Lettuce Talk About Lunch Lines

For those of us who have grown up in Barbers Hill and experienced school lunch ever since the first grade, there would only be two-three lines offering the same thing year after year: one meal deal line and the others chicken tenders and corn dog bites. In high school, however, our eating opportunities nearly tripled with there being eight lines, offering a variety of delicacies that are different each day. This is great and all, but I have noticed a significant problem with this overload of choices, and that is that a majority of students, whether they are freshmen or seniors, don’t even fully know what each line has to offer.

Why is this, though? Some students have spent about a thousand lunch periods roaming the cafeteria, yet they somehow don’t know each line like the back of their hand? I believe there are a multitude of causes for this phenomenon, including the crowdedness of the cafeteria obscuring the view of food in lunch lines and people’s hesitation to “fix what’s not broken.”

Nevertheless, I write this article to hopefully encourage students to widen their lunch line horizons by eliminating the uncertainty of what each line has to offer and what students  think about them. Here is a succinct description of each and every cafeteria line.

Line 1

To start off this edible adventure is the “jack of all trades” line, line 1. This line is the first one on the left of the cafeteria and is called the “jack of all trades” line because it serves something significantly different each day, as portrayed by the table on the left. 

Line 1 has the most variety by far and has the student support to back it up. 

“It’s a ten out ten on Mondays and Thursdays, a seven out of ten on Friday, but not very good on Tuesday and Wednesday,” senior and seasoned eater Audrey Calzoncinth says. “The wait time is terrible, but it’s worth it, even though all of the good food is gone by the time I get there.”  

Based on what various students have to say, a good strategy to get the most of your lunch period is to only go to line one on certain days to maximize satisfaction, and for those days, you might want to get those legs pumping on your way to lunch if you don’t want to be left waiting for a hot minute for a decreased selection of food.

Lines 2 and 3

Continuing on the left side of the cafeteria, we have lines two and three, which are both nearly identical in their choices. They both offer Bosco Sticks, chicken, fries, and sometimes even sparkling ice drinks. Due to their lack of variety and heartiness of the food, these lines go mostly unnoticed by a large portion of the student body.

Those who do visit these lines, however, certainly have a high opinion on the matter. 

“The food is a solid nine out of ten,” senior and self-proclaimed ”devious cutter” Myles Johnson said. “The food is great, but they’re the lines everybody cuts in. I could be one of the first people in line but not get my food until 10 minutes later.”

Unlike line one, the root cause of the wait time is not the high demand for the food, but the unruliness of the students in the line, making it a nightmare to receive their food. Though it is important to note that, while Myles Johnson complains about these “devious cutters,” he himself claims the same title. Regardless, anyone looking for the apparent delicious food of lines two and three should come prepared with patience with not only the line, but also their fellow students.

Line 4

Line four, the last line on the left side, is most likely the most unique lunch line in the cafeteria. Often called the “healthy line,” it houses many different salads, cold cuts, fruits, and most notably, coffee. It is perfect for a light and refreshing meal, but some claim that the food is overly bland and not worth the wait.

It is because of this that students like Junior Ella Hatley view the line as “mid.”

“I’d personally give it a perfectly average five out of ten,” junior Ella Hatley said. “Even though I love the spicy chicken salad with ranch, the yogurt parfait, and the ice mocha lattes, the line is super long and it takes a while to get food.”

The food quality of the line seems to be above average, however the lack of variety causes some people to lose their liking of line four. The somewhat boring selection of food items paired with the extensive line (which usually spans about halfway across the cafeteria) makes this line, as a whole, the most uniquely average lunch line in the cafeteria. Though line four is infamous for its long line, there is one lunch line that surpasses all others in both wait time and line length.

Line 5

Going on to the right side of the cafeteria we have the chicken tender line, otherwise known as line 5. Looking past its outrageously long line, it offers a seemingly never ending supply of chicken tenders and fries that appeal to the more “average joe” of our student body. Though it may seem bland, many students adore the spicy variation of the chicken tenders and praise the fact that, no matter how far back in line they are, there is always the same thing waiting under that heat lamp. 

But don’t just take it from me, take it from the “local David” of our school.

”The line is a solid six and a half out of ten,” sophomore Parker Files said. “The food is consistent and they never run out of anything, but it gets points taken off because that’s the line that everybody goes to, making the line very long.”

Another prime cause of the wait is the abundance of people who cut in line all throughout the lunch period. This makes it so that, though people are getting their food and leaving, the queue for the line itself appears to be perfectly still. Despite its wait, the patrons of line five believe that every second is worth it to get their hands on their, admittedly basic, chicken tenders. If you can stand to wait a few extra minutes, line five is the best place for a consistently above average meal.

Lines 6 and 7

Onto lines six and seven, we see a common pattern of the two middle lines being grouped together. However, the food offered by the lines itself is not the same between both lines. Line six has chicken nuggets, taquitos, and fries, while line seven is much more unique and notable in its selection. On most days line seven offers a bacon cheeseburger, cheese curds, buffalo wings, chicken tenders, and a few more snack items. This is great on its own, but Thursday changes the game entirely.

Special Sandwich day takes place every Thursday in line seven and sells a variety of hot sandwiches which include ham and cheese, jalapeno ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, and jalapeno turkey and cheese. While every sandwich is great, my recommendation is the ham and cheese as it tastes exactly like a ham and cheese kolache from your traditional ma and pa donut store.

So why are these lines grouped together? That’s because both lines have nearly the exact same wait time, sides, drinks, and cookies that have a crunchy outer rim paired with a soft and gooey center, which are unique to these two lines as opposed to the cookies in line five for example. My personal go-to for my lunches has me going to line six for some classic nuggets, fries, and a cookie, then on Thursday deviating a bit and getting that delicious ham and cheese. Paired with the lack of significant wait time, lines six and seven are good candidates for the ideal lunch lines.

Line 8

Last but certainly not least is line eight, the meal deal line. This line shares similar properties as line one in that it changes each day consistently. What makes line eight really shine, however, is the fact that almost nobody goes to it. This makes the wait time nearly instantaneous and all the food guaranteed not to run out. However, this begs the question, does this lack of patrons signify something about the quality of line eight’s food?

“The line is an overall six out of ten, though it depends on the day,” junior Joseph Baumgarner said. “There is a very short wait time, and you get in and out quickly, but the pasta served Wednesday isn’t exactly great.”

The emptiness of the line is not solely due to the controversial pasta, as line eight’s location makes it hidden from most angles and largely unnoticeable. With no line, no one can see that the lunch line is even operational, which maintains the lack of wait time which students like Joseph appreciate. While the food is apparently average to slightly above average, on a day where you’re looking to just get your food and get on with your lunch period, line eight is the easiest and most efficient luncheon location.

Overview

In this article we have gone through each and every single choice one can make to craft a perfect lunch, besides bagged lunch of course, but that’s an entirely different conundrum. None of the lines are without their benefits, and of course none of the lines are without their drawbacks either. It is my hope that you can utilize this organized information in order to diversify your lunch plans and achieve the highest possible level of satisfaction from school lunch. Knowledge is power, so go out there and get your lunch on during your next luncheon.