By: Liam W. Cooney | Staff Writer
The critics will remain, the doubters will doubt, yet one thing I hope we can all agree upon… That there have been some notable improvements this semester to Miley Dining Hall.
Rumors were swirling late last semester of potential changes to be made to the Salve dining experience. This, of course, a once vague possibility, “improvements,” yet it has now come to fruition. To get an inside scoop on the changes that have been set forth, I looked no further than interviewing everyone’s favorite Miley staffer, omelet chef Jonice Medina.
Jon mentioned much of what students have been able to notice with their own eyes the past month. That being the all anticipated smoothie bar, cook to order mongolian, pop up make your own pizza station, and an increase in ice cream/frozen yogurt flavors. Further improvements, some of which I did not know about, would be increased options for Vegan eaters. Including Home-Style Vegetable Burgers, “The Veganator,” as well as “Buffalo Chickpea” burgers, made locally in Boston, Mass. Not a Vegan eater by any means, but I may try the Buffalo Chickpea burger, just because that sounds really good.
As for what we can continue to expect from Jon and the rest of the Miley staff this spring, Jon told me we can look forward to new enhancements to his “famous Eggs Benny special, Pop Up Breakfast Burrito Bars, BYO Cinnamon Buns, Breakfast Tacos (this sounds really good) and more!”
What I have noticed and enjoyed about Miley thus far this semester is that it does feel a little bit more personalized. Miley was always as the kids say “solid,” yet I do feel some clear improvements have been made. In my opinion, most notably with the made-to-order Mongolian Grill as well as the Smoothie Bar. The first time I had the new Mongolian (after a two week long standoff because I was nervous about the new system), it was 10x better than the past, I was enthralled over chicken and rice. The Smoothie station I have also become accustomed to as of late, and I personally enjoy the 2-3 daily smoothies made, simply picking what sounds good in front of me and enjoying it with a meal.
Furthermore, little things such as your own ticket at Mongolian and the interesting little standing devices that come and go, saying “how was your experience today at Miley?” in which you then choose from a range of smiling to frowning faces, have once again made the experience a little more personalized and enjoyable. Many complaints were just and needed in the past, yet I feel that the recent improvements are clear and deserve some recognition in their own right.
Jon finished the interview by saying, “The way the staff has come together shows our commitment and teamwork from where we were to where we are now. There is a lot of pride in our team at Miley Dining Hall. We take our part in your higher education journey seriously and we are committed to an elevated and amazing dining program.”
Photos by Jonice Medina
