Snack Bar Spurs ‘Smoothie’ Rage
Icy December winds haven’t yet cooled the call for the new snack bar’s hottest item: all-natural fruit smoothies. When students are asked to name a favorite flavor, a cacophony of “strawberry-banana yogurt” – “no, cappuccino.” - “I love mango!” are the replies.

In an informal survey of smoothie-crazed students, chicken fingers came in a close second.
“I like chicken fingers,” says Steve Wagner ’08. “If you don’t have time for lunch, you can get it here,” he says.

Katherine Williams ’05 says that she patronizes the snack bar two or three times a week. “This is the best,” she says, pointing to her chicken nuggets, “and the smoothies.”

Why all the enthusiasm with Forbes Dining Hall a quick 100-yard dash from the snack bar’s home in the Student-Faculty Center? It could be that the comfy leather-upholstered chairs enhance the digestion of the young, or that drinking a cup of coffee while perched in a tall, handsome café chair keeps one more alert to the pleasures of an upcoming class on Paradise Lost. Or it could simply be that the snack bar affords freedom of choice. Students can, in fact, make healthful choices: in addition to standard teen favorites such as pizza ($1.50 for cheese, $2 with topping), fruit cups ($1.50), fresh salads ($2) and yogurt ($1) are also available with an emphasis on reasonable pricing.

Seasonal changes will also enliven visits to the snack bar, with hot chocolate available during the colder months, according to Leslie Sullivan, business and support service manager.

“Feedback has been tremendous,” says Leslie, who oversees Milton’s food service contractor, FLIK. “The community loves the selection, as well as the convenience,” she says.

“I think it [the snack bar] would be even better if we could use our IA’s,” says Jessica Yanovsky ’08.

Leslie, who works closely with Phil Juaire, head chef, and JoAnn Weinert, director of dining services, acknowledges that many students are disappointed that IA accounts cannot be used for snack bar purchases, a step designed to encourage use of the facility as a snack bar instead of dining hall, she says. The facility is cash only, and hours of operation do not overlap with dining hall hours.