From ice cream cones to chicken sandwiches, Augustana students know what food they like most and where to get it on campus. Dining services gives insight into the most popular foods around Augustana.
Augustana offers food in four different spots around campus. The Gerber Center dining hall, the Brew by the Slough, the Snack Shack, and the Westerlin C-Store all offer their own variety of meals, snacks, and drinks.
“Our talented culinary team creates the menu and works with a four week cycle menu to provide, in rotation, a wide variety of fresh and delicious choices without duplicating items very frequently,” said Director of Dining Services, Fred Kurt.
According to Kurt, the dining hall goes through a lot of sweet and sour chicken, chicken parmesan, breaded chicken sandwiches, hamburgers, chicken fingers, buffalo wings, and sliced turkey meat.
“We try to spread the most popular items out throughout the menu cycle so that everyone has a chance to enjoy,” said Kurt.
Another student favorite is ice cream. Soft serve is available for students to serve themselves at the dining hall, Augustana goes through about 651 ice cream cones a week.
With five deliveries a week, “We went through 1055 gallons of vanilla last year and 535 gallons of chocolate. About 48 gallons a week total,” said Kurt.
Ice cream cones are one of students’ favorite things to grab on their way out of the dining hall. According to Paqui Lerschen, a Gerber Center cashier, beyond ice cream cones, students frequently grab fruit to take with them after meals.
Another campus favorite is bagels, available in the dining hall and at the Brew. “We go through about 810 bagels a week with plain being the most popular followed by blueberry, cinnamon raisin and then Asiago,” said Kurt.
“We always sell out of bagels, every morning,” said Brew Barista, Jill Nielsen.
The Brew by the Slough, open from morning to night, offers quick, grab-and-go options for students looking for a quick breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As the coffee shop on campus, The Brew offers a variety of Starbucks drinks. According to Nielsen, some of the favorites on campus include mochas, chia lattes, and Italian sodas.
Chocolate muffins and puppy chow are also on high demand at the Brew, according to Nielsen. The Brew also offers cinnamon rolls a few times a week, and “we always sell out of them,” said Nielsen.
The Brew staff try to keep vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options available every day as well, according to Nielsen. They offer salads and gluten free subs every day.
Beyond the dining hall and the Brew, students stop at the Snack Shack for some of their lunch favorites. According to senior Alyssa Reuter, who works at the Snack Bar, mozzarella sticks are, without a doubt, a top seller.
Besides Mozzarella sticks, Chicken sandwiches are a hot commodity during the Snack Shack’s daily lunch hours Monday through Friday. Wednesdays are one of the busiest at the Snack Bar because of the must have walking tacos, according to Reuter.
The Brew, Snack Shack, and Westerlin C-Store allow students to use their meal swipes on the go. “So far this year students are using about 500 swipes a day in these locations,” said Kurt
Students can also get to-go meals at the Gerber Center dining hall. According to Kurt, during the week about 60 swipes are used daily for to-go meals at the dining hall.
“We have enough meal plan options to meet everyone’s needs so they can manage the number of meals they would like with their schedules and lifestyle,” said Kurt.