By Erica Moser, News Correspondent
Northeastern dining officials rolled out new on-campus food options this fall, which have won over students with updated menus and renovated spaces.
Major restaurants such as Subway and Argo Tea have established locations in university buildings and cooks have introduced new options to students in the dining halls.
The new Argo Tea in Snell Library, the chain’s only location in New England, occupies the space that was formerly the Cyber Café.
“I like what they did with the space over there. It used to look like a cave,” Elisabeth Lee, a third-year international affairs major, said. “I like that there’s a place that’s more focused on tea than coffee.”
Although Argo Tea officially opened Aug. 29, it hosted its grand opening – Argo GrandFestiviTEA – on Sept. 15 in front of Snell. The event featured free samples of Argo’s signature drinks, like Carolina Honey, Green Tea Ginger Twist, Iced Pom Tea and White Tea Acai Squeeze.
Tim LePage, Student Government Association vice president for student services, said he highly recommends the chocolate mint and red velvet teas.
“I’m probably going to go bankrupt from it being right here,” he said.
Another new food venue is Subway, which replaced Mondo Subs in Ryder Hall. Some students who were upset to see Mondo go have still been happy with Subway, LePage said.
“It’s healthy; it’s [got] a lot of vegetables,” Huynh Vo, a sophomore chemistry major, said. “They don’t restrict on the amount of vegetables.”
LePage said he is working with dining services to implement a meal swipe option at Subway.
Rebecca’s Café in Churchill Hall was also overhauled this summer, changing to a more open space in line with the company’s traditional corporate design. Consistent crowds and a six additional staff members at the sandwich counter indicate the restaurant’s growing popularity.
“It’s nicer in here, but we still have to wait,” Nick Blanchard, a middler mechanical engineering major said. When asked about a favorite food option, both he and Joe Heelan, also a middler mechanical engineering major, looked at each other and immediately said the barbequed pork sandwich. However, Heelan also said he misses the Cape Cod chips, which have been replaced by the smaller and locally-owned Wachusett Potato Chip Company.
“There’s a lot more options and you can take the food to go. And it’s closer to the library,” Corinne Bertolaccini, a third-year pharmacy major, said.
Northeastern and Chartwell’s, the university’s food services provider, showcased dining hall options from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. yesterday with the annual Fall Food Fest outside of Stetson East. The goal was to provide students the with opportunity to interact with the dining hall’s vendors. This includes Sid Wainer, which sells the dining hall fresh produce, and Old Neighborhood Foods, which features Thin & Trim, a line of deli meats that contains no gluten, trans fats or MSG.
The event featured free dishes such as open-faced chipotle chicken melts, pineapple teriyaki-baked chicken wings, buffalo chicken flatbread pizza, jambalaya, sweet potato tots, Pop-Tarts and Yoplait Greek yogurt.
The festival was also a convenient place for the Northeastern chapter of Slow Food to market itself. Slow Food is an international group that started in Italy with the “basis of getting back to where food comes from,” Zack Hanrahan, a fourth-year business major, said. Hanrahan was dressed in a peapod costume for the fest.
The new university food truck which will be “all over campus for different events,” LePage said, was also stationed at the festival. Currently a white box vehicle, the truck has a red “Name Me” tag on its side. Students can enter the Name the Truck contest, which runs through Oct. 1 and offers a prize of a food truck party for the winner and 25 friends.
