This might be a controversial opinion among my peers but I actually really like the Blue & Grey Café (B&G). No, this is not a Stockholm syndrome kinda thing. I actually like going there. I know a lot of people think DeLight’s Café is the best on-campus dining spot, but I beg to differ; the B&G is the clearly superior option.

For one, there is something for everyone at the B&G. If you want Mediterranean food, you can order from Garbanzo. Want pasta? Then get the pre-made (and surprisingly good) pasta in the back. They also have your more traditional American options at CRUSH like burgers, fries, and chicken tenders. There is a good variety of food for everyone to enjoy even for your picky eaters.

Of all those food options, most of them are pretty good (I think). I’ll admit I haven’t tried Garbanzo, sushi, or burritos because they really aren’t my things, but everything else I’ve had has been mostly good. The only thing I’ve tried and disliked was the nachos, but I’m also not a big nacho fan. 

The burgers were surprisingly good when I had them for the first time. They aren’t gourmet quality or anything like that, but they are certainly better than the lard-infused synthetic Krabby Patty-looking burgers from McDonald’s or Burger King. They are cooked well, have a good texture to them, and taste pretty good. I’ll say this, though, I do wish there were more cheese options for the burgers like there are in the Star. as of right now, there are only two options, one of which being the queso which kind of just makes the burger harder to eat because the bun will slide. 

The fries are also really good. They are well salted, and the texture is just right where it’s not too soggy but also not too crunchy. The loaded fries are even better, and they honestly top a lot of the loaded fries that I’ve had at sit-down restaurants (I’m looking at you, Applebees). 

The mozzarella sticks are good, the wings are decent, and from what I’ve heard, the burritos and quesadillas are pretty decent.  Again, this isn’t like 5-star quality food, but if you’re expecting that, then I want to know what kind of glue you are huffing because those are extremely unrealistic standards.

Remember how I complained about the onslaught of chicken in my Star rant? Well, I’m going to seem like a massive hypocrite because I am obsessed with the chicken tenders at the B&G. I do not know why, I do not know how, but after a long day of work and classes, those tenders just hit on a different plane of existence. They are so good, and I will die on that hill. They are gods gift from the heavens. When you look inside the Ark of the Covenant, you will not find slabs with the Ten Commandments: you will find the B&G chicken tenders. Jesus didn’t actually break bread at the Last Supper, he broke chicken tenders.

They are made even better by the Arizona hot sauce. The sauce they use is legitimately better than most restaurant sauces, including local treasures such as Brew Works and Diner 248. To all the dining folks, please never ever get rid of that hot sauce because it’s awesome, and if you removed it, I think I might experience withdrawal symptoms because it probably consists of about half my diet.

The workers there are also just the best. Everyone there is so incredibly nice and understanding and it just makes going there feel a lot better. Whenever my order gets messed up or I accidentally put the wrong thing, they always are approachable and help rectify mistakes on either end, so thank you, B&G workers: you are the certified GOATs.

That isn’t even mentioning the minimart part of the place, which always has a good supply of snacks, candy, ice cream, drinks, and more. I will say though I don’t appreciate them constantly tempting me to exacerbate my unhealthy addiction to Dole lemonade and Reeses’s. By the way, one of our managing editors, Liz Kameen, humbly requests a restock of the blue raspberry Sour Punch straws.

If you are a B&G hater, I humbly request that you go to Applebees and come back and tell me B&G is bad because I can almost guarantee that you won’t unless you have no taste, which in that case, you shouldn’t be talking to me; you should be getting a COVID test.