At CORE Butte’s school lunch truck, you are given a free (though rather limited) set of choices each day for your midday meal. I got school lunch every day for a week and wrote a short review for each of them.
On Tuesday, I chose pepperoni pizza as my entree and an apple, chocolate milk, and carrots on the side. The pizza today was better than usual; the chewier crust is an acquired taste, but the tomato sauce has a smooth, bright flavor, as every good marinara should. The pepperoni slices themselves leave something to be desired, but they do add some spicy, almost meaty elements to the pie, making it a nicer option than the plain cheese. The chocolate milk was the same as it always has been, and always will be: sweet, light, and fat-free. The apple today had a good snap with a nice tartness, balanced out by the sweet juice. Combined, combined with the carrots, they give you the nutrients you should need to fuel the rest of your school day, while adding color and sweetness to the otherwise carb and dairy-heavy meal.
On Wednesday, during a break in Music Studio, I wandered over to the lunch trailer, and I chose the freshly-added chili and cornbread, along with milk, an apple, and celery. The chili itself was pretty alright, containing beans, ground beef, and a sweeter chili base than I would usually expect. I thought the stew would benefit from more chili (the pepper), because it had little to no spice, only a smokey sweet saltiness. The cornbread comes in a little muffin cup, and to my surprise was not too dry, which is a common complaint I have with cornbread. It’s sweet, corny, and complements the salty chili well, lending itself well to dipping, if one desires to. The milk was once again average, though I chose white this time, for no reason in particular. The apple today was a bit mealy than I prefer, having a softer, less sweet flesh than I expected from the lunch truck. The celery was, as expected, light green, crunchy, and a little stringy, but it also made a good makeshift spoon, as I forgot to grab a utensil for my chili, so it gets extra points for cooperating that way.
On Thursday, my choice was a turkey bacon wrap, a chocolate milk, an apple, and carrots. I elected to grab a couple of ranch packets to pair with the cold-cut-filled tortilla as well. This turned out to be a wise decision, as the tangy sauce complemented the unoffensive white turkey meat, tender green leaves of lettuce, oddly red and grainy bacon, and mild cheddar quite well. As I just hinted at, the bacon was rather weird; it is quite unlike any other bacon I have ever consumed, more reminiscent of a thin, dry beef jerky than a slice of diner bacon, thick or thin-cut. It did not detract from the culinary experience, however, as it melded with the rest of the elements just fine. The chocolate milk was, as usual, and the apple was bright and crispy. The carrots today were particularly dry, which is undisputably better than when they get slimy from being too wet, but is still less preferable to your average carrot.
The following Monday, I elected to grab a cheeseburger, along with my usual pick of chocolate milk, an apple, and carrots, with lettuce and pickles as well. My usual move on burger days is to get lettuce and pickles on the side and add them to my sandwich, although some students make a little side salad, pick your poison. The cheeseburger was typical of our school lunch, with lots of little holes poked in it, little bits of gristle nestled within the gray patty, and rubbery cheese taking bits of the foil wrapper with it as you unpack your meal. I added ketchup, mustard, and ranch to my burger, which made it very palatable, although the bare menu item’s taste is questionable. My apple was bruised and had an oddly brownish purple shadow, much like a real human bruise, which was almost unsettling enough for me not to eat it (spoiler alert: I did, I am fine). Carrots had an ideal moisture level and were nice and sweet, which, along with the chocolate milk, rounded out the cardboard-encased meal nicely.
Overall, school lunch does not have the most culinary value, but nutrition and sustenance value are definitely noteworthy. Individual menu items can be hit or miss, especially the produce, but if you are complaining about our free school lunch, what are you doing? When it comes down to it, school lunch is school lunch. If you did not bring lunch from home, it’s a good option to keep your energy up for your afternoon classes.