Columbia University Dining

Pre-Enrollment Tabling Dates

Sign up for next year's dining plan now and earn FREE Dining Dollars! Just attend any one of these events and sign up in person:

John Jay Dining Hall: Dinner from 5pm-8pm
April 24 and 26

Casino Night: Dinner at John Jay Dining Hall
April 19 from 5pm - 9pm

Housing Contract Signing: John Jay Lounge
April 27 from 9am - 5pm

JJ's Place: April 29 and 30
9pm-11pm

Ferris Booth: April 30, May 1 and 2
12pm - 2pm

New Check-Out Lines at Cafe 212

In an attempt to make the lunch rush more manageable, we've reorganized the lines and registers. If you want a grab-n-go, bottled beverage, or coffee drink, enter the line on the right for Express. For made-to-order sandwiches and salads, go to the back and enter. There is now a dedicated register for made-to-order, so there is no need to get out of one line and into another to pay.

Antipasto Bar in Ferris Booth

Check out the latest and greatest addition to Ferris Booth Commons! Dining Services is now offering an Antipasto Bar, with delicious toppings such as shrimp, broccoli, seasoned tofu, chickpeas, grilled vegetables, eggplant, mozzarella and tomato, and a variety of gourmet cheeses! Stop by today and pick up a small plate for only $3.95 or a large portion for only $5.95.

ART BAR

We are now selling Art Bar at three retail locations around campus for $2.25: Ferris Booth Commons, Blue Java Dodge and Butler. Why buy Art Bar?

• It's brought to you by the first Fair Trade Certified chocolate company in the US.
• It contains all organic ingredients.
• Art Bar wrappers, art cards, and display boxes are made from recycled paper.
• Part of the proceeds helps to fund local and global art education programs.
• They taste really good.
• Dark chocolate possesses the highest antioxidant content of any food.

John Jay Dining Hall offered Art Bar for sale at dinner on Valentine's Day. Thanks to your contributions and love of chocolate, we sold over 70 Art Bars that night! In addition, all of the proceeds for the evening were donated to V-Day, the movement to stop violence against women and girls.

Housing & Dining Receives an "A"

The Sustainable Endowments Institute today released its College Sustainability Report Card, which grades 100 leading colleges by looking at campus greening practices and endowment policies. Columbia's Report Card had an overall grade of B, and an A for Housing & Dining.

Read the whole report.

Waste Prevention in John Jay Dining Hall

On November 14, 2006, students from Columbia's Food Sustainability Project held this year's first plate-scraping event. They found that students wasted:

30 gallons of liquids
110 gallons of food waste
137.5 gallons of "other"' waste - such as napkins, plastic utensils, etc.

 

A visual display demonstrating these numbers was created by FSP for students to see and was unveiled at Dining Services' Greener, Leaner Holiday event on December 6.

Will students be able to rise to the challenge and lower these numbers by the spring? Stay tuned to find out!

Customer Satisfaction Survey Prize Winners

This fall, thousands of students participated in the Dining Services Customer Satisfaction Survey. Out of these students, 17 were randomly chosen to receive awesome prizes for their feedback contributions.

The winners are:
Kodak EasyShare digital camera: Benjamin Arnold
$100 Dining Dollars: Brett Benowitz
Cases of Snapple: Daniel Adams, Rachel Goodman, Yewande Jegede, Zichuan Tang, Isha Parulkar, Pedro Duran, Edward Hambleton, Wei-Jen Hsieh, Meliass Wang, and Dominic Baker
JJ's Party Pack: Raymond Lim
$100 gift cards to Ticketmaster: Yilmax Kocagoz and Sara McArdle
$50 of Fandango Bucks: Sebastien Manigat and Andrew Macaluso

Thanks to all who participated and watch out for this spring's Customer Satisfaction Survey for your chance to voice your opinion AND win big!

Pesto at the Pasta Station in FBC

In addition to the 3 current sauces offered in Ferrris Booth Commons, Dining Services now offers a 4th sauce, Pesto.  So next time you want to carbo-load in Ferris Booth, don't forget to try out the Pesto!

Daily Deli Bar at John Jay

Starting on Monday, December 4, John Jay will be conducting a three week trial run of Daily Deli Bar during Brunch, Monday through Friday. The Daily Deli Bar will be self-service from the Gourmet Salads area, next to the Pasta Etc station. 

The Daily Deli selections will consist of: Turkey, American and Swiss Cheeses, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, Chips, and White, Rye, and Wheat Bread.

Over $500 Contributed to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund

Thanks to YOUR generous donations and your love for our Commander's Palace Gumbo, Columbia University Dining Services was able to donate $582.40 to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund this year! From October 9th until October 23rd, we served Commander's Palace Gumbo, homemade by Columbia students and Chef Ray Prete, following the official recipe of the world-famous restaurant in New Orleans. Profits resulting from the Gumbo served in Ferris Booth Commons, Cafe 212, Uris Deli, and Carleton Lounge will now be donated to the Relief Fund. Thanks for all your generosity during this time!

Certified Angus Beef Now Served in John Jay and Lenfest

Once again, Dining Services has raised the standard of food services. John Jay Dining Hall, JJ's Place, and Lenfest Cafe will now be serving only Certified Angus Beef at each meal. Angus beef is a premium brand of fresh meat that is in the top 35% of USDA Choice Beef. Only 8% of beef worldwide can be considered Certified Angus, as each cut of meat must meet specific standards not required of the USDA.

Not only that, but John Jay Dining Hall is now serving a new hamburger bun to go along with the Angus beef. These new buns are more of a homestyle bread than the old buns, with a rich and delicious taste that won't remind you to count your carbs.

Results For The Pizza Taste-Off Are In

You tasted it, you voted, and now see the changes!  On Thursday, October 5th, John Jay Dining Hall hosted a Pizza Taste-Off at brunch.  Students tasted two different pizzas with two different crusts; in the end, Pizza Green won with a score of 109 votes to Pizza Red's 82 votes.  This new pizza with the light and fluffy crust is now served in John Jay, thanks to your votes! 

Vegan Awareness Week

It is Vegan Awareness Week from October 15 - 22. Look for vegan options at all your meals at John Jay this week. Menus will be stamped with the VN designation. Options will include Lemon Vegan Chicken, Vegan BBQ Riblets, and Coconut Curry Tofu. For more information on Vegan Awareness Week, and its activities around campus, please contact Vegan and Vegetarian Action, Kathleen, kc2129@columbia.edu .

Operation Commander's Gumbo Returns

Last year Dining Services and the Columbia community came together to help raise $2500 for Katrina disaster relief. Over a year later, the region still needs our help -- so we are re-introducing authentic Commander's Palace Gumbo! The gumbo is homemade by Columbia students and Chef Ray Prete, following the official recipe of the world-famous restaurant in New Orleans.

Starting October 9, you can buy Commander's Palace Gumbo at Cafe 212, Ferris Booth Commons, Uris Deli, and Carleton Lounge for the same price as regular soup. Small cups will be $2.95 and large cups will be $3.65.

All proceeds from sales will go to Hurricane Katrina relief organizations. During this time you can also contribute money at any Dining Services retail cash register on campus. Let's show we still care and raise even more money this year!!

Vending Flex Changes

As of 10/1/06, the daily Flex limit for Vending has increased to $25.00 a day. This change will allow users to purchase the new MTA cards being sold in Lerner Hall vending, while still protecting from fraudulent charges if your card is lost or stolen.

In addition the automatic credit per swipe has increased to $20.00. This credit appears on the swipe reader when you make your purchase. Simply put- it's like putting a $20.00 bill into the machine. You make your purchase and the change gets reapplied to your card immediately.

Fresh Vegetables at John Jay

John Jay Dining Hall has now added fresh vegetables and homemade pizza to its list of improvements for the 2006-2007 school year. Not only has John Jay included a special section for Halal students, offered more vegan and vegetarian options, revamped the daily menus, improved the appearance of the salad bar, and created spectacular events for the upcoming year, but now the vegetables and pizza options are even better than ever! Fresh produce, like carrots, zucchini, spinach, asparagus, and green beans, will now be an everyday occurrence in the dining hall. Say goodbye to frozen corn and broccoli for good!

Changes in Uris Deli

We've made some changes to Uris over the summer to make sevice better, the lines shorter, and the sense of community for the Business School stronger.

The new Uris Deli is a gourmet espresso, coffee, and tea bar, offering the highest quality Fair Trade & Organic coffees from local roaster Dallis Coffee and teas from Republic of Tea. Uris Deli will also feature upscale grab-n-go options including Eli's sandwiches, sushi, Sabra and Yummy Kosher meals, an expanded soup bar, and our own delicious Ferris Booth fresh sandwiches and salads.

Uris Deli now accepts cash only. Flex, Dining Dollars, and Points are no longer honored at Uris.

Cafe East (formerly Tea & Tea) moves to Lerner

The much-loved bubble tea bar will have a new name this fall and move to a more centralized location on campus: the ground floor of Lerner Hall. Opening in late September, Cafe East will still offer the traditional Taiwanese teas with a twist, including tapioca pearl tea drinks, fruit smoothies, milkshakes and a selection of gourmet hot teas. They will also offer a selection of tasty dumplings.

Hours of Operation will be Monday through Friday 11:30am-9:30pm, Saturday 12:00pm-6:00pm, and Sunday 2:00pm-8:00pm.
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Use Meals for Breakfast at Blue Java Express

Just one more reason to sign up for a meal plan! You can now use your MEALS for breakfast at Blue Java Express to get made-to-order eggs, oatmeal, cold cereals, home fries, pastries and toast, coffee, and juice.

Blue Java now serving Dallis Coffee

You spoke. We listened. The taste-test surveys we conducted over the past semester were clear -- you wanted a new exemplary coffee in Blue Java.

So now all Blue Java locations, as well as Uris Deli, will be serving a variety of coffees from local roaster Dallis Coffee. Every offering will be Fair Trade and Organic, with some Rainforest-certified options as well. These coffees are not only socially and environmentally concious, but they taste really good too.

Ferris Booth Commons gets a makeover

We've done some renovations in Ferris Booth Commons over the summer, including a beautiful new tile floor.

Discounted MTA Cards

New Vending Machine Program

You may have noticed some new vending machines around campus. We've recently changed vendors to help bring you the best selection of products. Our new contractor, Canteen, is the oldest vending company in the country but provides an innovative vending program. We have installed new energy-efficient beverage machines with soda, water, teas, and energy drinks in most residence halls, Lerner Student Center, and in some academic buildings. We have also installed new snack machines with improved selections and features, including low carb and healthy choices, baked goods, and larger value packs. The new snack machines also include the Golden Eye program, an infrared sensor that ensures you get your snack or the money is refunded on the spot. Be on the look out for special promotional programs, including discounts, coupons, and special marketing events in the near future.