January 30, 2007:
Q: I love the pancakes! Make me more forever. Thanks!
A: Thanks for writing.

Q: Hello,
A friend of mine has on multiple occasions gone to Commons and returned with allergies resulting from the consumption of unknown peanuts or peanut oils, etc in the food she has eaten. She is considering transferring due to a [careless attitude] in Commons, however, I do not believe that the workers in Commons could ignore Peanut allergies which can be some of the most violent food allergies. This girl, unfortunately does not appreciate the quality of Commons food relative to many other schools, regardless, I think this issue of unmarked peanuts, or the over usage of peanut products is one that is very important and needs to be addressed in a timely manner.

Thank you,
Doug Ray (Class of 2010)
A: We take the nut allergy issue very seriously and if you note those items
containing nuts- not just peanuts- are labeled with a yellow tag. In addition we separated the peanut butter from the butters to eliminate cross contamination. Perhaps, as has been the case in the past, your friend is unaware of this labeling system and that might be part of the problem. Additionally we also have a posted allergen statement specifically to address nut allergies. As I do with many students with severe allergies, it would be in the best interest for your friend to meet with me and review the menu so that we can address her concerns. Our approach to food allergies is, in most incidents, more aggressive than our peers so making a move because of a perceived [Careless Attitude] may prove to be more harmful than helpful. I would very much like to meet with your friend so that we can assist her in making [safe] menu choices. Can you please have her contact me of Chris Tisdale in the
Health Center so that arrangements can be made to meet.

Thanks for writing and bringing this to my attention.

January 29, 2007:
Q: Hi,
So, it was around 2:15pm on Sunday the 28th, when I went to get a bite to eat and no creature was stiring, not even a mouse.  Okay, so I realize it's not Christmas time for that cliche, but my point is that I thought Commons was accessible until 2:30.  Now, I must wait 2 more hours to eat, which, really, isn't that much.  But, if you advertise 2:30, how hard can it be to be open until 2:30?
Signed,
Hungry and Disgruntled
A: According to the posted sign, Brunch is open till 2:00p not 2:30p. Thanks for writing.

January 26, 2007:
Q: I don't know what it is, but I have had a hard time these 2.5 years finding a fondness for the size of the pizza slices.  I understand that someone may want only a very small piece, but wouldn't it be easier to make larger pizzas?  Maybe they could be made on rectangular pans and cut into different sizes to accomodate people's differing desire for amount of pizza?
A: Thanks for writing. We are looking into different types of pizzas for the new facility, but presently we are restricted. If you one piece is not enough, have several.

January 25, 2007:
Q: The Mullagantaway soup was great the other day!  However, sometimes when we have this soup it's really thin, almost watery.  Can we keep it a little on the thicker side more often???  It's one of my favorites!!!  Thank you!
A: Thanks for your comments. We alternate cream and broth soups as not
everyone is partial to cream soups. Thanks for writing.

Q: I must say that I quite enjoy Pablo's Roasted Garlic Alfredo pizza.  I'm especially sensitive to getting heartburn and I can't eat any of the pizzas with red tomato sauce.  Could we have more "White" Pizzas more often especially the Roasted Garlic pizza???
A: I will look into this. Thanks for writing.

Q: The Bowtie Chicken Pasta for dinner tonight (Wednesday) was really good.  The sauce was yummy and I enjoyed the spinach in it too.  We should have that more often!
A: It is one the menu several times already, but perhaps we can add it once
more. Thank for writing.

Q: i don't really remember the name of dish. But the spicy tofu at the vegan bar on Mon, Jan 22 was soooooooooo good.
Is it the first time to serve? I didn't see the dish before.  Anyway...my request is...can we have it more often? And if possible, can we have it with Jasmin rice? The tofu would be perfect match with rice. Thank you!!
A: No not the first time and we will be serving it again. Thanks for writing.

Q: Holy Fisherman!!!!!
Where is my platter? We haven't had that delicious dish the whole year. I am longing for some more seafood like that. Please bring it back. Ron, the sad fisherman.
A: It has not gone anywhere and will be available for viewing soon. Thanks for writing.

January 24, 2007:
Q: Is there any chance you guys can bring back the whole wheat pasta in the vegan bar that you had last semester. It is much more healthy then just eating regular pasta and I think a lot of people like it.Thanks
A: In order to provide you better selection and a better quality product,
the vegan pasta has been moved to the salad bar . This way you can have
it hot- there are heating posted- or cold. Thanks for writing.

Q: Can there please be grated carrots in the salad bar!! And chocolate soy milk in the fridge :) Thanks!!
A: Carrots yes, chocolate soy no. Thanks for writing.

Q: curry, vegan or normal I do not care.
A: All there we serve. Thanks for writing.

Q: Hi, is there any way you could post the frozen yogurt flavor for the day on the online menu? Because the peanut butter and the cappuchino are phenomenal and I miss out on them every once in a while.  --- Thanks
A: Possible. Thanks for writing.

January 22, 2007:
Q: Does the broth of soup have any protein in it? On days when I have class straight from 9:30am until 2:30 or 4pm I sometimes get a mug full of brothy soup to eat as my lunch and I'm wondering if it's a good source of protein to keep me going. Thanks for answering!
A: Which soups are you interested in knowing about? Thanks for writing.

Q: Hi,
Haven't really done this before in my two years at Bates, but there is a first time for everything. I was a major fan of Sole stuffed with crab that we had several times last year, and having not really seen it lately, wanted to ask the commons staff if we could have it sometime. I thought it provided a nice change of pace, and added a more exotic, and in my view fancier element to commons fair. Thanks for reading my message. -Dan
A: The "sole stuffed popper" you are referring to is on the menu and in
fact slated to be served at dinner on Saturday January 27th. Thanks for writing.

Q: Commons is terrible. I'm so hungry and there is rarely anything half way respectable. I can only hope that the new commons comes with a new, more diverse menu.
A: I'm sorry that you feel this way, but perhaps you are not aware of all
that is available in commons. If you just look at the numerous napkins
listed which refer to highly acceptable items, like General Tso's
Chicken, Chini Marsala, Sole Stuffed Poppers etc it appears as if others
are finding items to their liking that are diverse in origin. I would
appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and discuss your concerns in
hopes of better meeting your needs. If this is something you would be
interested in, please forward some times and dates that you are
available to meet to me at cschwart@bates.edu. I look forward to speaking with you.

Q: Can we please have General Tso' s Chicken, Channa Masala and Blazin Red fish again ??  Also, the mugs are extremely disgusting. I found old curdled milk inside one of the cups..YUCK. Can somthing be done to ensure that is not the case ?
A: All the menu items you have listed are on the cycle menus numerous
times. As for the mugs we use the same process to clean these as we do
our other wears, the problem is is that individuals let the mugs sit in
their rooms with "sludge" in them for days before bringing back so the milk
curdles and the coffee stains the cup . We are looking into our process
and have put additional checks in. However, until we get the mugs back in a
timely fashion, this cannot be completely eliminated. Thanks for writing.

Q: Hello,
I have always noticed that many of the food items served at Bates are never co-ordinated. For example, when there is a south east asian dish made at the marche station ( eg : stir fried veggies) they complement it with brown rice instead of white jasmine rice. Or for instance when Channa masala was made ( which was amazing by the way =) ) there was no basmati rice to eat it with =( The days when we have the taco bar or wrap bar and  guacamole is served , the chips served are always the potato ones istead of the nachos which go nicely with the salsa and guacamole. Can this be changed please? Thanks.
A: Thanks for your thoughts. I'm looking into this, but in most of the
incidents you referred to the choice of compliment was meant to serve
two purposes- compliment another item as well. Given the limited space
we have side items often serve double duty. In the case of the potato
chips on taco day, we do not serve tortilla chips because there are hard
taco shells- basically the same- that can be broken and used as chips.
The potato chips allow us to offer another option. Thanks for writing.

Q: Thank you for all your hard work making, serving, and cleaning after us students.  I appreciate it.  A comment I have is that the online menu seems to be incorrect more times than it is correct.  Granted, I do not usually know what I want to eat until I go to Commons and can look at the chalkboard menu, but sometimes it's nice to know in advance.  So my question is why the online menu seems to be incorrect so often?
A: We do not input the items into the menu nor do we have total control
over our web site. We know that there has been a problem and we are
working on correcting the situation. Thanks for writing.

January 18, 2007:
Q: Since the vegan pasta has disappeared from the vegan bar, would it be possible to substitute it for one of the normal pasta choices in the regular pasta bar? (for example, we don't need macaroni and bowties at the same time as they taste the same).  It is ridiculous to remove one of the healthiest hot meal options at Bates.  Thank you.
A: We have not removed this item, rather we moved it. In order to increase
the integrity of the product is was moved to the salad bar. There are
heating instructions at the salad bar for the pasta so it actually is
available all the time now . Thanks for writing.

January 17, 2007:
Q: What happened to the whole-wheat pasta at the vegan bar?! I used to live for that stuff...now I can only find the sauce but no whole-wheat pasta!
A: Since it did not hold up on the vegan bar very well, we moved it to the
salad bar with heating instructions. Now it is available all the time. Thanks for writing.

Q: Where is the whole wheat pasta in the vegan bar at dinner?  Please bring it back. Thanks.
A: We moved the vegan pasta to the salad bar because is was not holding up on the vegan bar. There are instructions above the item on the salad bar
indicating how to heat it up.

January 15, 2007:
Q: Haven't seen any Indian food expect for Channa Masala so far. Do you plan to make any curries?
A: We quite often do have curries. I'm surprised you have not noticed these
items. Thanks for writing.

Q: Could you please ensure the croissants are well stocked. I know they are downstairs, but when I ask one staff member they say it has run out, so I just go and ask another one and voila the croissants appear.
A: Will do. Thanks for writing.

Q: Why don't you guys ever have any Chinese soup?
A: Like?

Q: Hi - I feel like I'm missing out on some good food because I have practice and cannot get to commons before 7:15 pm.. the almond cookies w/ icing that were at dinner tonight.. and the burritos last night were gone before I got there :( could you possible save some yummy food for later? Thanks.
A: You are indeed right and we are in the process of correcting this issue.

Q: White wine roasted pork with fennel is sick.
A: Is that a good sick or a bad sick?

Q: When I have yogurt sometimes I open the container to find this liquidy layer on top. I'm not writing to compain about that (especially because Commons doesn't cause this to happen- I've seen it at home) but I was wondering if by pouring off this layer I am somehow pouring off calcium, protein or something more/less benefical that I want to eat for nutrition. Do you have any idea what this liquid is and weather or not I should discard it? Thank you!
A: This is the residuals of whey. It is nutritious, but traditionally high
in fat. Thanks for writing.

January 10, 2007:
Q: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The blue gatorade was a wonderfully delicious beverage that benifited all in the community; the change to red, or "fruit punch" as you call it, needs to be remidied immediately... please? At least consider going back. Thanks!
A: Thanks for writing about your concerns, but the reason we made the
change was in response to a large number of requests from your fellow
students for a change. Sorry that this would not be your first choice, but the change in general has met with great success. Thanks for writing.

Q: Hi.  I really like the whole grain pasta at the vegan bar, but the past few nights it hasn't been there.  It is not on the menu for tonight either.  Is it gone forever? Thank you.
A: No it will be moving to the pasta bar. Thanks for writing.

January 5, 2007:
Q: I find myself enjoying dinner sober far too often.  Is it at all possible to offer some sort of keg service or maybe a jungle juice with dinner on fridays and lunch 3 or 4 days a week.  We are hard working students who like to be drunk. Colby offers wine with their meals, why can't we one up them by serving hard liquor?
A: Well I'm sorry to hear about your situation, but let's get the facts straight. Colby does not serve wine with dinner on a regular basis. It is just in a special dining venue at certain times. As for here at Bates, do we really want to be like Colby, no we are better...Thanks for writing.