Written by Caitlin Graes
There have been huge changes in the quality of the food at Austin College recently with a new chef with big ideas and high standards. Gone are the days of students making a sport out of criticizing the food, but now it is more complaining just to complain like everyone else. The variety is amazing, with continually cycling options. The cafeteria (lovingly called the Caf) is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with unlimited access on the 7-Day Meal Plan or Monday-Friday for the 5-Day Meal Plan. The Caf features international food, vegetarian options, hamburgers, hot dogs, a custom sandwich line, custom pasta, a variety of desserts, constantly changing pizza, and a hot item line that changes for each meal. Not everything has changed, however. There are still the extraordinarily long lines on days the Caf serves macaroni & cheese chicken patty sandwiches, with lines of students and staff stretching almost out the door to pick up these tasty items.
If you want something fancier than a basic hamburger or quesadillas, or if you are hungry after 8 p.m., head to the Pouch Club, or "Pub," which gives you consistantly decent hamburgers and other diner food. It no longer takes meal plans but will except Hopper Dollars (that come with your meal plan), cash, or credit. Of course, some of the options on campus will never live up to the food from home, but eating the food is just part of the AC experience. Hopper Dollars are convenient and come with your meal plan in varying amounts. With a simple scan of your ID, you can stock up on snack food in AC’s convenient store called Hopper's Store or properly caffeinate yourself with Starbucks coffee from Kangaroo Coffee Co. right inside the Write Campus Center.