Dining hall vegan options review!
Looking for vegan food on campus? It’s safe to say that being vegan is annoying anywhere, but for the amount of performative males and indie DJs we have here, Barnumbia’s vegan food is severely lacking. Below, I rank (most) of the dining halls on campus so you can save time asking for where the vegan options are in Hewitt.
John Jay:
John Jay is surprisingly the best vegan ally on campus. It even has its own vegan station, with infinite vegan muffins. However, they base the vegan meal off of the main line meal, which sometimes goes too far. One day, when the main line had meatloaf, they made vegan meatloaf. Personally, I think some things don’t need to have a vegan version.
The new bao buns are vegan and there’s always a vegan filling option. In the morning, they make bulk overnight oats… I’m not into that. They also have Just Egg, potatoes, and Beyond Meat sauteed. I’ve never been to the Action Station because that line and process give me anxiety, but they have vegan burgers and such. Like always, there’s pasta.
Despite John Jay installing an ice cream shop(?) in the middle of the dining hall, there are no vegan options, not even a measly sorbet option.
JJ’s:
Moving downstairs, you reach vegan purgatory. JJ’s claims to have a vegan grill option, but it’s never pre-made, so you have to awkwardly ask if they have it. Then they say no because, let’s be real, who gets a vegan burger at 3 a.m.? So then you hide in the corner as your friends get chicken tenders.
They also have four Ice cream dispensers and yet absolutely no vegan desserts unless you count the Oreo crumbs they set out to put on ice cream. On the bright side, JJ’s is the only place on campus where I’ve seen vegan chocolate milk.
Ferris:
Ferris has a vegan station every day! It’s hit or miss some days, but they have the best vegan dessert options on campus. They have a wall of vegan and gluten-free cookies and then about a thousand of the same muffins they make at John Jay. They sometimes have vegan pizza, and you can make custom pastas.
Chef Mike’s:
Chef Mike’s is so good. You have a large selection of filling choices: Italian tofu is my personal favorite. There is also an entire display of donuts and black and white cookies available, but nothing for us vegans. If you don’t have time to make your own, there are always pre-made hot and cold vegan subs.
Chef Don’s:
Normalize loving Chef Don’s. They have made their own vegan pizza. Finally, we get the privileges Diana keeps from us.
Grace Dodge:
Honestly, Grace Dodge has great vegan options and salad proteins. It is probably the dining hall I should go to most, but I’m too lazy to walk over there.
Faculty House:
Speaking of being too lazy to walk, I’ve never been to Faculty House.
Diana:
Diana has great burrito bowls, and the green smoothie is vegan. They also have vegan pre-made sandwiches, and the PB&Js are the best.
Hewitt:
At Hewitt, the “Delicious Without” station is the only hope for us vegans. You can also ask to have the vegan dessert, but they rarely have one. Occasionally, they have vegan pizza, but you have to time your lunch perfectly to get a slice.
Sadly, the oatmilk runs out frequently, but they have tofu scramble in the morning.
Barnard Sushi:
I love the Milstein poke bowls. I ordered the veggie without mayo, and it was yum. Veggie sushi is always available, too.
I hope this helps my vegan brethren. I definitely missed a lot of good eats on campus, but I’m not very adventurous, so I go to the same two places.
John Jay’s via Bwog Archives