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ENLARGE
Nevada Union students Dylan Margason, Katie Miller, Donné Matheny and Sarah Garland enjoy their lunch in the new cafeteria.
They stride into the cavernous dining room, their stomachs growling as much as the speakers blaring a Britney Spears track from the ceiling.
A closer look at the kitchen staff pulling fresh pizzas out of the oven and a closer look at the menu offering teriyaki bowls, burritos and fresh salads and it’s easy to see. This is not the school cafeteria most people remember, where rice, mashed potatoes and stuffing were served to you from an ice-cream scoop on a compartmentalized plastic tray.
Nevada County’s newest eatery is a $5.4 million monument to the midday meal. The only catch is, you need a student ID card to get in.
“We run from the top of the school just to get in here,” said Nevada Union student Katie Miller.
During the lunch rush, students used to stream out of the parking lot to the nearby sandwich shops and fast-food joints in Glenbrook Basin in a mad dash to grab hamburgers and grilled chicken sandwiches.
But it’s suddenly cool to eat at school now, where those same freshly-made staples are available without the aid of a fast-food speaker box.
“We used to do that a lot, but we don’t do that anymore,” sophomore Rachel Coleman-Hunt said of going off campus to eat. At the cafeteria, she can get her favorite: Egg rolls and Chinese rice. “There’s no need to. The food is delicious.”
Since the cafeteria opened late last month, the orders have jumped. The cafeteria cranks out 800 meals a day, up from 200 before the eatery’s extreme makeover.
No mystery
The cafeteria seems like one in name only. Students and staff can order lunch from a variety of ethnic specialties, including Mexican and Chinese. A full meal costs $3.50 for students and slightly more for faculty and staff.
“It’s a good deal,” Coleman-Hunt said.
“It’s better than decent for what it costs,” said freshman Josh Arnold.
“It’s pretty epic,” added freshman Patrick Hanlon.
There are some minor complaints from students. Freshman Simon Johnston said the teriyaki bowl could use more chicken. “And they could use some better music,” he said. “Anything better than mainstream rap.”
The music, Assistant Principal Bruce Kinseth said, comes from CDs assembled by students. Kind of like the “mix tapes” your dad used to put together in the day when cafeterias served mystery meat.
“I wish I had a school cafeteria like this when I was going to school,” said Kinseth, who is in charge of facilities at the school and helped oversee the cafeteria’s transformation from old-school aferthought to a cool hangout, where the food and the vibe are, apparently, equally popular.
Behind the scenes, workers in the kitchen have ditched the microwave and prepackaged goods for fresh ingredients, including the pizzas and fresh vegetables that are staples of lunch orders. Large gas stoves sit next to a huge mixer that prepares the dough for the pizzas each day. Walk-in coolers are stocked with fresh fruit and produce.
“We weren’t in the pizza business before, so it was a lot of trial and error,” food service director Linda Johnson said.
Money for the cafeteria came from Measure A, a bond passed by voters in 2002. Administrators said voters are getting their money’s worth in student nutrition.
“This was a huge project,” Kinseth said. “They’re doing a lot more work with the same amount of people.”
“And every kid that walks away from the window has a full, nutritious meal,” Johnson said.
And there’s no mystery to that.
To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239.
A closer look at the kitchen staff pulling fresh pizzas out of the oven and a closer look at the menu offering teriyaki bowls, burritos and fresh salads and it’s easy to see. This is not the school cafeteria most people remember, where rice, mashed potatoes and stuffing were served to you from an ice-cream scoop on a compartmentalized plastic tray.
Nevada County’s newest eatery is a $5.4 million monument to the midday meal. The only catch is, you need a student ID card to get in.
“We run from the top of the school just to get in here,” said Nevada Union student Katie Miller.
During the lunch rush, students used to stream out of the parking lot to the nearby sandwich shops and fast-food joints in Glenbrook Basin in a mad dash to grab hamburgers and grilled chicken sandwiches.
But it’s suddenly cool to eat at school now, where those same freshly-made staples are available without the aid of a fast-food speaker box.
“We used to do that a lot, but we don’t do that anymore,” sophomore Rachel Coleman-Hunt said of going off campus to eat. At the cafeteria, she can get her favorite: Egg rolls and Chinese rice. “There’s no need to. The food is delicious.”
Since the cafeteria opened late last month, the orders have jumped. The cafeteria cranks out 800 meals a day, up from 200 before the eatery’s extreme makeover.
No mystery
The cafeteria seems like one in name only. Students and staff can order lunch from a variety of ethnic specialties, including Mexican and Chinese. A full meal costs $3.50 for students and slightly more for faculty and staff.
“It’s a good deal,” Coleman-Hunt said.
“It’s better than decent for what it costs,” said freshman Josh Arnold.
“It’s pretty epic,” added freshman Patrick Hanlon.
There are some minor complaints from students. Freshman Simon Johnston said the teriyaki bowl could use more chicken. “And they could use some better music,” he said. “Anything better than mainstream rap.”
The music, Assistant Principal Bruce Kinseth said, comes from CDs assembled by students. Kind of like the “mix tapes” your dad used to put together in the day when cafeterias served mystery meat.
“I wish I had a school cafeteria like this when I was going to school,” said Kinseth, who is in charge of facilities at the school and helped oversee the cafeteria’s transformation from old-school aferthought to a cool hangout, where the food and the vibe are, apparently, equally popular.
Behind the scenes, workers in the kitchen have ditched the microwave and prepackaged goods for fresh ingredients, including the pizzas and fresh vegetables that are staples of lunch orders. Large gas stoves sit next to a huge mixer that prepares the dough for the pizzas each day. Walk-in coolers are stocked with fresh fruit and produce.
“We weren’t in the pizza business before, so it was a lot of trial and error,” food service director Linda Johnson said.
Money for the cafeteria came from Measure A, a bond passed by voters in 2002. Administrators said voters are getting their money’s worth in student nutrition.
“This was a huge project,” Kinseth said. “They’re doing a lot more work with the same amount of people.”
“And every kid that walks away from the window has a full, nutritious meal,” Johnson said.
And there’s no mystery to that.
To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239.
