TALAT College Food Review

Take a Look at Teaching (TALAT) is a Kenmore West Club for first-hand experience in teaching, allowing students to gain information and observe realistic teaching settings to help aid a possible career in education. The club allows students to travel to local colleges and universities to have a panel speak to them about their experiences as an Education major, and how the teaching program at that collegiate school differs from others. While at the school, students get the opportunity to share a meal at the dining hall and a tour of the campus and education buildings. 

Experiencing and sharing numerous meals at these universities brings you the ultimate food review and recommendations presented by me. I have had numerous years of training and culinary preparation, as well as having completed one semester of Foods 1 at Kenmore West High School. 

Suny Buffalo State University: Though the campus is very nice, and has one of the best education facilities in Western New York, Buffalo State University lacks in its culinary diversity and variety. I felt as if the food in the dining hall here was bland and mostly overcooked. The salad bar was nothing spectacular, but overall the food was enjoyable, and the dessert station with four alternating hard ice cream flavors and cookies made up for some of the deprivation. I would recommend the taco bar if they have it and suggest getting the pasta. I would rate this experience and dining hall a solid 6.3/10. 

University at Buffalo: This campus was the biggest one we visited. With over 20,000 in attendance, they call for numerous dining options. When we visited we didn’t get the opportunity to eat anywhere, we were given vouchers to their Student Union. They have many options and genres of food, but everything is very expensive. I’ve heard from numerous inside sources that the sushi bar they have gives people food poisoning on the regular, and the smoothie bar is highly overpriced for just frozen fruit and water. If you were to take one of my recommendations, I strongly recommend the chicken fingers. They are a bland choice of food to take as there are numerous options, but you cannot go wrong with them. The only downside of the Student Union is that you have to pay for additional dipping sauces. I would rate this college and dining experience a solid 7.2/10. 

Canisius College: Canisius is the smallest campus we visited, but the food made it memorable. I ran into an ex co-worker of mine, and was lucky enough for her to be my tour guide! Shortly after navigating through the inner tunnels of the school, we got let go for lunch. I was part of the first group allowed to go up and obtain food. I chose grilled chicken with rice and broccoli, with a side salad. The salad was very much a normal salad, yet they didn’t have balsamic vinaigrette which made my experience a little unsettling. My entree on the other hand was the best meal I’ve had at a college visit. They also gained extra points for having a soft serve machine in service for all students to use with numerous toppings to choose from. The only reason for the points reduction is that the line cook working made a comment about a Kenmore West cult in the 1980s and left a few of the students uncomfortable knowing that there were possible underground activities at our school. Knowing this information, I would rate this campus and dining experience a solid 8.7/10.