An (early) V-Dub Breakfast!

As neither Kyle nor I are big breakfast people (breakfast in the dorm has become quite a habit of ours) we elected to go to the V-Dub (formally known as the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall), rather than make the trek over to the Ratty.  While breakfast in a dining hall certainly saves preparation and cleanup time, actually getting to the V-Dub meant waking up earlier, not our favorite thing to do as college students (as evidenced by the picture).

One of the biggest differences we noticed eating in a dining hall was that instead of eating the same meals (as we did for local foods day), we both ended up eating different types of food because of the greater range of options available.  Of course options can be a definite plus, but we couldn’t help but be conscious the potential environmental impact (I mean, we were there for an Environmental class…) that having so many types of foods at every meal has.

For breakfast, I had an apple, two hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, and a glass of milk, while Kyle stuck to a simpler combination of strawberry yogurt and an apple.  The food was definitely fine (and edible! Which unfortunately is more than some schools can say for their cafeterias…), but the apples were noticeably mealier and the overall meal just a little less flavorful.  Of course when cooking for a few thousand students this is definitely understandable and expected, and overall it was a satisfactory meal.

While we will get into more exact monetary calculations later on, it is interesting to consider the cost of dining hall eating.  Breakfast in a Brown dining hall is valued at $6.40 and all-you-can eat, so theoretically you can get a great value for your meal.  At least for us though, the reality was that we don’t eat too much at breakfast.  That means that Kyle, for example, spent $6.40 on small bowl of yogurt and an apple (or $3.20 for each, depending on how you break down the numbers).  I think most people would agree that $3.20 for an apple is pricey…but for me, the value per breakfast item was much better since I ate more.  This is all my way of saying that with dining hall eating the price or affordability meals really depends of what kind of eater you are (something you should try and figure out about yourself!)

Judging by how empty the V-Dub was when we went though, most people (like us) choose to have their breakfasts elsewhere.