Montgoris, Schmontgoris

Notice anything new around campus (aside from the more modernized Marillac cafeteria) this year? Yea, me neither. Obviously, St. John’s spruces up the physical appearance of the foliage around the campus to impress the incoming freshman and their families, but in terms of physical improvements of buildings and the likes, there is little to be seen. Even if there was some sort of new building constructed or a new and useless staircase built next to an even more useless fountain, the biggest improvement would still be the changes in the dining on campus.

No, Montgoris dining hall did not burn down unfortunately. That prison mess hall with its comparable food trying to pass as a college cafeteria is still serving the same “food” as it has the last two years. I mean same in the literal sense; it’s probably leftovers from the “food” that was put on display in May. But enough about that, it’s the meal exchange program and the extended hours of the Red Storm Diner (a.k.a Vinnies) that is the real story here.

For those of you who are juniors and seniors, do you remember that bullshit Vinnies pulled last year by only being open on Friday-Sunday nights? Well that’s no more, order has been restored and Vinnies is open seven nights a week. Two words, thank God. We’ve all had that moment last year where we would be craving a loaded grilled cheese or a western burger so much on a Tuesday night and were unable to quench that thirst….or appetite….but now there would be nothing standing between you and that short, nice Indian woman at the register. Now how fast are those 250 points going to go? Probably as fast as the Vinnies line is long at 1am on a Saturday night.

Not only has the hours at Vinnies been extended, the hours for meal exchange at the DeAngelo Center has been extended to. I meal exchanged for Nathan’s at 12:30pm the other day. Fricken awesome. Anything that prevents me from eating dinner during the week at Monties is great in my book. Nathans at the DAC is one of my favorite spots to eat on campus so I am a tremendous fan of this move. Good on you, St. John’s. You will forever be remembered for having the Montgoris Dining Hall on your grounds but I’m glad to see that you are at least trying to make strides in terms of student dining. Now if only the hot dogs in Monties would taste great instead of bouncing high…