Introduction
With the move to the new school site and the banning of off campus lunch, we have been presented with a new school menu. The new and improved school menu has a variety of different options to choose from, which are made in the new kitchen. Many students are divided on whether they like or dislike the new food. We at The Grapevine have come together to rate all the new school foods from breakfast to lunch. As students of Dinuba High School, we have the right to give our honest opinions on the new school food and we hope this will improve the menu or relate to other students who have tried the food.
Breakfast Foods
- Breakfast Muffin & Hash Brown
Rating: 7/10
Our thoughts: It’s a great improvement from the previous breakfast muffin they would give out at the old school site. The breakfast muffin was less salty than the old one, but very crumbly. The hash brown tastes the same, but it’s always been yummy. Nonetheless, a very solid meal to grub on before school starts.
- Blueberry/Chocolate Muffin
Rating: 10/10
Our thoughts: Hands down the best thing we’ve had from DHS! The muffin was very warm and gooey. Even though we love it, we wish they were bigger and had more filling because we both finished it quickly.
- Parfait
Rating: 9/10
Our thoughts: Honestly, we’ve never seen someone mess up a parfait before so we’re glad they executed it well. A simple, but filling breakfast. I love how the yogurt blends with the strawberries and granola.
- Oatmeal
Rating: 7/10
Our thoughts: For the most part, the oatmeal tasted like how standard oatmeal should taste, nothing too crazy. There were toppings to choose from to add on your oatmeal like brown sugar, granola, and banana chips. The toppings really added a good flavor to the oatmeal.
- Big Breakfast Platter: Eggs, Sausage, Country Potatoes, & Pancakes
Rating: 7.5/10
Our thoughts: The sausage was good and the eggs were okay, not out of the ordinary. Also, the pancakes were a little hard, but not bad. The potatoes were okay too. So, overall it was a solid meal.
- Nutella Turnover
Rating: 8/10
Our thoughts: The school used to serve this at the old location, so this will always hit no matter what. It’s very chocolatey, so anyone who loves chocolate will love this. The only downside to this meal is that it can be very messy when eaten.
- Freshly Made Waffles w/ Toppings
Rating: 9/10
Our thoughts: For waffles made at school, they are very good! The optional strawberries with whipped cream makes them ten times better. The waffles are very soft, which makes them easy to eat. We definitely recommend everyone on campus to give these waffles a try!
Freshly Baked Bagels
- Blueberry Bagel
Rating: 7/10
Our thoughts: Standard bagel, nothing too special. If you want a simple and tasty breakfast then we would recommend this.
- Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Bagel
Rating: 7/10
Our thoughts: Wasn’t expecting to like this very much, but ended up enjoying it! The only thing is that there is a lot of jalapenos on it, so it’s very spicy. If you’re not a fan of spicy foods, maybe skip this.
Lunch Foods
- Pizza
Rating: 8.5/10
Our thoughts: When the school barely opened it was not good, but over time it has became far better. It’s not overflowing with sauce and there is a good amount of cheese. Overall, a good standard pizza!
- Chicken tenders w Fries
Rating: 7.5/10
Our thoughts: The fries were good and not too salty. The chicken tenders had good breading and were really tender.
- Chicken Sandwich and Fries
Rating: 4/10
Our thoughts: No FLAVOR! Very Dry and too plain. Only tasted good with ranch. The fries were pretty good; they had just the right amount of salt.
- Regular Burger
Rating: 8.5/10
Our thoughts: The burger was plain, but was seasoned really well and the fries were really good too.
- Mini Corn dogs w Fries
Rating: 5/10
Our thoughts: The mini corn dogs were good, the breading was really good; they were just a little too hard to actually bite into. It came with curly fries, but were too soggy. Hopefully, this was a one time thing.
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Rating: 9/10
Our thoughts: The grilled cheese was really, really good; the garlic seasoning that was added really gave it more flavor. The cheese was crispy and so was the bread, it’s just difficult to bite into because the bread dries out and gets hard after a while.
- Asada Fries
Rating: 8/10
Our thoughts: The Asada was not too bad, pretty good when the cheese was mixed alongside the fries. It was a very balanced meal, but the only downside was that the cheese was a little too salty.
- El Jefe Asada Burrito Fresh Salsa
Rating: 2/10
Our thoughts: The tortilla did not taste good to us at all. There were more beans than there was Asada and rice. Also the beans were not good. This one needs some work!
- SUB Sandwich
Rating: 7/10
Our thoughts: The SUB sandwich is average, a normal sandwich you can probably make at home, but it tasted good, nevertheless. It comes with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, cheese, and ham, which all help to create a flavorful sandwich. The sandwich is also pretty big, which makes it a very filling lunch.
- Tacos & Curly Fries
Rating: 6/10
Our thoughts: We acknowledge that the school tried their best to create authentic tacos for us to dig in, but they didn’t really hit the mark. Nonetheless, the tacos aren’t the worst we’ve tasted and the curly fries made the meal much better. Maybe if the tacos came with some type of sauce it would elevate the taste.
Conclusion
All of our reviews towards the new food isn’t any shade towards our cafeteria staff, we believe as students we have the right to give feedback on our school lunch to further improve the food. This goes out to every student on this campus to continue to use their voice to make our school thrive. Overall, some of the meals do need improvement, but aside from those, the rest were delicious. We hope that the school menu continues to improve and add on as the school grows.
