The Campanile
*results from a voluntary online survey conducted by The Campanile
By Clara Chang and Electra Colveaz Staff Writers
There’s only one time during the school day when the sound of a bell brings the majority of Palo Alto High students to push back their chairs, toss eir binders back in their bags and rush out the classroom n an animated frenzy that could only be described as y – it’s lunch time. ether this excitement is to run out to find a nice sunny n the quad to enjoy a home-packed lunch, to go to the t Activity Center for a hot lunch, to hop in the car to drive otle or maybe just to run across the street for a salad from Joe’s, it is time to find out what really is in the average udent’s lunch box and what goes into their stomachs’ mere 45 minutes of lunch time. cording to a survey taken by Paly students from all grades, udents rush to Town and Country Village for lunch. While students prefer to stay on campus with a home brought 41% of students’ preferable destination for lunch is right the street; 13% prefer to go off campus and only 3% buy rom the Student Activity Center regularly. own as “T and C” by most Paly students, the square offers restaurants, a full-stocked Trader Joe’s as well as a CVS. ther one is running over to grab a panini from Mayfield or from Calafia, there are plenty of options available. Wine majority of the votes, Korean Barbeque was declared students’ favorite place to go to at Town and Country. orean Barbeque is] the most bang for your buck, and better than basically anywhere else in Town and Counnior Ben Sneider said. “The best part [is] a lot of food for price.” cked away in a small 15 x 15 room that somehow mancontain 20 hungry teenagers at a time, Korean Barbeque ving in its appearances. But clearly, Paly students have past the little room for a lot of fast, delicious food. hey work fast,” Sneider said. “Once you order, you’re out e in less than two seconds.” ean Barbeque offers a variety of Korean treasures, althere is some controversy on just how “Korean” the food is. y least favorite restaurant at Town and Country is Korean ue because it just tastes so fake,” senior Jeremy James said. wever, the majority of students have praised Korean ue’s dishes and prices. ove going to Korean Barbeque,” junior Tory Prati said. d the bros hit it up and just chill. I go with the money hich is fried rice, spicy chicken and pot stickers. You get food for only five or six dollars.” ording to the owner of the restaurant, the most frequently d dishes are the barbeque chicken, fried rice and chow
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“Usually I get a half pre-made sandwich,” senior Nabeel Sami said. “I like [the Cheese House] because it’s fast, convenient and tastes good.” However, full custom sandwiches cost $8, which to many students, is far from a bargain. “The sandwiches are definitely good,” Sami said. “But eight bucks isn’t worth paying for a sandwich. Other places at T and C have sandwiches and they don’t charge eight bucks.” While some students think that Cheese House’s “special sauce” is worth the $8, the survey showed that most just go for the $1 loaves. Finally, also in third place, is the newest addition to Town and Country village – Trader Joe’s. So far very successful in the Palo Alto community, Trader Joe’s now provides a variety of lunch choices and snacks for the Paly student at reasonable cost. “Trader Joe’s is the only place at Town and Country that literally offers anything you could want for lunch,” sophomore Caroline Vericat said. “The salads are really good.” Salads, chips, power bars, juices, candy and crazily cheap water are all available for students to create a delicious lunch. “I always find something there when I go,” Frozenfar said. “There are so many options and for cheap, too. I absolutely love that place.” During lunchtime, the students of Palo Alto High School overwhelm Town & Country locations in their quest for food. The rest of the student body brings a home-made meal, drives elsewhere for lunch or mooches off of what they can from hesitant peers. According to a poll, students favor going to Town & Country for lunch over all other options, but that doesn’t mean they always eat there. The small population of Paly who do not cross the street, bring food or drive off-campus, find nourishment in the Student Activities Center. The Student Center provides small snacks, sandwiches, pizza and beverages to those unwilling to pay for the exorbitantly priced food at Town & Country. mein and all cost from two to ten dolNot surprisingly, the preferred item at the Student Center are the cookies. lars depending on the portions. “The Student Center is Paly’s cafeteria you can get anything from “When lunch comes around, Korean Barbeque pop-tarts, to lunch and ping pong! At least that’s what all the cool kids do,” is a great place to eat at a reasonable price,” junior Nasophomore Katherine Maniscalco said, “I get cookies at brunch all the time.” than Bills said. “Their choices are all tasty, and I especially like In a poll of 109 Paly students, 25 stated they purchase cookies when the spicy chicken.” they go to the Student Center. The most popular main courses are pizza, Tied for second place, Lulu’s and Village Cheese House have and chicken sandwiches accompanied by a Hansen’s soda. caught the attention of Paly students as well. Those who are lucky enough to have cars tend to go off campus for Lulu’s, a Mexican restaurant, offers a $5 deal for one decently lunch. According to the student poll, the top four places to eat lunch off sized “Pronto” burrito with a choice of meat (steak, chicken campus are; Chipotle, In N’ Out Burger, Spot Pizza and Pinkberry. At or pork), cheese, beans and rice. Add a drink and some chips Chipotle, custom made burritos are most popular, allowing students to and salsa for $7. change it up. “Their burritos are filling and delicious!” junior Sapir Fro“I probably go to Chipotle once a week at least. Its just so delicious. I zenfar said. “The steak is undoubtedly my favorite.” get a chicken burrito with everything in there, including the corn, which Besides the most popular deals there, which according to is the secret to a good burrito,” junior Tory Prati said. Lulu’s staff is the steak Pronto burrito, Lulu’s offers the typical At In N’ Out, burgers, cheeseburgers and fries are typical, and at Mexican taqueria’s dishes of tacos, burritos and quesadillas for Spot, pizza is the only way to go. Pinkberry and Spot tied for third in a pricier number. the off campus portion of the poll. All being relatively close to campus Back closer to Korean Barbeque is Douce France, which also allows students to get food and return to class on time in the forty got second place. A French café, Douce France offers anywhere minute lunch period. from cakes and little French delicacies to baguette sandwiches Some students have there own obscure spots, for example, and foccacias to soup and coffee. Schaubs Meat, Fish & Poultry in Stanford Mall. Schaubs is a fine “[The most frequently ordered things are] the chocolate foods deli which is generally not popular with students because of its croissants, the sandwich Parisian with ham, turkey or salami, high prices and raw meats. However, on occasion, certain students and the cinnamon twist,” a cashier at Douce France said. “The like to order steak sandwiches for around $7 to treat themselves. next big thing is the Chai [tea].” “It’s not an every week thing, only when you have money to Quaint and adorable, Douce France is quite endearing to blow,” senior Graham Marchant said. many students, whether it’s their pastries or the classy, French Another Stanford Mall destination is Sprinkles cupcakes. While decor. Town & Country has Kara’s Cupcakes, some prefer Sprinkles. “I love the atmosphere,” sophomore Bria Vicenti said. “The “When Sprinkles arrived my family bought every single variety pastries are really good so when I’m craving something sweet, and dissected them so we could try a morsel of each,” senior Emma I normally end up going there. The cinnamon twists are really Lenke said. ” Now, I get my fix on an almost daily basis, generally good and so are the crepes. Oh, and the sandwiches! I get those during my prep, and it’s embarrassing how well the employees all the time.” know me. I hope to get a job there later this year.” Douce France’s variety makes it a good spot for all meals, Sprinkles sends out several text messages every week containwhether one is just stopping in for a sweet treat or looking for ing a code or phrase for a free cupcake. Also included in the text a sturdier meal. According to the survey, Paly students most is the maximum number of people who can use the code before frequently order the Parisian sandwiches and the ham and the cupcakes run out, for example, it might be the first 25 people. cheese focaccias, which both cost about $3 to $4. Upon repeating the phrase to an employee at Sprinkles, the student “I think it can be kind of expensive, but as long as you know gets a free cupcake. what you’re buying it’s fine,” Vicenti said. “Their pastries and “I’ve broken a law or two trying to get to sprinkles in time. sandwiches are fine priced, but their cookies and crepes are There is always a time crunch, whether it be to make it there in the pricey.” first 25 people or to get there and back from Paly during brunch,” Third place was also tied between Village Cheese House senior Brandon Dukovic said. and Trader Joe’s. The least popular lunch scenario is students bringing there Tucked in a cozy corner of Town and Country is the Village own lunches. Most would prefer to buy food off campus or at Cheese House. Town & Country, but high prices keep them from buying everyday. Although the place specializes in its gourmet cheeses, “I bring lunch because Town & Country is really expensive, I most Paly students go to the Cheese House for a custom-made make a cinnamon raisin bagel with light spread cream cheese,” sandwich or just a loaf of Dutch Crunch bread with some dip- junior Gabe Wolf said. ping sauce.