And the Winner is...??

Since this is the final post, it seems appropriate to finally settle the dispute of which is the better dining hall, whether it would be Coates or Mabee Dining Hall. With factors discussed in previous posts taken into consideration, factors such as accessibility, food quality, and location, it seems that these two dining halls are equally matched. Each of these dining halls has both positive and negative aspects associated with them. Although Mabee Dining Hall offers more proper and higher quality meals, it is not very accessible compared to Coates Dining Hall. Coates on the other hand, is accessible most of the time, providing students with food in odd hours of the day. Unlike Mabee however, Coates offers lower quality meals, offering only light bites such as pizzas and hamburgers or snacks. Therefore, depending on your current situation, different dining halls are “better” during different instances. Since each Coates and Mabee Dining Halls serve different purposes, it seems pointless to argue on which of the two is the “better” dining hall. Ultimately, both dining halls are needed to provide students with full service. Could you imagine how much more inconvenient life would become if either Coates or Mabee Dining halls were brought out of service?

Castelli, Sandro. "Cartoon. Beer Can Duel." Sandro Castelli Illustrations. 17 November, 2009 <http://www.sandrocastelli.com/works_paginas/beercanduel.htm>

Location: Prime

When it comes to location, Coates Dining Hall without a doubt is situated in a much more convenient place than Mabee. It is nicely situated between the lower campus, which is where the dormitories are located, and the upper campus, which is where classes, the mail center, the library and other administrative buildings are located. Therefore, students would inevitably pass through Coates Dining Hall on a daily basis.

The prime location of Coates Dining Hall fits well with its intended purpose, which is to provide students with quick, easy access to food . Coates Dining Hall, compared to Mabee Dining Hall, provides a much greater variety of quick bites, such as sandwiches, hamburgers, pizzas and smoothies. It provides a way for students to have those quick bites in between classes. Mabee on the other hand, mostly provides students with proper meals rather than quick bites. It mostly serves food that are served on plates and intended for diners to casually enjoy their food.

Therefore, although Coates Dining Hall is situated in a more convenient location, both dining halls serves different purposes. Mabee Dining Hall is intended for students who intend to sit back and casually enjoy proper meals. Coates on the other hand, is usually intended for students who are under time constraint and in need of quick bites before they are off to do their next errand.

"Where to Locate Your Cattery." Start a Cattery. 4 November, 2009 <http://www.startacattery.co.uk/where-locate-your-cattery.html>

The Pasta Line---

When one thinks of Mabee Dining Hall, the word “pasta” would definitely come to mind. The pasta found in Mabee may be one of the most popular meals in all of Trinity. After giving their pasta a taste, it is no wonder that this meal has become Trinity’s favorite. There are many factors, other than the great taste itself, that makes the pasta in Trinity so popular.

The first factor is that diners are given many choices on how they want their pasta to be done. Not only are they given a choice of 3 different kinds of pasta, they are also given choices on what sauce, meat or cheese they want in their pastas. With so many ways that diners can customize their pastas with, it would naturally appeal to many different individual tastes, which in turn would attract more customers.

Secondly, the young workers who are stationed at the pasta line are simply enjoyable to be around. Not only do they serve you with great tasting pastas, but they are also always lively and never fail to provide you with a little entertainment while waiting in line. From their unfortunate stories at work to their nonsensical arguments, you will always leave that pasta station with a little smile on your face.

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"How to Make Pasta." InDepthInfo.com. 21 October, 2009 <http://www.indepthinfo.com/pasta/images/illustration.jpg>

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Philly Cheese Steak Anyone?

It has been over a month since I first moved to this campus and I have tried every single item that both Mabee and Coates Dining Halls offer. Although the quest of trying everything on the menu was exciting, the feeling after I have done the feat was disappointing. I felt much less satisfaction than I initially expected. Now, whenever it is time for lunch or dinner, I always hope that one of my friends who owns a car is planning to eat out, since, to be honest, I really am not looking forward to eating in campus anymore.

Recently however, I have found something that changed my attitude on this issue. A friend of mine told me that it is actually possible to order something that is totally off the menu, like the Philly Cheese Steak for one. This delicacy can be found in Grille Works in Coates, which is you can usually find the Sirloin burgers or the grilled chicken sandwich. You can just ask them if they have it that day (which is usually a yes) and it costs a reasonable amount too ($5.00 since I last bought it).

I have not really found other foods that the school sells off menu, but I guess with a little “asking around” I could find plenty more. As soon as I find one, I will be sure to inform you in my blog.

Image Retrieved From:

Legacy Matters. October 2, 2009. 6 October, 2009 <http://www.estatevaults.com/lm/images/__PHILLY_CHEESE_STEAK.jpg>

When you're hungry, where do you go?

Simple question, which is better? The Mabee Dining Hall or the dining hall in Coates. In order to do this, I will be looking at several factors, such as the quality of food, the variety of food and the employees working in each of the dining halls.

Let's leave those topics for a later date though, for now I want to discuss the accessibility of the dining halls. Many of us, including myself, end our classes later in the afternoon, like 2 o' clock for instance. Imagine getting out of class at 2 in the afternoon, hungry from food deprivation from 9 o'clock that morning. You get out of class thinking of getting the pasta from Mabee. After taking the relatively long walk from your class you reach Mabee. You walk up the steps and and pushes open the door, but wait...the door would not budge. You try the other side and the same thing happens. At this point in time, you would peer in the tinted glass door and see that there is absolutely not a soul in there, and then you realise that is it CLOSED! You would then glance left at the "hours of operation sheet" and see that you have just missed your pasta by a mere 10 minutes.

Well it was not until the second week of school that I realized the rarity of Mabee Dining Hall being opened. F0r those of you who have not yet fully grasped this, their hours of operation looks something like this:

Monday - Thursday : 8:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m; 5:00 p.m - 7:30 p.m.

Friday: 8:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m; 5:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday: 8:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m

Sunday: 8:00 a.m - 7:00 p.m

From this schedule, you can see that Mabee is really receptive to only breakfast and it is very easy to miss both the lunch and dinner time span.

PS: The employees pack up the food 10 minutes early so that they can leave at 2:00 sharp. Even if you get there at 1:50, you might not get any food!

The dining hall in Coates however, is open most of the time. I have not recalled a time when that dining hall has failed my expectations by being closed when I am hungry. Here is what the hours of the dining hall in Coates University Center would look like:

Monday - Friday: 7:00 a.m -midnight!

Saturday: 2:00 p.m - midnight!

Sunday: 7:00 p.m - midnight!

When it comes to accessibility, Coates definitely wins a point. Mabee - 0, Coates - 1.

*Picture is obtained from http://frederatorblogs.com/nicktoons/files/2008/04/closed_sign.thumbnail.jpg