Ah, yes, Geisert. Where the food is warm and the freshmen seek shelter.
As a senior, I know there’s really no place like a college dining hall. You’ve got your salad bar, sandwich bar, and a variety of different meal options. Something for everyone.
Geisert has its on and its off days. You know it’s going to be a good meal when the line for dinner is wrapped around the building and the students who live off campus roll through, aka Thanksgiving feast circa 2016.
Then there are the days where you leave with a stomach full of cereal and a banana for later because there’s no way you’re not going to be hungry again in an hour.
After two years of living off-campus with a kitchen, I went back to Geisert, curious to see if my memories remained accurate.
Keep in mind, I’m no food critic. My palette doesn’t include advanced taste buds that require every meal to be life-changing, so I try not to be very picky.
We started off at the salad and sandwich station. Let’s be honest, it’s almost impossible to mess these up; you pick your own ingredients and assortment of condiments and dressings.
One thing Geisert has improved on since my dining days is its condiment selection. A flavorless piece of chicken can be transformed with choices from barbeque to Sriracha, from honey mustard to ranch.
One thing I was surprised to see was cucumber and watermelon water. Okay Geisert, let me get my white, fluffy robe and candles because this flavored water gave me real “spa vibes.”
Way to class it up.
The noodles and potatoes were overcooked, but easily edible nonetheless. I understand as a dining service it’s hard to predict how much of each dish to make, and minimizing waste is ideal, but it probably shouldn’t be obvious at dinner which foods were also served at lunch.
Another thing that’s hard to mess up is dessert. There’s the trusty soft serve ice cream machine and usually one or two specialty desserts that the sweet staff of Geisert provide. Who could forget about the iconic chocolate chip cookies which take me right back to my dorm days?
In my mind the best part of the Geisert experience was the food preparation and the nonexistent cleanup time. The dining halls on campus are purely convenient. The food wasn’t bad, and the staff were friendly, but for $9 per person, I think I’m better off packing a lunch.
