Panini and gelato and muffins, oh yum.
Johns Hopkins, an institution renowned for its
academic and research excellence, wants to (pardon the pun)
beef up its dining offerings to a world-class level, too,
and this week debuts renovated facilities, a new dining
hall and new menus that it hopes will satisfy every
appetite on the Homewood campus.
David Furhman, director of dining programs since 2004,
said that the re-examination of the campus's food services
started two years ago with the Commission on Undergraduate
Education's report that noted general student
dissatisfaction with the dining program. The university has
also regularly landed near the bottom of dining rankings in
the Princeton Review, a widely read college grading
site.
In its self-evaluation,
Housing and Dining
Services visited 14 of the nation's top college dining
programs in order to get a better sense of where Johns
Hopkins can and needed to be. Furhman said that the
benchmarking effort found that what all the top-ranked
programs had in common was great food, quality customer
service, comfortable and contemporary environments and
strong support from senior administration.
The results of the re-examination culminated in a
strategic plan, what Furhman describes as "the dining
vision." Simply put, this vision seeks to transform the
Homewood dining program into one of the best of its
kind.
The leaders of the new 'dining
vision': Carol Mohr and David Furhman
Photo by Will Kirk/HIPS
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"The low rankings and general dissatisfaction with
dining here were a wake-up call for the university,"
Furhman said. "There's no reason we can't have an
exceptional dining program; it just requires some visionary
thinking and institutional commitment."
Of note, Johns Hopkins, after a months-long nationwide
competitive search, picked Aramark to be the university's
new dining provider, effective July 1. A leading provider
of food and support services to universities and
preparatory schools (as well as to sports facilities and
other commercial ventures), Aramark currently serves more
than 200 million meals annually to students, faculty and
visitors at more than 400 institutions. Locally, Aramark
also manages the university-owned Mt. Washington Conference
Center.
Furhman said that by bringing in Aramark, Johns
Hopkins was able to reinvent and re-energize dining
services, which now emphasize quality, convenience and
variety.
"Basically, we have a whole new meal plan now and have
made comprehensive changes to all the dining facilities,"
he said.
Specifically, the Terrace Court Cafe, located between
AMR II and Building A on the freshman quad, has been
redesigned and renamed the Fresh Food Cafe. Now a sleek
steel, glass and light wood environment, the completely
renovated facility offers a wide variety of food options
including a made-to-order deli, a mammoth salad station,
hearth oven pizza and freshly baked desserts. The Fresh
Food Cafe also offers a vegan/vegetarian station and kosher
food.
The former MegaBytes is now the Blue Jay Cafe, which
is part grill, part pizza place, part convenience store and
part hangout space. The Blue Jay Cafe, located in the rear
of AMR II, is open seven days a week late into the
night.
Levering Food Court, which underwent a major
renovation three years ago, has received a modest makeover
and features four new food stations that include everything
from homemade burritos to grilled salmon. They are:
Savory Deli —
made-to-order sandwiches, soups and salads
Mas Mex! — a wide
variety of Mexican- and Latin-inspired dishes
Levering Leaves — a
"cornucopia" of fresh ingredients for customized salads
Peppercorn Grill —
a place for grilled burgers, chicken, fries and more
Levering Hall's Jazzman's has become Pura Vida Organic
Coffee, which offers coffees, teas, frozen smoothies,
muffins, pastries, sandwiches and more. Pura Vida features
100 percent organic and shade-grown coffee, and profits go
back to growers.
The all-new addition to the dining landscape is 3rd on
33rd, housed on the third floor of Charles Commons, the
residential complex that opened this week on the corner of
North Charles and 33rd streets. The facility, which also
features study areas, is open for lunch and dinner seven
days a week. It offers five dining options:
Passport —
internationally inspired favorites
The Hearth — gourmet
pizzas, pastas and calzones
The Grill — grilled
items ranging from steak to fish
Crisp — premium
sandwich and salad combinations
Finales — coffee
and dessert bar with a wide selection of gelatos and
artisan pastries
Expansive stainless steel, glass
and light wood give the renovated Fresh Food Cafe a whole
new attitude.
Photo by Will Kirk/HIPS
|
The nearby Wolman Station is being converted into a
convenience store called Charles Street Market at Wolman
Hall, expected to open at the start of spring semester
2007. Wolman Hall will also feature an Einstein Bros. bagel
shop.
As part of the new meal plan, upperclassmen can now
choose the "declining balance" plan option that gives the
participating student 500 to 1,500 "dining dollars" per
semester for a fixed cost. Freshmen will be offered a
choice of the traditional 19- or 14- meals-per-week plan
and will eat at campus dining facilities as part of a
continuing effort to build community.
"Without doubt, a quality campus dining program is an
essential element in building a greater sense of community
on our campus," said H. Carol Mohr, senior director of
Housing and Dining Services. "Simply put, our goal is to
create a dining program that is reflective of the quality
of the university as a whole."
For more information on all the Homewood dining
facilities and for current hours of operation, go to:
www.campusdish.com/en-us/CSE/JohnsHopkinsUniv.
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