Teddy Eisenberg, Staff Reporter, The Observer

I am Teddy Eisenberg, a soon-to-be senior at CWRU that has written food reviews for The Observer for the past year. I can claim very little authority on food other than the fact that I love eating it and enjoy sharing that love with others. Eating is one of few common experiences we all share as human beings, and that bond makes the act of eating incredibly powerful.

I participated in CWRU’s meal plan for two and a half years, opting out this semester in favor of a community-supported agriculture program run through Fresh Fork Market. In that time, I dined in both Leutner and Fribley multiple times a week for all three meals.

Fribley Food Item: Burger with onions
Flavorless burger and bun, helped out by the onions.
Rating: 2.5/5

Fribley Food Item: Hot dog without the bun
Tangy pork. These were the best out of all the other Fribley options.
Rating: 3.5/5

Fribley Food Item: Chicken
White meat without much taste, save the chicken fat. Some notes of char. Moderately dry.
Rating 2.5/5

Fribley Food Item: French fries
No seasoning; starchy. Sad.
Rating: 1/5

Leutner Food Item: Potatoes
Lightly peppered, still pretty tasteless.
Rating: 3/5

Leutner Food Item: Pasta with zucchini, onion, olives and chicken
Heavy with little discernable taste.
Rating: 3/5

Leutner Food Item: Salad with low fat Italian dressing
Fresh spinach and tomato, dressing is very salty. Nice and light, the dressing ruins it.
Rating: 2.5/5

Leutner Food Item: Dessert—Rice crispy Treat, Chocolate chip cake
It’s really hard to mess up a rice crispy treat. Still good.
Rating: 4/5

Final verdict: Leutner

Leutner wins, with a score of 3.125/5, compared to Fribley’s 2.375/5.

After nearly a semester without stepping foot in either dining hall, my decision to abandon the meal plan in favor of my own cooking was validated. The simple truth of the dining services offered at CWRU is this: Fribley and Leutner are not bad, but not great for the price. The former offers slightly better-cooked food without much variety, while the latter offers a wider selection that does not rank as highly in quality. Truth be told, I prefer greater variety and therefore like Leutner the better of the two dining halls. Regardless, I don’t plan to return to either anytime soon.