I declared my major to Communications with a minor in Professional Public Writing during the beginning of 2020 and ever since then, I have felt proud of myself. In fact, when I was an incoming freshman and sophomore, I had no idea this minor was an option. Writing, creatively or academically, is something I have always enjoyed doing as a person who enjoys expressing my thoughts through words and paper. This semester I am a junior and am very pleased with having 5 communications courses. For this post, I will be breaking down a “Restaurant Review” of the Dining Hall, here at Roger Williams University. This was a recent paper I submitted in my Comm 240: Food Communications Course.
When you First Walk In: “People. People, there’s people everywhere,” I thought to myself as I walked into the Roger Williams University Dining Hall, also known as, “Upper Commons.” Given the brief sign of what supposedly is for dinner tonight, right when you walk in, I walked to each station to make sure. Ah, for those of you who are not familiar with the dining hall, there are five different “stations” consisting of different foods. For example, when I walked into the Dining Hall, all decked out in Halloween gear, I took a moment to appreciate the atmosphere of each station: Classics, Burgers, Pasta, Stir fry and Quesadillas, along with its creative decorations.
Ordering the Food: The Roger Williams Dining Hall is designated only for the use of its students, unless a student grants one of their three guest swipes to an “outsider.” The environment of the building, chaotic. From yelling sports teams to cooks running around trying to dodge students with hungry mouths, I had a hard time deciding what I wanted. As with anything, time helps you figure out what you enjoy, same goes for food. As a third year student, the Mexican station can be too greasy, the burger buns too hard and the sandwich line takes forever. This left me with the Classic or Pasta station, but I was not disappointed.
The Atmosphere: Next, I felt overwhelmed. Every table looked the same, every chair was the same, but every person sure was not the same. From groups of women sitting with other women, to sports teams sitting together to a cluster of men sitting together, I decided to place my food down, by myself, near the classic soda fountain and grab myself a fizzing Pepsi with light ice.
The Drink: The soda hit my mouth with a cold, caffeinated scream. The bubbles popped on my tongue as I drank the crisp hitting Pepsi. A Commons employee walked to my table and wiped down my area before I was able to sit down. I appreciated the act and granted her a big smile with a thank you. The staff seemed to be extremely engaged in their jobs while expressing emotions of pleasure while doing so. This was able to make me, as a student, feel more comfortable in the hall.
The Food: Before anything, I went in for a taste of the potatoes. I am a big fan of olive oil, along with butter, and loved to see the potatoes cooked in such. I took my first bite into the golden brown nugget and it was a very pleasant, soft texture mixed with a neutral taste until the olive oil and butter mixed together for a creamy aftertaste. I would definitely recommend the potatoes, plus, you get a big serving. Secondly, I moved onto the chicken parm with red sauce and mozzarella cheese draped over the top. The boneless chicken breast was tender enough where I only used slight force to cut through it. The mozarella stayed intact as I cut, which made for equally tasty bites throughout the meal. The sauce was a bit too salty, but I do not have a high tolerance for salt and pepper, or, spices in general.
Next, I moved onto tasting one of my sides, broccoli. Unfortunately, it was way over cooked. It felt similar to mashed potatoes in my mouth. The leafy greens had a hard time staying on my fork, usually they would slide right off. A crunch in a bite of broccoli is very important for me and I did not get that. On the other hand, the orzo was cooked perfectly. It made for a nice palette cleanser between the leafy greens and protein. A bit tasteless, almost like pasta without sauce, but I would order again for the satisfying cleanse.
Lastly, Leaving: I finished my plate, aside from some excess sauce and broccoli. At this time it was 6:50pm and starting to settle down in the hall, as well as the kitchen. However, the dish room was working overtime. Coming down from the dinner rush, I politely reached for a tray and put my plate along with my glass of Pepsi down onto the conveyor belt. Sincerely, I thanked the dish room for doing my dirty work and walked out of the dining hall after receiving a brief wave of goodbye from the Upper Commons employee in the doorway.
Cthegood 