Your Comments:

Just wanted to let you know, Dave, that I love the yogurt bar at the Vegetation Station. You are always doing new things to improve our dining experience and this one is a winner. The only thing that could make it better would be some more fresh fruit either there or at the end of the salad bar. Things like blueberries, raspberries, and real strawberries (not the syrup) go really well. Thanks!

I was actually pretty much against this idea in the beginning.  I really don’t like bulk yogurt but Dot came up with a great way to present it and has some nice topping options.  I’ve received a number of good comments on it so I guess it has found a following.  So Yogurt Bar it is!

I would suggest extending the hours that breakfast is served in the mornings by 15-30 minutes.  A lot of people get out of class at 9:15 or 9:20 in the morning and come to Crossroads hoping to order breakfast.  The lines are often so long at that time of day, that many people will stand in line for ten or fifteen minutes, only to be told when it's their turn to order that breakfast just stopped being served.

I’ll talk with Rick and Greg to see what we can figure out.  Ideally we’d like to serve breakfast all day but we just don’t have the grill space in our cramped little kitchen to do both eggs and burgers once we get busy.  I know Rick has introduced some new breakfast items like the French Toast so maybe we can do something to help out our customers who want the later breakfast.

Dave, Do we really have to form a pickle patrol?  I put a comment in last semester, which you (deservedly) laughed at, about the poor amount of pickles on Crossroads burgers.  After the comment, the problems stop.  Well, today I went to Crossroads at around 11 AM and ordered a burger combo with mustard, sprouts, and pickles.  "Extra pickles," I added as an afterthought.  The cashier nodded, but I noticed she didn't mark her screen for extra pickles.  I wasn't too worried, as I usually don't have a problem.  But low and behold, when I began to eat my burger, I discovered that, not only did I not receive EXTRA pickles, I once again received only two pickles on my burger!  Did pickle bandits sneak into the box when I wasn't looking?

It sounds to me like we need to have some “pickle packs” ready to go.  Small little sample cups with lids that we can put pickles in and store in the front refrigerator.  Then when you want extra pickles all you have to say is “Can I get a pickle pack please.” And you are on your way to pickle nirvana.  I’ll see if I can talk the folks at Crossroads into doing something like that.

Hi, Dave.  Tonight I went to crossroads and ordered a breakfast sandwhich.  My order came up rather quickly and in a fit of hunger I devoured half the sandwich on the way to my car.  Later, when I went to eat the other half I was disgusted to see the yolk of the egg running out.  IT WASN'T COOKED!!!!  That's freakin nasty!!  Can you beleive that?  Me either, so I checked over and over again....it wasnt cooked.  True story.  I always get great service from Crossroads and this simply cannot happen again.  Paraniod as I am I will have to check my eggs every time I order a sandwich for God knows how long. I'm sure you'll take care of this.  Thanks -Hungry & disappointed in Norman

Personally I like my egg yolks runny but for people who don’t I’m sure a runny yolk can be a real turn-off.  I agree with you that in a sandwich the yolk should be fully cooked.

Dear Dave, Coming back this semester for another round of trying to find vegan meals at Couch has been like stumbling on a new flavor of Thanksgiving Tofurkey every day of the week!  All the problems last semester - the poor labeling, poorly educated staff, somewhat questionable food choices, supply problems - all have disappeared!  In their wake is / are rows and rows of delicious entrees labeled way above and beyond what I would have ever expected.  No doubt this is in no small part due to the return of the Vegetation Station cook (I hope she recovered from her accident fully!).  Anyways, please keep up the GREAT work there!  All of the vegans - that is, all two or three of us - very much appreciate it.

You deserve to find a variety of foods everyday.  Good news and bad news.  Bad news, Cathy our veggie cook has left for greener (pun intended) pastures.  Good news, we have some very capable cooks in the kitchen who were doing a good job in her absence and have continued to do a good job this semester.  Keep me informed though about how we are doing, I don’t want to back slide any.

I do have one small request, though.  I've noticed that there's been a little smorgasbord of yougurt and toppings on the line.  Would it be possible to drop a bottle of vegan salad dressing down there too?  It's hard to tell what's safe on the salad line dressings-wise and the only sure-shot is the lackluster French dressing.  It would be... perfection. Love, Joe

I’m sure we can do that.

Dave, My dining experiences, aside from a few obscure events, were very pleasing last semester. However, I do have a complaint. I really like salad, but unfortunately you usually don’t have the types of salad dressing I enjoy. I understand your need for variety. But you have the same variety almost every day: Ranch, Fat-Free Ranch, Thousand Island, Honey Dijon, and Catalina. What about Bleu Cheese or Caesar? I love bleu cheese dressing and you seem to never have it available. I would really appreciate bleu cheese making a more regular appearance on the salad bar. Also, I really appreciate that there was honey out on the Veggie Station. I would really like to continue seeing that. Thanks for taking the time to read my comment. Sincerely, Nick (A Bleu Cheese Fan)

Well since you were good enough to spell it Bleu cheese and not Blue cheese I guess we’ll see if we can find it for you.  We have had some trouble getting the variety of Kraft dressings from our distributor that we’d like but that is our problem, not yours.  I know you need results so I will start pushing a little more for an expanded dressing list that includes Bleu cheese.

In the Dec. 1st "Kitchen Comments," #576 you printed a complaint from a guy (or girl) who is obviously delusional about what the real world consists of, and also that Housing and Food Service workers are robots, not human beings. The truth is, college is about learning how to live in the "real world." Things don't always go your way, and you have to learn to deal with it. This guy (or girl) seems to think that in the real world, the way to get what you want is to belittle people and claim (in all caps mind you) that these workers "CAN NOT FOLLOW THE SIMPLEST INSTRUCTIONS" or are "UNABLE TO FIND THE BUTTON FOR "DOUBLE WHOPPER!" (Jan.26 edition of Kitchen Comments, #578) Horror of all Horrors! What will he do? I guess you'll have to wait buddy, while the cashier finds the darn button. Get over yourself! They are HUMAN. People sometimes can not find the button for the Double Whopper! I am willing to bet that this guy can not always find his car keys, an equally important part of his day. This guy is ridiculous. A polite request for a reimbursement of his lost money on food he either did not get or was very wrong would do the trick. But he seems to think that by throwing a written temper tantrum, he is doing the right thing. I myself am a senior this year, and have been dining at the Burger King that he speaks so poorly of for the past 4 years. I have found every visit there to be nothing short of lovely and delicious. Maybe he just has bad Karma. I'm sorry to use Kitchen Comments as a vehicle for my beef with this customer, but I feel he is presenting a very skewed version of the Housing and Food service restaurants and the workers there.

My favorite part of the old 60 Minutes show was the Point / Counter-Point discussion.  I appreciate you offering the counter-point to this discussion.  As a senior you have certainly seen your share of changes in Food Services.  We appreciate your loyalty and support.

Dearest Dave, A few days ago there was a large bowl of shrimp located next to the fruit on the salad bar. This was disturbing for a few reasons. 1)It made all the fruit smell like shrimp. 2)Upon first viewing I believed it to be a large bowl of grapefruit and I was horrified by the close-up view. 3) I was excited about the possibility of grapefruit and had my heart shattered by the presence of carcass in a land so beautiful it has been dubbed Fruit Land by me. Is it possible to distance the shrimpys from the fruitsys? Thank you! -Mushy Banana

Many people do like shrimp.  I think there is a place for it on the salad bar from time to time.  Maybe we could have put it only on one side of the salad bar so the other fruit display would be nothing but fruit, but then some folks would have missed it completely.  I’ll have to go look at the line and see if there is something else we can do.

I know that it is nearly impossible to find any nutritional information for Quiznos. The website only offers calories for a few items. If you do a google search for nutritional information and Quiznos you would be surprised at the outrage and confusion due to the lack of this information, and the weirdness of the company for not wishing to provide it...My question to you is does OU have access to the nutritional information for Quiznos. Does the Quiznos have it available for people who are concerned about it? Thanks for any information

I will check on what info we have but I believe we have to go to the web to get much of our information.  TJ will know for sure, let me talk to her.

Dear Sir, I was wondering if it would be at all possible to have the nutrition information for the food served in the cafeteria to be posted online.  Most of the major food chains post their nutrition info online, so why can't OU?  It would make it a lot easier for students like me who are counting calories and trying to monitor their cholesterol.  Thank you for your time! Meredith

We are just beginning to work with a company called “Nutrition Addition” that will allow us to pull our nutrition information from our nutritional database and put it into a database that you can access on-line.  We hope to have a beta site ready after spring break.

I'm very excited about French Toast at Crossroads... would it be possible for them to have powdered sugar in the future?

Let’s live on the wild side shall we!  Rick, a shaker of the finest powdered sugar if you please …..

I am very disappointed in a recent visit to the Sooner Sweet Shoppe. I had a late night craving for ice cream and had plenty of time to hurry over and get some before close. I did arrive at 11:55 and was told that the gentleman before me was the last in line. Granted, I was there very close to closing time, but every food service place I have worked at, we served customers until the exact time we closed. I would have understood if I had arrived late, but this was not the case. The man on duty's name was Nick. I asked him what time he closed and he replied "12." I let him know that it was before hand and then very rudely he replied "I'm the only one working and I'm the manager and the last person in line is him." I was not aware that the number of personnel or being the manager could make a decision on whether or not the store closed early. He even would have been done serving the others before normal closing time. I'd also like to point out that there were several people in line at Burger King, and they all got served even after closing time. I think this matter should be handled by closing the doors at closing time and letting those who arrived before hand be served or some other manner that does not waste people's trip to the store in cold weather before closing time just to be turned away. I do apologize if this email sounds harsh towards you because that is not the intention. I am just very upset and would like the rudeness of this manager and the confusing closing hours to be dealt with. Thanks for your time. David

I can’t say I don’t understand the manager’s feelings, we’ve all been on those closing shifts, short handed and all we want to do is get the night over with.  You were however in before closing time and you should have been served.  I will review this policy with Matt. 

Okay, first thing, I just went to Couch Express tonight about ten minutes before close and there was a huge line.  However, the cashier, Jeremiah, was very understanding of the fact that I arrived before close but couldn't order in time because of the line.  Yet the man in the back he was working with (I don't know his name, he wasn't wearing a name tag) became very irrate and continually hassled Jeremiah about taking my order at 12:01.  It was a big problem when he was trying to complete the orders.  I'm not sure what your policy is, but anyone who arrives before close should be allowed to purchase what they came for.  It won't make the workers incredibly late and it's due to circumstances beyond the customer's control.  I wanted to make sure to write to appluade Jeremiah's excellent customer service and to say he shouldn't be hassled so much for being sympathetic, especially in front the customers.

See, it happens at our operations too.  The same situation as above, a much better result due to Jeremiah’s desire to take care of his customers.  Again, I understand the frustration on the employee’s part, some days just never end.  HOWEVER if you are at the operation before closing time we need to make every effort to serve you.  I know Shawn has already reviewed this with our team at Couch Express. 

Second, I wanted to address the absence of whole fruit in the cafeteria.  One of the supervisors told me it was because patrons were taking the fruit and leaving it on the tray, thus creating a wasted expense.  Yet there are several items students leave on their trays and nothing is being done to address that.  Also, the quality of some the fruit would be at times, surprisingly poor.  I remember having to weed through the fruit to find an item without any surprise black marks, holes, or anything else disgusting that would deter me from eating it.  Sometimes I would find these blights too late and just leave it on my tray because no one in their right mind would eat it.  The point is that this problem with leftover fruit wouldn't exist if all of the fruit met customer standards.  Offering fruit should be essential to promoting healthy living in any food services organization, especially one that so heavily strives for healthy choices.  Please don't let a few bad apples ruin whole fruit for everyone in the cafeteria. Finally, are we getting blackbean burgers back in the cafeteria?  I love those things and the new veggie sandwiches taste horrible, so I left it on my tray.  Once again, thanks for listening Dave and doing a great job making OU Food Services the top 10 in the nation! Big Al

We have sliced fruit out on the salad bar every day.  After discussing this over the semester break we felt that having all of this fruit available should satisfy our customer’s needs for fresh fruit plus we could make sure what we were putting out was good.  We thought this would lead to less waste because you didn’t have to take a full piece of fruit if you wanted just a little and of course there would be a lot fewer people stuffing their coat pockets with whole fruit and carrying it out which saves us all money. 

The blackbean burgers are back.  Also a reminder for those of you who want to try the Natural beef, it is available at both Couch and Crossroads.

Update:

We went out to bid with the Burger King space in Adam’s Center.  We had an open bid meaning anyone could bid and also contacted a number of companies directly to see if they would be interested.  We received back only two bids:  Burger King and Panda Express.  We are looking at the merits of both.  If you have a preference one way or another please let me know.  E-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and let me know what you think.