By: Jen Duque | Staff Writer
Here at Salve, I don’t think we will ever get over the loss of our beloved Global Café (gone but never forgotten). It brought so much joy and comfort into our lives with its warm, delicious foods such as the grilled cheese with bacon (my personal favorite) and its late night meal swipe option. This is the first year without Global, and to put it lightly, life around campus has become a little dull without it.
This year, Salve has come up with a couple options to make up for the loss. The first is the Starbucks that has been implemented on the first floor of the library, fully stocked with cold sandwiches and salads that are accessible to students with a meal swipe. Like many students, my initial thought was, “Where is the warm comfort food that will make me feel better after a long study session?” I applaud their intent, but we are not satisfied.
This semester, to help appease the complaints of the students, Salve Activities has come up with a new late-night food option that began on Saturday, January 25. Two food trucks, Amano Pizza and Haven Brothers, now alternate coming onto campus between the hours of 7pm-10pm. On Friday, February 7, I went to try out one of the new late-night options on campus for myself.
Haven Brothers food truck offers footlong subs for $10. Each sub is filled with french fries, mozzarella sticks, and chicken tenders topped with a different kind of sauce. The one I tried was called “The Friar”, which comes with sweet and sour sauce on top. With three of the greatest foods of all time put together on a sandwich, I had high expectations.
Sadly, I was disappointed. First of all, the sub was too big for the plate and the sauce was spilling everywhere. Second, as good as it sounds, all of those ingredients are much better on their own. It was very difficult to eat, and I ended up just picking each ingredient out of the sandwich and eating them separately. Overall, I’d say that it sounds better than it actually is, and although it is a lot of food it is not worth the $10.
The second thing I tried was the “Garbage Plate” also for $10. It is very similar to the sandwich, but it was simply a tray of french fries, chicken tenders, and mozzarella sticks topped with nacho cheese instead of the sweet and sour sauce. As good as this option sounds, I think I would’ve enjoyed the Garbage Plate much more if there was no cheese on it at all. I found myself picking around at the parts that didn’t have cheese on them and wiping cheese off of the chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks to avoid wasting them.
Despite the cheese, this option had a lot of potential. My biggest complaint would be the fries to tenders and mozzarella stick ratio. It was VERY disproportionate as it had a MILLION fries that were spilling over the sides of the tray, just two uneven chicken tenders that were mostly breading, and two very small mozzarella sticks. I can say I liked this more than the sandwich, but I also don’t think it was worth the $10.
The third thing I tried were the Mac and Cheese Bites, which had nine pieces for $8. This was the best food I had from this food truck, however, they were very small. It was nostalgic, as they tasted pretty much like the ones from Global Café. I was happy with the mac and cheese bites, but I would also say they were overpriced.
The last thing I got was a root beer float. This was my favorite thing on the menu, but I think it was also overpriced for $4.50. It was delicious but it was too small for the price and it was just your standard root beer and a scoop of ice cream.
Overall, I would rate this food truck a disappointing 4/10.
My biggest complaints with the food truck option were the prices on the menu and the method of payment. Global Café offered students good, accessible food after 8pm with the use of a meal swipe and even the use of our Seahawk Bucks that come with the meal plan. The only way we can get food from the trucks is to use cash, card, or money that we ourselves add onto our card to be able to pay for it.
With all the money that each student spends on a meal plan, I don’t understand why we can’t use a swipe at the food truck. Although it is a noble attempt to amend the broken hearts of Salve students, it is not a solution.
As a college student myself, I can confidently say we are all broke and hungry (a terrible combination) and we just want some good, easily accessible, and affordable food here on campus. Is that too much to ask?
