Bwog Staff misses Columbia and Barnard Dining halls and all the fun they had to offer. Bwog Staff reminisces on all the food they miss and, most importantly, what makes each dining hall truly special. 

We love you, Columbia and Barnard Dining, and can’t wait to be reunited. Here is what we miss… 

John Jay 

• Spa water that always hit no matter what (loved the cucumber ginger and honeydew). 
• BAGELS (they were seriously so good).  
• LOX on Sunday mornings and the long lines that accompanied its pursuit. 
• Omelet station with its confusing process that once understood was seriously incredible. 
• Creative concoctions at the salad bar that looked simultaneously disgusting yet good. 
• Chunky mystery smoothies—always a surprise! 
• Warm cookies… red velvet, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin… and consuming way too many of them.
• Ice from the soda machines. Seriously fire.  
• The sushi that was garbage but satisfied enough. 
• The nook? Whatever that area between the desserts and the fancy water is. They just put whatever they wanted there. On one Bwog Staffer’s last trip, they had corn dogs. 
• The bread!!!  
• The pierogies. You could catch one Bwog Staffer walking out of the dining hall with three napkins and one coffee cup full of those potato babies.
• It wasn’t great but one Bwog Staffer appreciated the attempts with the Yucca/Cassava roots. 
• The kidney bean dish that always looked bad but was always surprisingly good.
• The tub of sunflower butter! Always got too much.

Ferris 

• Bagged avocado, better known as “bagvocado” or “green goo”… Well, we’re not sure if we miss the avocado goo so to speak but it got a lot of Bwog Staffers through many, many a morning. 
• The pasta that filled a niche. We will not say it was a good niche, but it did its job and we loved it for that… still amazed by how it managed to be souplike and watery in texture. 
• The oatmeal—so soft, so comforting, and so many toppings!
• The buffalo chicken wraps that had no business being as good as they were. 
• Arroz con Pollo and plantains (there is a reason why Ferris won the food fight). 
• The Ferris toaster for dealing with everything we threw at it. The things that Bwog Staff saw people put in there…
  • One Bwog staffer saw it fully on fire one day but they just unplugged it and it Still. Worked. 
• The deceiving desserts that appeared much better than they tasted… yes…that is fully directed to you disputed Ferris cheesecake. 
• The cheesecakes and carrot cake… It made ne Bwog staffer feel like a real New Yorker every time.
• The garlic knots that kill one Bwog Staffer but are worth it. 
• The salad bar. The black olives/feta combo that could be found anywhere but that really hit different in the Ferris Booth Dining Hall.
• The quesadillas. The highlight of one Bwog Staffer’s Wednesday night!!
• The eggs. It’s not the meal but the ~experience~ and goddamn were those eggs such a comfort during the weekend after a long week.
• THE FERRIS BISCUITS. ONE BWOG STAFFER WANTS THAT UNDERCOOKED, HONEY GLAZED DOUGH, BABY.
• The enormous bowl of dates at the nut section (?). 
• The Omelets.
  • One Bwog staffer notes “John Jay could never.”

JJ’s Place 

• The very bad yet very good mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders that left Bwog Staff craving more. 
• The always broken soft serve machines that when they did work paired perfectly with crispy fries. 
• The milkshake machines that were never the right consistency. Always way too liquidy.  
• The mac and cheese bites for being there every Sunday. 
• The hot chocolate that Bwog Staff never got tired of. 
• Mixing gummy bears with the slushies… a godly combination. 
• The Impossible burger with the Carolina BBQ sauce. This was all one Bwog staffer and their friends ate, initially as drunk food but then as a real, respectable dinner when their standards disappeared.
• Mango slushie; spiked or not, it hits.

Hewitt

• The small plates for making it take longer to get food and then providing a fun challenge that was for one Bwog staffer holding as many dishes in their hands at once without dropping them.  
• The ~artisanal sodas~ that they had in the drinks machine. One Bwog staffer only ever had the cream soda once but liked knowing it was there.
• The cookies… they were hit or miss but when they had good, soft, fresh sugar cookies out… very little was better. 
• All of the cereal… thankful for so much raisin bran.  
• The green smoothies and Gloria who makes them.  
  • Perfect ginger-to-everything-else ratio. 
• The Fyul station where you could make a meal of assorted beans and root vegetables, kind of like a hobbit. 
  • And those spicy mushrooms they would sometimes have. 
• The French vanilla cappuccinos out of the machine for making coffee even better.
• The overcooked sweet potatoes made one Bwog Staffer’s day every time they were there.
• Sharing waffles with friends!
• Cold coffee with oat milk and whipped cream.
• The pizza was always so good.
• There was a pho station for about a week and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
• One Bwog staffer misses Hewitt breakfast right before 9 am. Warm eggs, a perfect cappuccino, a berry smoothie—all accompanied by the quiet, light chatter of everyone starting their morning.

Diana 

• The long lines… extremely long lines… And never figuring out the perfect time to go.  
• The sushi… The spicy tuna avocado roll with spicy mayo and the veggie rolls. One Bwog Staffer is missing you so… so… much. 
• The turkey bacon and fresh-made eggs in the morning and talking to the man making it. 
• The custom-made sandwiches! Any and all options, they were soooo good (shoutout to the pesto mayo). 
  • Especially good when they had the toaster on!
• The build your own pizza station where they made pizzas on literal giant Ritz crackers. 
• The Mexican food station! One Bwog Staffer ate so many burrito bowls and they were so good. Also, the sheer chaos that was attempting to order a quesadilla. 
• The late-night fries.  
• The salmon poke bowl, especially good when made fresh and the rice is still warm.
• This is more of a Call to Action but the Indian bowls from the beginning of the fall semester were actually pretty good and one Bwog Staffer MISSES THEM.
• One Bwog staffer misses their favorite smoothie: mango, strawberry, and pineapple with pineapple juice.

Liz’s Place… Not technically a dining hall, but nonetheless a place we all miss.

• Claudia! We miss you!
• The Blueberry Bagels with cream cheese. An incredible combination.
• The yummy Earl Grey tea.
• The burnt coffee and dry bagels that were somehow impeccable.
• Chocolate chip muffins.
• The lattes!! So much sugar!!

Note: They are ordered from Columbia to Barnard Dining Halls. This is in no way indicative of the order in which we would rank them.

john jay soda machines with apparently notable ice via Bwarchives