During lunch, we have a lot of different sections to choose from, which means that students have a lot of options to experiment with. Interested in trying something new? Here are four secret dining hall hacks:

Quesadillas/Grilled Cheese

Created by Ian Igleheart (‘20)

Rating: 3.8/5

Step one: Get a tortilla or bread.

Step two: Get some cheese the salad bar.

Step three: Put into the panini press.

Step four: Wait 45 seconds for cheese to melt.

Optional step: Add hot sauce!

Step five: Enjoy your quesadilla!

Ian Igleheart (‘20) said, “Whenever they serve some sort of variety of Mexican food that involves tortillas you can collect tortillas and go to the salad bar where there is always cheese. With these two ingredients, you can assemble the quesadillas and panini away. It only happens when they serve tortillas, so not that many people would think of it.”

He gives it a 3.8/5 for unique dining hall secrets because sometimes there are problems with the cheese and it is not a very consistent snack.

Peanut butter banana toast

Here’s a Jif of Gif peanut butter.

Graphic courtesy of Imgur

Recommended by Cathy Yan (‘19).

Rating: 4/5

Step one: Get one slice of bread and one banana.

Step two: Toast the bread.

Step three: Cut the banana.

Step four: Spread peanut butter on the toast.

Step five: Arrange banana on toast.

Step six: Enjoy!

Peanut butter banana toast is the perfect snack if you want something healthy, sweet, and filling. Although it takes longer to make than your average bagel, it is easy to replicate on a day-to-day basis. However, it still deserves only a 4/5 because it is a pretty mainstream snack nowadays.

McClure milkshake fruit punch ice cream smoothie

via Gfycat

Graphic courtesy of Buzzfeed

Created by Hannah McClure (‘18)

Recommended by Connor Walker (‘19)

Step one: Get fruit punch from the juice fountain.

Step two: Get ½ a cup of vanilla ice cream.

Step three: Mix the fruit punch and the ice cream

Step four: Enjoy!

This milkshake style drink is a tradition for Connor Walker since it was created by an alumnus. Although it might not be for everyone, it is a very unique drink that will have you wondering what other secrets are hidden within the dining hall!

Hi-C drink mix

via GIPHY

Graphic courtesy of Giphy

Created by Amelie Cook (‘20), Emma Lin (‘20), and Michael Martinez (‘21)

Rating: 4.3/5

Step one: Fill ¾ glass of fruit punch.

Step two: Add a little bit of lemonade.

Step three: Add a splash of pineapple juice.

Optional step: Add some water if it is still too sweet.

Ever since the juice fountain was upgraded, my friends and I have experimented with finding the perfect juice combination. Something that was not  too sweet, but also not too watered down. We finally found the perfect mixture by using three different juices, which is why this secret menu item deserves a 4.3. It can be difficult to fully master, so if it does not taste right at first, then just keep trying!