The Nook in John Jay Dining Hall made to carry JJ's food - Fries, Wings, and Mozzarella Sticks

Even if it’s in John Jay, it’s still JJ’s-style

Following Monday’s announcement of JJ’s closing due to plumbing and facilities issues, Columbia Dining told us that John Jay Hall would be open during the afternoon and late night. But we just couldn’t believe that John Jay could fill the hole in our stomachs which JJ’s left, so we tested out John Jay Late Night ourselves.

According to the available menu, John Jay will serve fries, wings, and burgers, plus eggs and pancakes made to order. The menu will stay mostly static from night to night, but will alternate between chicken tenders (M/W/F) and mozzarella sticks (T/R/S), with fried mac & cheese on Sundays.

What the menu doesn’t cover is everything else made available. Everything from the basement was brought into the dining hall, from the ice cream cart to the fry sauces to the express breakfast refrigerator. Even the Jamba Jui- err, JJ’s Cool Zone, found its way upstairs, albeit in an unfrozen, too-syrupy form. Additionally, some John Jay Hall staples are available – half of the salad bar was open, a substantial improvement over what was available in JJ’s.

But when you get down to it, this isn’t too much different from what JJ’s was like. The open, bright dining hall makes for a louder and friendlier environment than JJ’s Place, and it’s a bit uncanny to see John Jay lit up at night. If you were on the fence about going to John Jay, you definitely should, as it doesn’t lose anything from its transition in location. Dining was on top of its game in making sure students would have a late-night place to eat, when they easily could have left us without one. But this isn’t a special enough event to go out and add a fourth meal to your day.

Definitely better than Hewitt Late Night via Ross Chapman