FOOD FIGHT

When it comes to dining food specials, students know what they want to eat, and according to data recently released by Dining Services, they're just as clear about what they don't want: parmesan-crusted flounder.

Dining Services offers about 60 lunch and dinner specials on a monthly rotation, with meals ranging from brisket to mushroom fettuccine alfredo. Officials said there is a large disparity between the most popular meals and the ones students seldom buy, which is why Dining Services officials say they evaluate meals' popularity on a regular basis.

Given the gap between the top three and bottom three dishes sold, there's no question about what students are willing to wait in line for. According to Dining Services spokesman Bart Hipple, the buffalo chicken sandwich is the most popular value dish, averaging more than 1,000 meals sold a month. Chicken Veronique sells about 1,000 servings and chicken cordon bleu comes in third place, with about 900 plates sold.

At the bottom of the list lies meatloaf, shrimp lo mein and parmesan-crusted flounder — all three sold only 300 to 350 meals a month, prompting Executive Chef John Gray to pull them from the menu in February.

The rest of the 54 meals sell about 600 to 700 plates a month, he said.

And staying on top of this data is critical, Gray said, noting he constantly evaluates what students like and what they don't.

"As I see the numbers fluctuate, I look to see if it's being made wrong or if it's something students are tired of to decide whether or not to keep it on the menu," he said.

Dining Services officials have been paying extra attention to these numbers lately as they determine what to serve in 251 North — a dining hall with an all-you-can-eat meal plan and buffet-style options that's set to open on North Campus in the fall.

"We are looking at really classic favorites across campus," Hipple said. "We will have, say, a hearth-baked pizza and a really good hamburger. We tried to add in different flavors and cuisines that are not currently being served on campus. It will have a background of really good food, but will be different than anything else we serve on campus."

Reviewing how popular the recipes are is Gray's way of ensuring students don't lose money by purchasing value meals, he said, because when a certain meal doesn't sell well, its price increases the next month to compensate for lost revenue.

When he first arrived at the university two years ago and was tasked with revamping the menu, Gray said he examined how various meals had sold previously to determine what he wanted to keep. He said he even prepared about 75 percent of the meals to taste himself. Since then, Gray said he has continued to try new recipes with chefs from both dining halls.

Although Dining Services' data shows there's a large gap in popularity between which meals students prefer, one department employee who serves value meals said he doesn't see much of a difference.

"With buffalo chicken, it is always crowded … super crowded," said Jerome Blyther, who works at the North Campus Dining Hall. "But I mean, it's not too regularly that it's not crowded — it's crowded every day to me."

But many students disagreed, saying there are clear contenders for the best and worst meals offered.

"When I lived on North Campus, I got them all the time," senior criminology and criminal justice major Brett Wallace said, noting he doesn't have a dining plan any more. "I mean, they looked good, and it's a pretty good value rather than paying for everything a la carte."

And though most students said they appreciate the lower cost-per-item of value meals, they said some of the dishes could be more appetizing.

"There's one thing that's like fried steak or something," freshman aerospace engineering major Jesse Cummings said. "To be honest, even hearing that sounds disgusting. If they had more food from home, it would definitely be better."

And while some students, such as sophomore letters and sciences major Christa Goldmann, said fish is one of the better value-meal options, others had complaints specifically geared toward the seafood option.

Freshman philosophy major Elliott Epstien said, in general, he'd like to see a decrease in the number of fish meals sold, noting they seem to be sold frequently.

"Please, just no more f---ing catfish," Epstien said. "There's a reason it's served every day — nobody eats it."

romas at umdbk dot com