The Caf: A Written Tour

I know that Krista told you a little bit about the caf and their fabulous cookies they make at lunch, but I realized I haven't told you about the rest of the caf where surprisingly I spend a large amount of my free time.  But I guess that makes sense since I need to eat.  And I did work there for the first semester.

Anyways, a written tour of the caf now begins.  When you walk through the double door with the words "The U" above you, Pam is usually the first person you interact with.  Pam scans your student ID and she is FANTASTIC.  A lovely women who gets to know everyone's names and I love having a quick chat with her before heading into the caf. The first station you encounter is the dessert section (which can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it).  That's where the cookie oven is located, the desserts, the soft-serve ice cream along with (and this could be considered slightly ironic depending on how you look at it) the fruits (apples, oranges and if you're lucky....bananas!).  It's at this point where you have two options: either take a left or continue straight into the heart of the caf (just like a choose your own adventure novel).  Let's take a left.

Going left, you reach the grill serving hot-off-the-grill burgers (some with cheese), french fries, and sometimes speciality sandwiches.  If you keep walking you'll see the Icee machine and if you take a right at the Icee machine you'll be at the pasta line.  The caf serves both wheat and white pasta along with a marianna and alfredo sauce.  The next stop on this written tour is if you keep walking straight after the pasta line you'll hit the hot food line.  This food changes for every meal.  At breakfast you'll find french toast (that's my favorite), eggs, hash browns, oatmeal, pancakes (regular, apple, banana, and chocolate chip to name a few); lunch and dinner always have a variety of options like mac and cheese (one of my favorites), lasagna (a Coe favorite), rice, veggies, chicken and other meat.  The hot food line also always includes a vegetarian option.  Once you reach the end of the hot food line and take a right, you'll be right in line for pizza.  There are always the classic pizza options like pepperoni, sausage, and cheese, but look out for some other unique options like barbecue chicken, a flatbread, and some other ones I can't think of right now.  At the end of the pizza line is the line for hot sandwiches (only served at lunch).  They are FABULOUS and I usually swear by them for lunch.

After grabbing some pizza, we've kind of reached the end of the left option.  So let's go back to the dessert and try going straight.

By going straight, on your left there is the Cook to Order.  One of the chefs is preparing a food of some sort during either the lunch or dinner period.  They are always good and the favorites are ones with pasta.  You can order it the way you like and it's a nice way to spice up your meal.  On your right is the salad bar and other miscellaneous toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, mustard, and ketchup for your burger.  My favorite part of the salad bar is the fresh fruit (made up of strawberries, grapes, and melons) they serve (they don't serve it everyday so it's always nice when they do).  If you take a left at the salad bar, you'll see the hot food line staring you straight in the face but you're not worrying about that right now, you'll looking on your left at the soup of the day (my favorite is the tortilla soup) and the sandwich bar line.  You can find bread, lunch meat, and taco toppings to spice up your sandwich.  The microwave, mini grill (to make grilled cheese), and tortilla soft shells are located here.  I usually haunt this area of the caf; I love making my own sandwich or having a bowl of soup.

If you were to continue straight at the salad bar you'll see the cereal bar and other breakfast like items (also known as the "granary") off to your left and the beverages off to your right.  We've got a waffle maker first up, followed by the peanut butter, cream cheese, and jelly.  And then the cereal.  Although it's not as big as Pixar's Cereal Bar (which I learned about on the extras of Toy Story 3, check it out, it's pretty sweet) it's still a nice spot for cereal.  My favorite is either Captain Crunch Crunch Berries or Reese's Puffs.  Both excellent choices. But there are more "healthier" options such as Cheerios, and cereals by Kashi.  The cereals change all the time so it's always worth a look.  Finally in the granary is the bagel and bread section and toaster.  If you venture straight any further, you'll run into the spot where you drop your dishes once you're done eating.  But back to beverages.  Lots of options like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Raspberry Ice Tea, Gatorade, coffee, tea, and milk.  And I know I've missed some but there's just a preview.

And that's the caf in a nutshell.  I hope I described it enough so you can get a picture in your head.  But before I call this post good, I'll talk about meal options.  PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS THIS IS FOR YOU! :)  As an incoming freshman you have three meal options: 11, 16, or 20 meals a week.

Coe doesn't offer a full 21 meals, on Sunday they offer a brunch beginning at 10:45 AM so we only have 20 meals a week.  The best deal for your money is 20 meals.  This past semester, I chose 16 meals a week and I liked that.  There were definitely weeks where I didn't use all my meals but for the most part I tried to have 16 meals at the caf a week.  That means I'm short four meals and I usually have breakfast in my room during the week so it all works out.  The meal option also comes with Coe cash which can be used in the PUB to buy other food and snacks.  For 11 meals you get $100, 16 meals gets $75, and 20 meals gets $25.  The catch with Coe cash is that once the semester is done, your Coe cash is as well (so make sure to spend as much as you can before your last final exam).

Again, prospective students, if you have any questions, comment on the post and I'll get it answered for you! :)

I think I need to go eat now, talking about the caf has made me hungry! More later!