Dining hall food is a factor to consider when deciding which college you want to attend. For someone who isn’t the biggest foodie, dining hall food wasn’t one of my biggest priorities when choosing which college I wanted to attend, but when I got to Amherst, I found out that there are a lot of great meals at Valentine Dining Hall, referred to as “Val” by students.
Last semester, I woke up almost every weekday morning to get breakfast with my friends before class, and I found that Val’s breakfast tends to be the most consistent in terms of dining options. I enjoy Val’s pancakes, specifically the chocolate chip pancakes, and the mini croissants, specifically chocolate croissants (can you guess what my favorite flavor is?). On Friday mornings, Val has a variety of donuts, including classic flavors like glazed and chocolate as well as cider donuts, which I discovered are a popular staple pastry in the Northeast. I also enjoy the selection of smoothies that are available at breakfast – my personal favorite is the strawberry smoothie but I also enjoy the mixed berry smoothie.
While I usually get Grab-n-Go for lunch (see my Grab-n-Go blog post), if I can find the time, I go to Val for lunch when they have my favorite meals. A popular lunch meal, and one of my favorites, is the grilled cheese sandwich lunch meal – my favorite part of the meal is probably the tomato bisque soup that students are willing to wait in long lines to get. I also really enjoy the Miso salmon meal. Val also has a meal where you can make your own semi-poké bowl with bulgogi chicken and sticky rice and add-ons like green onions and seaweed. Lunch desserts are usually either brownies or cookies, and my favorite cookies are the chocolate chunk cookies that are similar to the ones at Grab-n-Go. I also enjoy Val’s sugar cookies. Another great meal is the Chicken Po Boy sandwich – this tends to also be a popular lunch meal at Val. On weekends, Val sometimes has Charlie’s fried chicken and avocado, which makes for a great sandwich.
There are a ton of dinner options as well. My favorite dinner meal is the chicken meal, in which Val offers a variety of chicken including chicken tenders, barbeque chicken wings, and just about every other variation of chicken you can possibly think of. Another great meal is the sirloin tips. If the dinner meal doesn’t seem super appealing, Val always has a salad bar and great pizza. Dessert at dinner is usually cake, but sometimes, Val has ice cream sandwich bars and popsicles for dessert.
Occasionally, Val has ice cream with plenty of toppings options at late night, which are the meals available on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights for students who get a little hungry and need a snack break from their studying. Late night has a ton of fantastic meals, including mozzarella sticks, crispy chicken filets, and a variety of cookies. I’m still exploring the different Val meals, and I can’t wait to see what other meals Val decides to try out in the near future!