Fill up at the Depot, but skip the salad

The Depot in Wolman Hall offers convenience for students that want a quick meal, but the quality of the food varies wildly and it will not be cheap.

If you're on the meal plan you'll have to be careful about what you get or you'll quickly exceed the meal equiv rates. For example, if you want to get a seafood salad and drink for lunch you're out of luck, because at $3.99 for the salad you won't even be able to get a small drink without dipping into your J-CASH balance.

During the first few weeks the Depot seemed to be cursed with the same old weak coffee that is served in the dining halls. The recent changes to Starbucks coffee have greatly improved the quality, although the price is rather steep.

A wide variety of bagels and pastries are also available which make for a quick and tasty breakfast or lunch. Quality is quite good, especially for the bagels, which are often fresh enough that they do not need toasting or reheating. The pastries can at times be stale. However, the cinnamon rolls are probably the highlight of the Depot, and priced at under a dollar, are one of the best bargains as well.

For those who want something more substantial for breakfast muffins with eggs and bacon or sausage are also available. They're pretty good, but at $1.89 you won't be able to get a drink or coffee with them without using J-CASH.

Numerous salads are available at the Depot, and they range in quality from tasty to repugnant. The Chef's Salad is certainly the weakest part of the selection, mainly due to poor lettuce quality. If you're lucky you can get a decent one, but chances are pretty good that your overpriced salad will be in an advanced stage of decomposition when you get it. Sodexho is apparently more generous with the preservatives on the Caesar salads, because their lettuce is of far superior quality. The seafood salad is decent as well.

The Depot's sandwiches usually leave a lot to be desired. Particularly repugnant is the roast beef sandwich, which is so salty that it borders on inedible. The ingredients in the ham, turkey and veggie sandwiches are of better quality, but none of them ever taste fresh. If you have pick one, be sure to pick the Turkey.

Other offerings at the Depot are yogurt, cereal, fruit and a wide selection of beverages. Last year the Depot offered an abundance of frozen food items. However, with the current changes to the meal plan, these items are now located in the Jay Store.

The Depot's staff deserves a mention as well. The cashiers are cheerful and friendly (especially Delores and Wendell), and they also do an excellent job of making sure the food remains stocked and the coffee pots are full.

Even though the Depot is a decent place to quickly grab some food, some simple improvements would help it greatly. Sushi, which is now only available at the Jay Store, would be a welcome addition. Some sort of combo option so you could get a salad and drink without exceeding the meal equiv rates would also be nice.