Bates vs. Barb: Same School, Different Lunches

Emily Sawaked ‘24

The front of the Bates Center in the middle of the day. Photo courtesy of Emily Sawaked

With the start of the new semester, most people living on campus gathered at the new Barbara Walters Campus Center, as, in the start, it was the only dining hall even open. The center itself is a sight to behold, with high ceilings and a cavernous, modern atrium. Students congregate at the building for campus events, casual social gatherings and meals, but in the midst of all this traffic, the Bates Center still remains, offering the same, and even better, options.

Normally offering a buffet-style lunch, Bates now presents its (cold) options behind glass, kept in containers for students to request, grab, and go. Be that as it may, most students living on campus, including myself, find themselves eating at the Barbara Walters Campus Center more often than not, especially with mobile orders making transactions easier and safer. Personally, I enjoy being able to order ahead and pick my meal up when it’s ready, allowing for quick meals while avoiding awkward interactions and continuing to distance during the pandemic. And though a quick meal means that there’s more time in the day to do work or hang out with friends, quality also tends to be forgotten, at least according to Gracie Shanklin ’24, who is currently living on campus.

“I’ve gotten food poisoning from the meat at the Barb,” said Shanklin. This, she explained, is one of the reasons why she does not eat meat from the school anymore, instead looking towards the vegan and vegetarian options offered by the dining services.

Aside from student claims of contracting food poisoning from the Barbara Walters Campus Center, or the Barb, as it is  known by students, the food does not always live up to certain expectations. In plenty of cases, the food was simply not good, not to mention I’ve found that there are very limited vegetarian and vegan options, and more often than not, the food ends up wasting away sadly in my refrigerator at Hill House. Another important fact to note is that neither dining halls offer a wide variety of Halal or Kosher meals, which, on top of the limited vegetarian and vegan dishes, I think is something that could be amended altogether.

But Bates simply has far better dining options. For one, the pizza actually tastes like pizza, rather than a crunchy flatbread with translucent cheese that my friends and I have jokingly considered questionable in authenticity.

A common theme in the comparisons between the two campus centers is that, while they sometimes serve the same dishes, the food at Bates tastes fresher. I’ve noticed that certain meals at the Barb are pre-made, pulled from a container of sorts and covered in plastic wrap. I don’t doubt that they are made fresh, but the way they preserve the food for students makes a world of difference. Whereas Bates keeps their food in a serving style, at a constant high temperature and open for students to see and request to be packaged, the Barb food, particularly the entrees, is individually packaged and stored. The only similarity in service between the two is that the sandwiches and salads are pre-made and packaged for students, as opposed to made-to-order.

The sandwiches and salads at Bates, despite also being prepackaged, are far superior. For one, they offer a variety of ingredients that change, or rotate, everyday. I absolutely love them. My particular favorite is the Autumn Harvest salad, which includes cranberries, oranges, beets, and brie cheese, among other things. The sandwiches, too, are positively delicious. I had this portobello mushroom sandwich with a vinaigrette dressing that I loved, especially as a mushroom connoisseur. Such options are never offered at the Barb, where meals stay the same every week, with new items added very rarely. The salads themselves almost always contain meat, so I can only comfortably eat one of the salad dishes at the Barb. 

Another example — the Barb was serving a vegan jambalaya for dinner, and the idea seemed appealing. The results, as previously mentioned, did not live up to my expectation. It did not taste like jambalaya. It was mediocre –– at best. Bates, on the other hand, served the same meal, only this version was steaming and tasted closer to what a jambalaya is supposed to taste like, or at least a collegiate adaptation of the dish. Even the tomato soup, a simple side dish, is far more savory at the Bates Center than it is at the Barb, with the Bates soup instead tasting similar to a vodka sauce. 

“It tasted like my mother’s cooking,” noted Ilaria D’Andrea ’24 when recalling the difference between the two dishes. “It made me feel warm and comforted, in a way.”

That speaks volumes about the quality comparison between the two centers. Bates can spark such nostalgia, but the food at the Barb, most times, just ends up being unremarkable. 

This is not to say that the Barb does not have its gems. A few options are held in high esteem by my friends and I, side choices like the samosas and chips, for example. Both options are unavailable at Bates, and they are rather delectable. Though I haven’t personally had them, my roommate has told me that the chicken tenders are actually not that bad, and I find that many meat-eaters flock towards them, as well as the quesadillas. I will also admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed the vegan power salad and the vegetarian black bean burger offered at the Barb.

While I do enjoy the vegan dishes –– and even the brownies and fruit cups –– at Bates more, sometimes the far walk from Hill House simply isn’t worth the meal, especially on busy days. Because Sarah Lawrence dorms are equipped with kitchens, I find myself cooking most of my own meals, which is something I know my podmate, who’s vegan, does as well. As a vegetarian, the options at the college are not nearly as plentiful as they are for students who eat meat, no matter which campus center one goes to, which is something that should change, as should  meals for students who are gluten intolerant, another issue in and of itself. But if you’re looking for a quality meal that you’ve already paid for and don’t want to cook, enjoy the scenic walk and stop over at the Bates Center–ID and symptom tracker at the ready.