food

[exnihilo]

There's usually a choice between two things for each course, and a vegetarian option. The choices tend to be posted a week in advance so you can work out what days to avoid the place. But it's not like meal plans, you're either in or out and if you don't eat the meals for which you've paid - tough.

[flarewearer]

Quoting animal from 09:52, 27th Nov 2006
Perhaps it would be more fitting to have responses from people who have actually lived in halls in St Andrews in recent years.

Oh, I didn't realise it got amazingly better in the space of 4 years. My faux-pas, obviously.

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[Gubbins]

Quoting flarewearer from 20:20, 27th Nov 2006
Oh, I didn't realise it got amazingly better in the space of 4 years. My faux-pas, obviously.

Yup, it really did.

[hr]

...but then again, that is only my opinion.

[Otis redding]

Hall food tastes like dogs cocks

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"I am so bored with THE U.S.A." Strummer

[sporkaphobia]

Quoting VThigh from 19:40, 27th Nov 2006
can you pick between items, or is it a set menu for each day? Is it comparable to a cafeteria at a US school?

I did university back in the States and no, I can't say I really find it comparable to what it was like to eat in the cafeteria there.

Here, they only open the damned thing for 45 minutes three times a day. At my uni in the States, it was open all the time and they just served certain foods from certain times. If you wanted to show up at 3 in the afternoon for food, no problem.

There were also a LOT more options. Mainly because we also had things like Subway and Burger King on campus. But also because we had meal cards and got to choose how many meals a day we wanted. 1,2 or 3 a day and 7 days a week. It was entirely possible to get 21 meals a day there. Here, 19 is the absolute most and breakfast is at a pretty anti-social hour for those who aren't morning people.

Back in the US, it was always 6-10 main dishes on the serving line, another table with a bunch of stuff where you could make things yourself (waffles and other things like cereal) and then we had a pasta man who was very much my main source of food (he'd make up your choice of fresh sauteed veggies right there and mix it with one of the pastas you chose and then cook it all with one of the two sauces he had. all right there in front of you).

In addition to that, there were always loads of side things like fruit, vegetables, crisps, ice cream and so on.

St. Andrews gives you... 3 main dish options. This is how it goes at dinner (where you get the most food and options of the day): You choose your starter- which is a choice between soup, a very small glass of juice or fruit sometimes with an actual starter like springs rolls thrown in there. You choose one of the main dishes (like I said 3) or they also put up a salad or sandwich and you can chose that instead of a main dish. Then you get vegetables (in my hall it's almost always peas that are cold) and a potato (usually chips or a baked potato). Then you get a dessert/other- usually choosing between cheese and crackers (one or two crackers and one of cheese), a dessert or yogurt.

The one thing I WILL say is that desserts in hall are actually really good. There's a blackcurrant pie that tastes like they put an extra bit of sour in it for good measure but for the most part, the desserts are the highlight of my meal and I usually don't have a sweet tooth.

[Bizarre Atheist]

New Hall food was almost always very good. There were the occasional dubious dishes ('Queen of Pudding' and the world's toughest piece of pork spring to mind), but for the most part everything was molto bene.

My only real complaint was the incredible facism surrounding juice servings. Infuriating.

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http://www.race2paris.co.uk
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[amore vincit omnia]

Quoting Bizarre Atheist from 12:21, 28th Nov 2006
There were the occasional dubious dishes ('Queen of Pudding' and the world's toughest piece of pork spring to mind)

I absolutely love New Hall's Queen of Puddings, it's one of my favourite desserts. BA, you always did have odd taste...

More to the point though - hall food might not be amazing, but for the most part it's pretty good. You're unlikely to starve, and as long as you're not too fussy you'll probably find quite a few things you like. Even if you don't, though, being catered is worth it because it's really sociable and is a great way to meet people in your first year.

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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle

[Guest]

food in mcintosh 3 years ago was actually pretty good - i mean, nothing fancy, and yeah there were a few things that most people avoided (thai green chicken curry) but in general was alright, salad bar, quite a few options.
nothing really to complain about.

[Bonnie]

Take note: There are people who enjoy hall food--- and they all lived in McIntosh. McIntosh's chefs are known for being smart and caring . And I hear the other people that work in the kitchens are cool too

St Andrews catering is nothing like American university catering. There are set times and set dishes. You can ask for something NOT to be put on your plate-- I did that when I knew I wouldn't eat it and didn't want to waste food. In return, the ladies would give me more of the veggies if I wanted them, even though the veggies were way overdone.

I had friends lose a lot of weight whiel living in hall because they couldn't eat.

[unregistered]

Hall food is good, but they are really fussy about the portions - it's like, "this potato is too big, you can't have that unless you pay" or "you can't have two portions of beans even though you didn't want any chicken - you have to pay if want two portions"

[Kazilin]

They're only slightly fussy about portions, and you are allowed to go for seconds after a certain point - and then they are very much not fussy, at least in St Regulus. There's good reason for them to be a bit fussy the first time through, anyways - they are supposed to be providing for everyone in hall, and they have to be sure they have enough for everyone. Personally, I like my hall's food. Sure, it has it's bad days, but then there's always salad, ne? There are some dishes that are better than others, but that's to be expected. Overall, they give plenty of options, and it's a lot more convenient than having to provide your own meals. [img]littleicons/yellowhappyface.gif[/img]