Way to go, Vista!

Have you been to Vista lately? The school cafeteria has really been improving over these last couple months, and we want to acknowledge that. (With a few criticisms, of course.)

First, let’s talk about the most notable addition, which has been an entire new hot foods area, adorned with skillets. This section now offers customers a different special each day. Among them have been street tacos, Asian noodles, grilled vegetables, pasta and chicken teriyaki (especially delicious). The skillets and their constantly changing menus have really increased the amount of options at Vista. And these options are usually loaded with fresh vegetables, making for healthier alternatives to burgers, wraps and pizza.

A slushy machine also has been added. It’s the last thing anyone would want in this freezing winter weather, but it may be more appreciated during spring term.

An extra bonus to the new section, and its added variety, is that there are fewer customer lines that stretch beyond the point of infuriating. Now, there is a good chance that one of the three main sections (wraps, grill and skillet) won’t have a long line. Before, it may have taken 10 minutes to grab a wrap or burger during the lunch rush. While that still might occasionally happen, it’s less frequent.

Now that the variety has improved, lets talk about some of the quality. It’s not that anything is truly bad or gross, but some items are just somewhat bland. A few of the meat options for the wrap stations, such as the shredded chicken and ground beef, are fairly dry and lack much flavor. While many of the skillet specials have been good (seriously, the teriyaki is great), whatever meat is used in them can be really dry. If there is a theme here, it’s to work on some of the dry meat.

Something that has improved, in terms of quality, is the pizza. It’s still not great, but is definitely leagues above the levels of awful it was before. And, there are very few complaints to be made about the grill menu items. The burgers and sandwiches are solid, with a good selection of fresh toppings, and the side items (onion rings, French fries, tots) have plenty of bite.

Vista has also gotten some cosmetic upgrades. There now are digital monitors with menus mounted on the walls, as opposed to the old “analog” menus. The monitors give Vista a sleeker and more modern look. The space of the cafeteria has also been rearranged, to make it feel more spacious. The placement of items for the grill and wrap stations also look better, as they use to shift around a lot.

And, since we’re talking about Vista, lets take a moment to shine a spotlight on some of the coolest employees at Mt. Hood.

There have been a lot of new additions to the Vista staff this year, and just as before, these employees have all been great. The workers are nice, attentive, patient and, sometimes, talkative. Something special is added to your meal when it’s been served by someone with a smiling face who isn’t afraid to strike up a conversation. And, that goes for the Vista cashiers, as well.

Vista has always been a good place for students to grab a quick bite, but these much-needed changes have taken our little cafeteria up a few notches. And, if some of the issues with the quality can be remedied, we would really have something awesome.