Best vs Worst Lunches
Taher's dishes lead to mixed reviews
Taher's Delights
Whether you are generally a fan of Taher's lunches or not, everyone has the lunch that they look forward to most when they see it on the menu. In my opinion, there are three lunches that stand out as the clear favorite for the best school lunch option.
My favorite lunch is the pasta bar. I am not alone in my enjoyment; almost every student I asked immediately answered that they loved the pasta bar. Its popularity is likely attributed to the variety of sauce options available, including meat, marinara, and my personal favorite, alfredo, along with the fact that pasta is a classic. There's something for everyone here, especially since there are typically breadsticks to go along with it.
Another classic lunch is pizza, served every Tuesday and Thursday as the grab and go option. This is a classic, and is so widely enjoyed that almost everyone has something delicious to eat twice a week. Although pizza is served so frequently that it can start to get redundant after a while, you can always take a break by eating the main course. The big debate about pizza is whether thin crust or thick crust is better. Minha Ali '27 says, ìAs long as it is not burnt, the thin crust is better. However, Lula Alter '27 says, ìThe thin crust is too crunchy.
The final best lunch is a classic: mac and cheese. Mac and cheese is my favorite food no matter where itís from, and it is a pretty hard meal to get wrong. Many students say that the school mac and cheese lacks flavor, and although this is true to some extent, I still look forward to lunch every time mac and cheese is served.
In terms of desserts, the best is the brownies and blondies. These arenít served too often, but when they are, they are always the perfect texture and have good flavor. However, cookies, which are served at least once a week, are also a great dessert option, especially for on-the-go. I like the rotation of sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies, but Alter suggests that ìthey should have the oatmeal cookies that are out during parent-teacher conferences on a more regular basis.
Meals to Avoid
Stupendously renowned for its prestigious academic accolades, breathtaking athletics, and bright, bustling students, the Blake School of Excellence fails to fall short of any outspoken qualities. This includes our almost always delectable lunches. I say ìalmostî as a reminder to everyone that nothing is perfect. And while the Blake cafeteria has been granted many titles, the accolade of a Full School Year of Delicious Lunches is apparently not one of them.
With this notion in mind, I've recently ventured out across the four walls of our school, observed, noted, and heard the vital opinions of students, and conjured an article exposing the not-so-appealing lunches of our school.
Issac Lundholm '27 dislikes the egg rolls as "it doesn't seem to have any that much like nutrients or anything.... It is not very filling or anything." The egg rolls are often served as a grab and go option when orange or General Tso's chicken is served. The lackluster content of food inside the egg roll leads to a significantly worse option compared to stables such as pizza.
Sulayman Syed '26 dislikes the seafood offerings by Taher. "They don't do a good job with seafood...it tastes like a little bit off sometimes," Syed said.
Garrick Bennett '28 did not hold back on his heavy criticism for Taher's coooking. Bennett believes that the lunch is "terrible" and expressed his displeasure for the chicken dishes with the simple question, "What are they doing with the chicken?" The chicken is often dry and underseasoned.
Another interesting perspective was given by Madhav Kumar '27 who dislikes "the days that there's just tofu. It is just such a repeated option. So anything with tofu, I kind of don't like."
On the contrary, I believe no matter what is being served for lunch on any given day, we should always appreciate the tremendous amount of work that the cafeteria staff put into their jobs to create the best meals possible. We as students owe them a tremendous thanks for all that they have done and continue to do to feed us.
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