September 30, 2005:
Q: The workers at commons are great, however many of them often complain of being sick. Such as having a cough, or a cold. These people should be
given time off and not installing our juice, toching our cups or replacing
the salad bar. Please take attention immediatley. Benjamin Stein
A: They are given time off - in fact, I just sent two home the other day. No one
is expected to work if he or she does not feel well.

Q: Bates Dining is great!, During Lunch and Dinner, Cantaloupe and Honeydew is often served, where eating off the rind is necessary. Since some of the service workers told me you have a machine that cuts melon, i dont see why you cant cut the melon that would just be served on the salad bar. it is more sanitary, and much easier to eat, and not waste the majority of the fruit. please change this and commons will be A+
A: Thanks for you comments, and we will take this into consideration.

September 29, 2005:
Q: More steamed options please. Some of us like it just the way it is without
all of the gooey sauce...I am referring to meats, fish (steamed shrimp),
veggies (steamed fresh asparagus), rice...offer some sauceless options
please! Thanks.
A: There are always two steamed veggies available at every meals and at least one sauce less starch- usually rice. In terms of the entrees, we can
certainly look at the possibility of having plain options available as well. Thanks for writing. 

Q: I liked bulgar wheat! It used to be served all the time! where has it gone?! I
havent seen it in a few weeks! Please bring it back!
A:  It has gone nowhere , but you will be seeing it less often as we try to
incorporate new items.

Q: The first week or so of school there was Kashi heart-to-heart cereal.
Everybody loved this! Where did it go?! Please get more Kashi!
A: Kashi is a special order item from our purveyor and we have been having
trouble getting it in. This should be corrected this week. I miss it too.

Q:  Would you please consider Stonyfield mocha latte yogurt?  They taste very good and would make people who like coffee-flavored stuff happy!!
A:  We can see if that flavor is available. Thanks for writing.

Q: I saw some fuji apples at the beginning of the semester and then they
disappeared. Any chance we can have them on a regular basis coz they are soooo delicious!
A: Not sure what apples you are referring to because we have never had fuji apples...

Q: Compliments to the chef(s) on the Shepard's Pie at lunch today.  It's not
QUITE like what Mom used to make, but it's much improved in that the beef
wasn't mush.  Keep up the good cooking!!
A: Thanks very much for you kind words. I will pass them on to the rest of the staff.

September 27, 2005:
Q: Will there ever be steak subs for dinner?  If so when?  If not, why?
A: It is on the cycle. Look for it. Thanks for writing.

Q: There should be chicken tenders, chicken subs, steak subs, chicken parm, BBQ, and Faccocia Chicken more often.  And fisherman's platter, chop suey, fish, etc. less often.  Please.
A: We can certainly consider this. Thanks for writing.

Q: Perhaps I'm being overly sensative, but it seems that Commons has been serving a great deal of pork products without many options of beef. I am not a pork eater and this severely restricts the meat I can eat. While I really appreciate the new signs that tell which products do and do not have pork in them, as well as the vegan bar options that seem to have expanded this year, and the generally yummy chicken creations, is there any way to add a little variety and regularity to the beef served? Thank you so much for all the hard work and wonderful treats Commons makes. You are so good to us! Thanks again.
A:  I took a look at this week's menu and have to concur with you. I will talk
with the menu committee and you can be assured that there will be beef
forthcoming. Thanks for writing.

September 26, 2005:
Q: I love you all, great stuff! Keep up the good work, it is most appreciated!
-Tim Ayotte 
A: Tim, thanks for your kind words. I will pass them on. 

Q: I love you all, great stuff! Keep up the good work, it is most appreciated!
-Ben Stien
A: Ben, thanks for your kind note. I will pass it on.

September 25, 2005:
Q: Mrs. Schwartz, Would it be possible for either the marche station or
Adventures in Dining to provide Smoothies. Maybe twice or three times a
month. Please!
A: Smoothie night is slated several times in our Adventures in Dining Series,
but to try and do it two or three times a moth would not allow for many
other popular Adventures in Dining. Thanks for writing.

Q: The vegan bar on 9/25 was incredible. That was the best one i have ever
had. Let's use those standards every evenign. The tofu was very gingery
and good, while the sauce on the seitan was unbelievable. Congratulations!
A: Thanks for noticing, we have been trying and will keep improving in this area. Thanks for writing.

Q: Will you please put avacado chucks or slices in the salad bar. They would be nice in a salad or on bread. Please please please.
A: This is already on the salad bar rotation.

Q: What are Commons trays made out of? Because in the past two weeks I've had two microsplinters from them, which I always associated with things
made out of fiberglass.
A: I will have to check into this. These trays have been here as long as I
have been- nine years. I will get back to you.

September 24, 2005:
Q: Thank you dearly for serving edamames at commons last night! I walked to the grocery store to try and buy some edamames but they didn't have any,
sadly, and so I was going ot have my parents bring some up on parents weekend, but now that I've had them once at Bates I think I can make it til Thanksgiving when I go home to have them again. I miss edamames!
please have them more often or put them on the salad bar! thank you
A:  We can certainly offer them more often. Thanks for writing.


September 22, 2005:
Q:  Banana Pancakes Please, or Sweedish Panckaes, instead of Choc Chip.
A: Can do.

Q: Can you please stop serving so much grains on the vegan bar. (tonight i
saw pasta rice pasta and sauce, that is terrible. also lets see some more
fruit at lunch and sunday brunch, how about some berries?
A: We are specifically looking at this area of the menu. Thanks for your comments.

September 21, 2005:
Q:  The salad dressings are not very appealing. Can you please get a low-fat sesame ginger, or a low-fat kiwi strawberry vinigrette. Also I would enjoy having the fruit salad that is put out in the morning include different varieties of fresh fruit, i'm sick of honey dew. lastly can you please get some berries so we can put those in our cereal. also please bring the lite soy milk back.
A: We can certainly look into our dressing options. Additionally berries such
as blueberries and raspberries are fairly fragile and do not work well when
used in large volume setting. We are looking at ways to change out the mix
on the fruit salad and you will be seeing a change. Thanks for writing.

Q: I've been missing the copiously caloric, fantastically fattening goodness
that were regularly served Reese's Bars! Where have these peanut butter
beauties gone???
A:   They have gone nowhere. We just had them last Wednesday night. Thanks for writing.

Q: 
Hi,
For the most part Commons is an excellent dining experience, with friendly and sociable staff. However, I have a few questions fregarding additional items that could be served. Fresh Fruit Salad in the morning has been an excellent addition, and would be even better with a couple strawberries, blueberries, or kiwi cut into it. It would be awsome if this salad could be kept out all day,instead of the honeydew and cantoloupe you have to eat with your hands during lunch and dinner.

The vegan bar is an excellent creation. However, it is becoming overly
starchy. Tonight's choicces are Mashed Potatos, Pasta with beans, Rice, and more pasta. It would be awsome if more other vegan dishes not so starchy and healthier were added. A personal favorite of mine is Pan Seared Tofu with a sweet teryiaki sauce served with broccoli.

Lastly, the muffins are always delicious in the morning. Any chance of them
baking a Low-Fat Oatbran Muffin, or Low Fat Rasin Bran muffins as these are
healthier.

I know you guys work extremely hard, and I hope you take these suggestions
into consideration.

Lastly i heard an apple farm is coming to sample apples, when is that, that
should be great thanks again

A: In terms of the fruit salad, we are looking into cost effective fruits that
can be added to our present combination. In terms of options, blueberries ,
raspberries and other small berries are not a good addition because given
the volume we make these tend to break down. We will be adding strawberries and grapes, but not kiwi as many individuals are allergic to it. We continually strive to work on the vegan station and will certainly take you
comments into consideration.

As for the muffins we already offer a lo fat raisin bran and a lo
fat all bran, but we can certainty offer those options more often.

The apple individual- Greenwoods Farms- will be here on October 12th.

Thanks for writing.

September 20, 2005:
Q: Hi.  I recently discovered that Silk makes a light vanilla soymilk that has
almost half the fat and less calories than their regular vanilla soymilk.
Would it be possible to get this for Commons?
I've really been enjoying the food at Bates so far! Thanks!
A: We are working on getting a full line of   products in, but at present our
purveyor does not carry the light. Stay tuned.