Summer has begun, my friends have returned home, and I’m going through dining hall withdrawals. I never knew this could happen, especially after all the times at dinner I would complain with my peers about the cafeteria foods and the prices of our meal plan.
I find myself daydreaming about the ease of swiping my card into the dining hall now that I have to cook dinner for myself every night. I love to cook, but cooking for one is kind of hard and a buffet style meal sounds really good when my energy is completely tanked. I miss the froyo machine, the pizza, the chicken fingers… OK, I miss a lot of it, but here are the top five dining hall foods I never thought I’d actually miss.
1. Mac and Cheese
So cheesy, so satisfying with endless amounts available to eat. I miss the specialty flavors like Buffalo mac-and-cheese. I miss all of the specialty mac-and-cheeses honestly, but mainly I miss having mac-and-cheese without having to make it. I am not about waiting three minutes for it took in the microwave or ten minutes on the stove.
2. Vegetables
I had always thought their vegetables were a blasphemy by being overcooked but now that I am cooking on my own, it’s hard to use up all the vegetables I make. Eating the leftovers in eggs gets old. I miss being able to have only the portions I want with no leftovers to worry about.
3. The Good Breakfast Potatoes
My peers and I would be devastated on Sunday, post-party night, when TDR would put out tater tots as breakfast potatoes, but when they put out the good ones, we would eat five courses of them. Breakfast cafeteria foods are what I miss most because I hate eating cereal or oatmeal every morning.
4. Sneaking a Bag of Bagels
I miss snagging a bag of bagels in the toaster section that gave me five mornings of quick breakfast when I didn’t want to get out of bed during the winter. Now that I have to buy my own bagels, my wallet is as upset as I am.
5. Specialty Foods
Despite the culinary skills I do have, I am not adventurous enough to go buy, cut, and grill a pineapple or make an entire Portobello Wellington. TDR’s theme nights were either a hit or a dud, but on the nights whe they were good, I miss those fun cafeteria foods. When it’s just you and you’re on a budget, adventurous meals only come once in a blue moon.
What I miss most is TDR’s unique foods and the ability to get an array of flavors that are cooked and ready for me to eat. Cooking for one is difficult as I do not have the time or money to make full-size meals. I miss having the ability to go and get whatever I wanted instead of having to make #adultdecisions at the grocery store. Sadly, I cut my meal plan so all of these foods will forever be dreams or an occasional treating myself to a meal swipe.