Welcome to the first episode of “Off-campus eats,” hosted by Jack Block, Gabe Cavanagh, and Gabby Baumgarten. In today’s episode, the three of us tried out three different students’ orders from places at Town Center: Starbird, World Wrapps and Starbucks.
Senior Tobias Foster orders the Cali BBQ Chicken Sandwich along with a side of fries from Starbird. His personal rating is an 8/10, but the three of us found ourselves in disagreement with that. For $18.25, Block believed the sandwich was overpriced, rating it a 6.5/10. Cavanagh thought the sandwich had potential, but was slightly disappointed, rating it a 7/10. His main critiques were that the sandwich was dry and quite messy. While Block and Cavanagh ate the sandwich, Baumgarten tried the fries and rated them a 5/10. Baumgarten’s reasoning was that the fries were not salty or crunchy enough, placing them on par with McDonald’s fries. Overall, Starbird earned an underwhelming 18.5 out of 30.
Next, the three of us moved on to World Wrapps, where we tried junior Maddox Nguyen’s order. Nguyen orders a Kids Chicken Burrito ($8.45), a Steak Chimichurri Wrap ($12.95), and to wash it all down, a Boba Tea (~$5). Overall, Nguyen rates his own order an 8.5/10. Gabby liked the burrito, matching Nguyen’s rating of an 8.5/10. Her only complaint was that it was a bit plain, suggesting that adding a vegetable would enhance the quality of the burrito. Cavanagh tried the Steak Chimichurri Wrap and rated it 8/10 because of its healthiness and refreshing quality. Block, on the other hand, was not a fan of the boba, rating it a 4/10. The only thing that kept him from ranking it a 0/10 was the addition of tapioca pearls, which added flavor to the otherwise flavorless tea. Despite Block’s low rating, World Wrapps earned an impressive 20.5/30.
Lastly, the group tried junior Anastasia Lazarenko’s Peach Iced Green Tea from Starbucks. Following a common theme, Lazarenko also rated her order an 8/10. Block was not the biggest fan of the drink, thinking it could have used more sweetness, as it tasted bitter to him. He ranked it a 6/10, slightly above average. Cavanagh did not care for the drink. He rated it a 5/10, claiming it was too bland. Baumgarten rated it the highest of the three, but still just a measly 6.5/10, saying that it was not terrible for the price of just $5.25. Starbucks found itself with a slightly lower rating than Starbird, a mediocre 17.5/20.
Overall, Nguyen’s order proved to be the tastiest, yet the most pricey. Despite this, Nguyen is still crowned the winner of episode one. Would you try his order?
