The Inaugural Post

Hi, and thanks for stopping by Dining Halls Done Right.

If you're reading this post, you're probably unhappy with the food at OU's dining halls.  Or maybe not.  But if you are an OU student, chances are you've had at least a year of living in the dorms, which means that for three quarters there was a dining hall that was a pretty big fixture in your day-to-day campus life.  

Perhaps you lived way out in New South (like I used to) and made the trek to Nelson everyday.  Or maybe you lived on East Green, and enjoyed the stir-fries of Jefferson hall on a regular basis.  Or you might have lived on West Green, with Boyd Hall and it's accompanying market and Grab 'n' Go close by.  Heck, you might even have lived in Bromley Hall (like I do now) and savored each weekday when you only had to ride the elevator downstairs to eat. 

If you follow my future posts, you might notice that I write about Bromley Hall more than any other dining hall.  If it seems like I have a Bromley-centric point of view, this is because I live in Bromley, which is conveniently located uptown and close to my classes, but inconveniently located away from anything else on campus.  But if you'll bear with me, I eventually plan to travel to all the dining halls to explore options and make comparisons.

Finally, I'd like to make a disclaimer that although it might appear as if I hate OU's dining hall food, in reality I really don't mind it all that much.  Some people eat to live and some people live to eat.  I fall into the latter category.  Perhaps it's because I'm not that picky, but most of the food served at the dining halls tastes pretty decent to me.  In my opinion, the real problem lies in the selection, in that it's non-existent.  I can only get Taco Bar and "Bromley Dogs" so often.  That being said, there certainly is some God-awful food sometimes.  But that's why I started this blog to begin with (that, and because it's the main assignment of my online journalism class).  We've all got to make due with what we're given at the dining halls, and that's what this blog is all about.  

Which brings me to my actual final point.  Once a week, I will post a recipe for a tasty dish that can be made from ingredients in the dining hall.  Think pizza bagels, quesadillas, something to fall back on when the menu is looking grim.  This is where you, the reader(s), come in.  From talking to friends and dining hall employees, I've scrounged together a few decent ideas for meals to make, but I only have so many.  So if you have any, please leave a comment and share them!  It doesn't matter if it's incredibly simple or incredibly hard to make.  When I get suggestions, I'll do my best to make the dish at the dining hall and document the entire process.  That way, if it turns out well, then we'll all have something good to eat.  And if it's a disaster, then hopefully you, the reader(s), can have a good time laughing at my failure.  

So thanks again for reading my blog.  I hope we all come out of this more educated patrons of the Ohio University dining halls.

(Picture at top right: the view from my room in Bromley Hall.  Photo by Nathaniel Maund.)