensive. I also think that the way we line up to get food right now is pretty ineffective, but it would be difficult to change that.
James Peal 24’
Q. How often do you get food at the cafeteria?
A. Occasionally, I usually bring my own.
Q. What are your thoughts on the cafeteria food?
A. I think its usually hit or miss, depending on day you go and depending on what you get. I found that chicken tenders can be kind of dry, and like I said before it depends on the time that you get them. Cold ones especially can be not so good.
Q. What’s your favorite dish on the menu?
A. I would probably say the pasta and the cold spicy sandwiches, those are consistently good and I can always depend on them being there in the cafeteria, since they are cold foods.
Q. What do you think could be improved?
A. I think the overall quality of the hot foods could be improved, some of it is fine but others not so much. The teriyaki chicken is dry and the sauce especially is inconsistent. Sometimes there’s a lot, sometimes there’s barely any.
Ms. Janisse
Q. How does faculty lunch work?
A. Many of us eat at our desks and some of us meet with other faculty members, but because of covid many of us are spending lunches helping students get caught up with their work.
Q. Where is the faculty cafeteria and how does it work?
A. It’s in the back of Liccardo, it’s a faculty cafeteria, we use a scanner and pick up our lunch. I usually eat mine in the Lokey faculty lounge, but some eat in the courtyard by the chapel.
Q. What are your thoughts on the food there?
A. The food is really, really good food. If you have any allergies it can be tricky but there’s a lot of options for people with allergies. All the dishes are delicious.
Q. What’s your favorite dish on the menu?
A. Theres too many to count, thereqs a chicken marsella, chicken with mushrooms, theres great sandwiches, soups are good.
Ms. Crockett
Q. Where is the faculty cafeteria?
A. It is in the back of Liccardo, there’s a dining room, right next to the bathroom, keep walking past it’s the room at the end,
Q. How often do you eat there?
A. Pretty much every day, the money comes out of the paycheck when you scan so there’s no need to worry about that.
Q. What are your thoughts on the food there?
A. Its better than any other highschool I’ve worked at, there’s always variety, always a hot dish and side dishes. Its really good.
Q. What’s your favorite dish on the menu?
A. Carnitas, for sure.
Q. What do you think could be improved?
A. I don’t like the Asian food there, its too oil and greasy.
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Overall, it’s clear that the food at Bellarmine is a core and central part of student and faculty life here. Many students rely on the food provided by the cafeteria and food truck to get through their day.
Go Bells!