Story and Photo by Kali Hammon / Contributing writer and photographer
A made-to-order vegan station and a pasta bar have been added to the palatable variety of MTSU’s McCallie Dining Hall.
Krystal Sargent, the MT Dining Marketing Manager, shared some of the details about not only the new items, but the opening of the entirely new station.
“We have been discussing the idea of adding a vegan station for awhile, based on community feedback, and wanting to bring another made-to-order station into the offerings,” Sargent said.
The vegan station makes made-to-order stir-fry, including tofu, rice noodles and a variety of fresh vegetables.
Although it’s labeled a vegan station, students with any palate can enjoy the new addition. This station makes for a healthy alternative for everyone. Brochures are offered near the vegan station that share healthy eating habits for all students.
She also stated that the reception of the vegan station has been great with the students.
“Students, faculty and staff that are not vegan have commented on how happy they are with this station as well,” Sargent said. “Students are really enjoying the made-to-order vegan station. Our community still takes advantage of all we have to offer. This just adds one more great thing to the choices.”
A pasta bar was also added to McCallie’s weekend menu. It includes a rotating pasta, protein and sauce.
“We wanted to add the pasta bar to add more variety to the weekends,” Sargent said.
In the near future, students can expect a Taco Tuesday on the last Tuesday of the month and a Chicken Nugget Night on the first Thursday of the month. The theme nights were based on what the students tend to enjoy the most when the food is already available during the week and weekend. These recent additions allow McCallie to continue to serve the students their favorite foods, while also allowing the students to create new favorites.
“Dining Services is always reviewing new and innovative items, but our focus is always being able to serve great menus each day,” Sargent said.
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I went to McCallie’s around the beginning of the semester to try out their vegan station and I must say it was pretty good. I went again a couple weeks later to eat it and was still pretty tasty. However, although the stir fry dish is good, I wish they would add more variety to the vegan station. For example, some variation of soup or veggie burger would be nice. I know that they are served in other stations but I feel that narrowing down those items to a station gives the servers a chance to make those dishes taste better. I went another day on the weekend for their pasta bar and if I had to give it a rating, I would give it a 6 out of 10. The reason being is because the noodles were kind of soggy. The sauces were okay but they could have had more flavors or spices to them, especially the alfredo sauce. I also think you could have some possible meats to go on the side so people will have the option to put them in. Some different sauces like cheddar or basil would broaden the pasta bar flavor. Lastly, I kind of wish taco and chicken nugget night were on more nights of the month. Most times, I don’t have the time to be able to make it to McCallie’s on those days and would love to eat those meals.