Some members of FAMU’s freshman class of 2011 say they long for home cooking.
The mouthwatering scent of sweet yams with brown rice and beans along with mama’s juicy fried chicken linger in the thoughts of freshmen as they transition into dormitory life.
Walking into the cafe, it is easy to see why it is popular to the many freshmen. From the busy street corner of Wahnish and Gamble, lies the central spot some students claim to be as active as ‘the set’ itself, The Cafe.
Over the years, the cafe has grown it’s popularity from the roudiest class of them all, the freshmen. With this year’s 2011 class, students have spoken freely about their opinions of the cafe. “It [the cafe] is convenient,” said Jasmine Worley, 18, Jasmine Worley from Cleveland. “I have different things every day.” Alex Bryant, 19, a first-year pre-pharmacy candidate from Jacksonville said he enjoys eating at the café. “I eat at the cafe twice a week, and enjoy the dinner meals. The baked chicken actually tastes like baked chicken.”
The Cafe provides many options from the delicious waffles with sausage and egg sandwiches in the morning to the popular pizza and hamburgers for lunch. The menu varies from a fresh salad bar to the appetizing meals for lunch, such as soup, burgers and wraps.
Even with desserts like chocolate cakes, cookies and peach cobblers, some students still feel the café does not have enough food options.
“It’s not enough variey, ” said Assiya Callinder, a 1st year animal science student from Miami. “I don’t eat pork, so I have to eat the ‘common food’.”
And so, The Café continues to serve it’s purpose; Feed the freshman hot, nutritious and sometimes appetizing food. Although some students would most assuredly go for more gourmet-style restaurant cuisine, the Café is an adequate source of food satisfaction. The café has grown on some of the homesick freshmen even the ones from unique area codes. “Coming from the mid-west, they don’t serve that type of food there…the cafe is all I can eat,” said Eighteen-year-old Business Marketing major, Samuel Lockridge.
With the wide open space and long lines, the cafe is drawing more and more mouths to feed each year. This freshman food haven is ultimately continuing to do it’s best in serving the students and for that the Café get’s an average A for effort; from the students of course.