Tag Archives: weshop

Unofficial Orientation 2023: Eating and Drinking things at Wes

This post is an updated version of an updated version of Sam’s update which was an updated version of wilk’s Eating and Drinking orientation article.

This is part of our 2023 Unofficial Orientation Series. A quick reminder that you can check out the welcome post here and past years’ series here.

Eating and drinking is a necessity for all living beings, even during your hazy college days. While we all have to adjust our food standards from delicious home-cooked meals to university food, trust me, it could be worse. This year Wesleyan is ranked #15 (we were demoted from #7, sad) in college food on Niche out of all the colleges in the U.S. so you know it’s going to be good. Wes has many options for dining that you can enjoy regardless of your dietary orientation. We’re even ranked #2 by One Green Planet for Most Vegan-Friendly Colleges. There’s a plethora of awesome vegan food and our friends at the Mongolian Grill are always willing to cook up a chicken tortilla topped with cheese if it’s protein that you want.

This is the part of the orientation series where we remind you to eat your veggies.

 

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Unofficial Orientation 2021: Eating and Drinking Things at Wes

This post is an updated version of Sam’s update which was an updated version of wilk’s Eating and Drinking orientation article.

This is part of our 2021 Unofficial Orientation Series. A quick reminder that you can check out the welcome post here and past years’ series here.

Eating and drinking is a necessity for all living beings, even during your hazy college days. While we all have to adjust our food standards from delicious home-cooked meals to university food, trust me, it could be worse. This year Wesleyan is ranked #15(we were demoted from #7, sad) in college food on Niche out of all the colleges in the U.S. so you know it’s going to be good. Wes has many options for dining that you can enjoy regardless of your dietary orientation. We’re even ranked #2 by One Green Planet for Most Vegan-Friendly Colleges. There’s a plethora of awesome vegan food and our friends at the Mongolian Grill are always willing to cook up a chicken tortilla topped with cheese if it’s protein that you want.

This is the part of the orientation series where we remind you to eat your veggies.

Continue reading →

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I’m not a simp for Weshop… yet.

You sexy, sexy supermarket.

My Dearest Weshop,

You are the jewel of Middletown, the exemplar of goodness, the light of my life. You’re not like other campus supermarkets: You have personality. You’re so smart and funny! You mean so much to me.

We’ve shared so many moments together. Remember all those times I stopped by to buy an Arizona Iced Tea? And there was that one time I bought vanilla extract for like, 15 points. All for you. I love you, Weshop.

I’ve given you so much. (Because I’m a nice guy!) But now I hope you’ll help me. Because if you want to take this obsessive, parasocial relationship to the next level, there’s just one thing I want from you…

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The Ultimate Mac and Cheese Cup Review

The Contenders

College is the time in your life for shit food. You’re in a place where you can’t really cook for yourself, but you also don’t have anyone there to cook for you anymore. But just because you have to eat shit food doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the best shit food. And that, dear reader, is where I come in. For your sake, I have taken on the burden of trying all of Weshop’s microwavable mac and cheese cups to definitively determine which one is the best. I chose this specific combination of salt and carbs because it’s one of my favorite shit food options, and what is a more quintessential college food that microwave mac and cheese? (Yes, I know, RAMEN, but if I tried every ramen option at Weshop I would have a heart attack and die from all the sodium so I’m not doing that. Yet.) Each mac will cooked and tasted, then rated via the following criteria:

Ease of Preparation: How many steps are involved in cooking it, and how difficult is it? Could you make it while inebriated? 

Mouthfeel: How is the pasta texture? Does the sauce have a good consistency?

Cheesiness: This one doesn’t need much explanation

Bang for yer Buck: Does it feel like you’re getting a full meal out of this cup? Is the Weshop price reasonable for what you get? 

General Vibes: Just the feeling I’m getting from it, y’know?

In the end, only one will reign supreme. But who will it be? The answer lies under the cut. 

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Too Many Points? Try Your Hand at the Weshop Bulk Catalog [Updated]

Navigating through thousands of different product descriptions is a pain, but it’s ultimately worth it if you want to maximize what you get out of the campus grocery.

Screenshot 2017-01-25 12.39.45

As of yesterday afternoon, all our WesCards are working again. That means that now, I can stroll into any campus dining establishment to use any number of the now 1,827 points I have. 1,827!!! What on earth am I going to do with all these points? Why do I have to pay for them every semester when I know that I’m definitely not going to be able to use all of them? (I am a small person and do not eat very much.) These are not questions that concern you.

What may concern you, though, is that you can use your points to order from the ~*~Weshop bulk catalog.~*~ Basically, if you want things that Weshop doesn’t normally sell in the storefront, like dried beans or 2-pound bags of rice, and if you want them in considerably larger quantities for considerably cheaper than it would be to buy the tiny packages once a week every time you run out, the bulk catalog has you covered.

It remained an elusive paper copy deep in the office annex of Weshop until last fall, when the kind people of Bon Appétit put it online for us to use. kg discovered in 2015 that she could order her diva cups through the bulk catalog. Some other gems include children’s multivitamins, something they’ve labeled only as “DRINK,NATRL STRSS RELIEF,” condoms, and brewers yeast for all you people who try to make your own alcohol.

The full catalog list is HERE, and the order form is HERE. Since the order form is view-only, a good way to fill it out is to copy it to a new spreadsheet in your drive doohickey and then fill in all the values there.

You may ask, “But how do I use it? How do I navigate this list of 24,000 different purchasable items??”

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Weshop’s “Secret Menu” goes online

It’s not news to me that Weshop has a special-order catalog. Now that I’m in my senior year, I’ve had some time to hear stories of people ordering from the catalog to economize points by buying in bulk, or to buy brands that Weshop doesn’t stock in-store. I first heard about Weshop bulk ordering in 2015 from Wesleying-er kg, who not only knew the ins and outs of the process… but also found out how to bulk order DivaCups. From Weshop.

But back then, ordering from the catalog wasn’t especially convenient — or well-advertised. Those in the know could venture to the back of the store, where they could look at a catalog in the office and place orders. But, this meant you had to go out of your way just to see the catalog options, and you had to know it was there.

That’s why this year is an exciting time — for the first time in Weshop history, students can access the catalog and place orders online.

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We$hop: Fancy (You Already Know), But Why so Expensive?

weshsopp

If you’ve visited Weshop this year (everyone, right?), you’ve probably noticed some changes to the layout from last year. There’s more space, some tables in the middle, and new products, it seems. I talked to Weshop director Gary Kriksciun, who explained that the new layout is intended to open up the store–creating a better flow and providing a better shopping experience, one of Bon Appetit’s primary goals. The tables often offer sale items, and sometimes have a seasonal flair (like the Halloween table). However, if you notice new products, it’s because—according to Kriksciun—Weshop is “constantly adding new products.”

Of course, there’s the kicker: WHY IS WESHOP SO EXPENSIVE?

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EVENT
Food Not Bombs Points Drive

food not bombs and police

Josh Krugman ’13 writes in:Do you have lots of extra points?

Consider donating them to

MIDDLETOWN FOOD NOT BOMBS!

All day Monday.

Just tell the cashiers in Weshop how many points you want to donate and they’ll do it right along with your purchase!

Our points get erased at the end of the year so this is a good way not to waste them while supporting food justice and activism in Middletown.

The bulk dry goods that FNB buys every year with donated points form the staple of our meals throughout the year!

Thank you!

Also, the Food Not Bombs meal happens every Sunday at 1 p.m. on the sidewalk outside of the Buttonwood Tree, 604 Main St. in Middletown. Good food, good talk, and sometimes drumming!

Date: Today, April 28, 2014
Place: Weshop

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Chunks of Wesleyan History Experienced by Sharon Wade, Bon Appetit Employee

weshop

Not too long ago, Sharon Wade – one of the Bon Appetit employees that we all know and love –  agreed to meet me in Usdan for an interview. She greeted me with kind blue eyes and a genuine smile. I knew she had been here a very long time and I wanted to pick her brain about her experiences at Wesleyan. She had warned me in advance, the week before at work, about how she’s prone to going on and on and reassured me that I shouldn’t be afraid to cut her off if necessary. As we got into the flow of the interview, which was not very difficult with Sharon’s enthusiasm, I certainly knew what she meant, but by no means was I going to stop her. Sharon sat with me in Usdan for approximately an hour, during which she told me about what she’s learned during her time at Wesleyan, expressed both her loves and her qualms with campus issues, and shared some wonderful anecdotes about students. The following is a transcript of our conversation, edited for clarity.

How long have you been working at Wesleyan?

Probably… around 29 years. A long time – flown by, just like that. It has flown by!

Has it been at Weshop the whole time?

No, this is my second time at Weshop. Because we can move all around. We just have to bid on jobs, awarded by seniority, throughout the campus. We’ve all done probably most everything. I’ve been a cook. For overtime, I did tons of utility. That took me around the world… I’ve done register at the old campus center, I’ve done it [at Usdan], I’ve done at Weshop, so everybody has really moved around, which is a great part of the job because [you can say,] ‘you know what, I think I’ll do that.’ As long as you’re qualified and you’re the most senior person signing – and everybody signs – you get to the job.

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