Revelle’s Food Truck is an Inadequate Dining Hall Replacement

Revelles Food Truck is an Inadequate Dining Hall Replacement

In an effort not to talk about A.S. Council for just one issue (forgive us, please), we’ve decided to focus our attention on the hot mess that is Revelle College’s dining and market system.

Last year, after multiple attempts to keep Revelle’s Plaza Cafe dining hall afloat, Housing, Dining and Hospitality Services members closed the venue for a yearlong upgrade in hopes that a newly renovated hall would be able to generate much-needed revenue. On top of that, Roger’s Place was relocated to Blake Hall’s measly lounge center, unfairly leaving Revelle students with a smaller market and no dining hall to speak of.

HDH began this school year with a handful of problems, and put Revelle’s food services at the end of their to-do list. Plaza Cafe has been inadequately substituted by the “Incredi-Bowls” food truck, open in Revelle Plaza from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, but Revelle students deserve more.

Granted, the food truck is trying to offset the lack of a dining hall with an attempted variety of breakfast and lunch options, but it’s just not possible for the 3,918 Revelle students to subsist on small, bowl-only meals like the “Sesame Sensation” and “Chicken ‘n’ Tots.”

In addition, the food truck does not provide dinner options — apparently due to insufficient lighting — and is closed on weekends for financial benefit. And that doesn’t even account for the incredible lines of students who wait to grab a quick meal. The result is that Revelle students are forced to make the trek to Pines, Goody’s or Price Center (for those who feel up to the trek), causing a domino effect that creates traffic in the other college dining halls and general inconvenience for students.

However, the problem with this situation is not necessarily that students have to walk so far, but the fact that the Revelle food truck clearly does not suffice as an alternative. Instead, Revelle students are behaving as they did when the expensive, unappetizing Plaza Cafe was open, defeating the purpose of “Incredi-Bowls” and putting them in limbo as they wait for a new place to eat that will hopefully be worth the tremendous hassle.

According to HDH plans, the new, renamed dining hall will feature a smoothie or sushi bar, as well as a fireplace for a cozier atmosphere — let’s just hope changing most of the Plaza Cafe menu was also on the list of renovations.

Until then, we urge HDH to take a better look at “Incredi-Bowls” and find a way to increase its hours of operation  because, quite frankly, it’s unfair. The bottom line is this: UCSD students have paid a hefty amount to attend this school and amid temporary double housing arrangements and transportation crises, they at least deserve a consistent, convenient way to get food on campus — even if it is temporarily from a truck whose slogan is “Bowl up and Chow down.”

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    Chris StaniferNov 11, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    One solution may be to bring in additional, commercial food trucks onto the campus. Heck, if the UCSD admins will pony up the cash for the truck, we’ll roll down there and set up shop!! And, we’ll stay open late, and on weekends.

    Twitter @AcadienneTruck
    http://www.facebook.com/acadienne.cuisine

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