With such an increase in students this year, Bon Appetit, Albion College’s food management company, has been working to alleviate the Baldwin rush during the lunch period. One of the latest options they have unveiled is the Mary Sykes Room dining experience.
The Mary Sykes Room is located above Upper Baldwin and provides a well-lit and semi-secluded environment to enjoy talking with a friend over lunch. There, you will be served a three course meal consisting of a soup or salad, an entrée and a desert. A menu is posted online at least a week before with entrée options. Reservations are required to eat there, but a meal swipe and guest passes can be used.
This option debuted September 19, and I decided to give it a try. When I first arrived, I was seated at a table looking out at the campus from the front of Baldwin. There, I was treated like a guest at a restaurant. There was a small menu with that day’s options and a waitress who came to ask my drink preferences, whether I wanted a soup or salad, and what entrée I wanted. She refilled my glass as needed and took away my plates as I finished them.
While I did have dining options, it was nice to not stare out at the mass of Lower Baldwin choices and try to think about what I wanted to eat. There was none of the “do I want more food” struggle that I feel a lot of students go through. Since I did not need to get up for food, conversations could continue without a long interruption. This made dining in the Mary Sykes Room a great option for being in the moment, focusing on the food I ate and the friends I was with instead of rushing through a meal before class while stressing over my to-do list that day.
Photos by Katie Boni
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