Fascinated by this new “A.M. Deal” from Columbia Dining, Staff Writer Sabine Ebanks dragged a friend all the way to Mudd one Friday morning to try it out.

As a dedicated fan of Columbia Dining breakfasts (read: I wait in the line for a Ferris omelet at least twice a week), I was excited to see a new post from @columbiadining pop up in my Instagram feed towards the end of October advertising a new breakfast deal at Chef Don’s. Always up for a dining hall adventure, I had to try it out, and I convinced an equally enterprising suitemate of mine, Aania, to come along for the trek to north campus. Our first attempt tragically failed when we were turned away 15 minutes before the supposed 10:30 am closing time because they ran out of breakfast. But we are dedicated people and returned a week later, successfully, to sample what Columbia Dining had concocted for us. Here are our thoughts.

For one meal swipe (or $12.75 in Dining Dollars, Flex, or card), Chef Don’s gives you one breakfast sandwich (egg/cheese, bacon/egg/cheese, or ham/egg/cheese), one pastry (fruit or cheese filling), one cup of oatmeal, one piece of fruit, and one hot drink.

Breakfast sandwich

“The egg tastes like… well obviously not egg.” What else do we expect from a dining hall? Nevertheless, this was a perfectly fine egg sandwich. The bread was admittedly a little bit cardboard-ish, and Aania compared it to the Dunkin’ one (unclear whether this is a good thing). We only got the egg and cheese one, so maybe adding bacon would’ve made it more flavorful.

Me: 7/10, regular, vaguely processed breakfast sandwich

Aania: 6/10, “pretty edible”

Pastry

We both thought the consistency of the dough was pleasantly flaky. The fruit filling was average. We can’t speak to the cheese one, because why would we get the cheese one?

Me: 6/10, tasted like it was made in a factory and probably was

Aania: 7.5/10, “standard pastry”

Oatmeal

I’m a big oatmeal fan but this was a little bit questionable. We were both concerned by its strangely gloopy consistency and the fact that it actually tasted like absolutely nothing. Its saving grace was that there were a few toppings to the side, including cinnamon and brown sugar, that gave it a nice inkling of flavor.

Me: 5/10, I’m pretty sure if you flipped the cup over it would take a full minute for the oatmeal to spill out because that’s how solid it was

Aania: 5/10, but only because of the toppings, or else it would’ve been lower

Fruit

I had an apple. It tasted like a Columbia Dining apple. The mystery of whether it being wrapped in plastic means it has been washed continues. Hopefully, it was clean. 

Me: 8/10, helps avoid scurvy, always a win

Aania: “I didn’t eat it but it’s probably a 10”—she’s so optimistic

Hot drink

We both got tea, so we can’t speak to the coffee. Sorry. It did come in the iconic Blue Java cup, which was a plus.

Me: 9/10, they had honey to put in it <3

Aania: 8/10, “standard tea”

Overall, I’m not sure the breakfast was worth the journey. If you’re desperately in need of a very average breakfast sandwich, I guess go for it. If you’re stranded in Mudd for some reason (I’m so sorry), this’ll provide you with subsistence. Or if you somehow managed to run low on meal swipes by Friday (teach me your ways), this breakfast could probably get you through the day if you really stretched it out. I personally will continue to remain faithful to Ferris and their breakfast offerings, mostly out of convenience as a Carman resident.

Images via Bwog Staff