Wheres Berkshire USA?

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See this article below, they claim to have a " vegan station". Is that somewhere we can catch vegan trains? Berkshire Dining Commons offers friendly service and good food By Matt Baskin, Collegian Correspondent December 06, 2005 In the heart of Southwest's concrete jungle lies Berkshire Dining Commons. One of two major dining halls in the Southwest area, Berkshire's all around quality, withholding some minor flaws, makes it one of the better places to eat on the UMass campus. Friendly service, decent food and good accommodations all make for a great atmosphere. Combine this with the fact that Berkshire is open later than any other dining hall and it's no surprise that Southwest's best commons attracts crowds at all hours of the day. Berkshire's good service starts at the entrance to its kitchen. Staff members,

seated behind a desk and a keypad, swipe UCard after UCard each and every night. Though they toil at an imaginably monotonous job, these workers never forget to smile and say hello to the students whom they serve so graciously. After passing through the entryway, a few bugs in Berkshire's system start to emerge. Firstly, dishes are only available in a single stack, slowing down the food line and creating a rather frustrating atmosphere. Additionally, glasses are stored in green cases that look as though they've been overcome with some particularly gruesome form of mold, a highly unappetizing sight. Aside from slow moving lines and moldering glass storage, Berkshire has much to be proud of in terms of atmosphere. A series of partitioned dining rooms surround the kitchen and service room, allowing the sun to shine in from all angles. Tables, some long and banquet style, others round or rectangular, can accommodate groups of any size. A salad bar, deli and pasta station

and desert table are all easily accessible and well supplied. Utensils, a necessity when undertaking most forms of consumption, do not run out. Meals, though certainly not home cooking, are pretty good for the college standard. Plenty of food is always available at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Though it doesn't stray from the norm, a la Worcester's Oak Room, Berkshire can be counted on to provide decent traditional food. Though there are international options, these are somewhat limited and often a bit of a stretch - most people don't consider nachos an especially foreign dish, as the dining services website contends. Quirkily, Berkshire's crowning jewel is its tray return setup. Instead of forcing students to stand in endless lines to dispose of their dishes, much in the same way that they acquired them, several bussing stations around the hall make for an easy drop-off and quick exit, a welcome deviation from the setup of most dining halls. Berkshire,

though already a good dining hall, will be under renovation during spring semester. With the changes that will come with the renovation, Berkshire may well become the top dining commons at UMass. The changes listed on the UMass news Web site include: a vegan station; a fruit, soup, and salad bar; a Pan-Asian station; a noodle bar; an on-site pizzeria complete with a brick oven making custom pizzas, calzones and sandwiches; a grill station; an on-site bakery; and a grab-n-go station on a lower level. While these changes sound superb, at the same time they pose a problem. Many students will undoubtedly flock to Berkshire once the renovation is complete. This may have the unfortunate effect of lessening the number of students who frequent Southwest's other main dining hall, Hampshire. Should this be the case, the best way to increase Hampshire's attendance would be a renovation to that dining hall, which may be a financial impossibility. Despite this hypothetical conundrum, the

renovation is a welcome project in the eyes of students and administrators alike. Progress, a sometimes forgotten concept in the world of college dining, is on the march at Berkshire. Peter H

 

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Or a station where buses run off of vegetable oil?peter hurd <swpgh01 wrote: See this article below, they claim to have a " vegan station". Is that somewhere we can catch vegan trains? Berkshire Dining Commons offers friendly service and good food By Matt Baskin, Collegian Correspondent December 06, 2005 In the heart of Southwest's concrete jungle lies Berkshire Dining Commons. One of two major dining halls in the Southwest area, Berkshire's all around quality, withholding some minor flaws, makes it one of the better places to eat on the UMass campus. Friendly service, decent food and good accommodations all make for a great atmosphere. Combine this with the fact

that Berkshire is open later than any other dining hall and it's no surprise that Southwest's best commons attracts crowds at all hours of the day. Berkshire's good service starts at the entrance to its kitchen. Staff members, seated behind a desk and a keypad, swipe UCard after UCard each and every night. Though they toil at an imaginably monotonous job, these workers never forget to smile and say hello to the students whom they serve so graciously. After passing through the entryway, a few bugs in Berkshire's system start to emerge. Firstly, dishes are only available in a single stack, slowing down the food line and creating a rather frustrating atmosphere. Additionally, glasses are stored in green cases that look as though they've been overcome with some particularly gruesome form of mold, a highly unappetizing sight. Aside from slow moving lines and moldering glass storage, Berkshire has much to be proud of in terms of atmosphere. A series of partitioned

dining rooms surround the kitchen and service room, allowing the sun to shine in from all angles. Tables, some long and banquet style, others round or rectangular, can accommodate groups of any size. A salad bar, deli and pasta station and desert table are all easily accessible and well supplied. Utensils, a necessity when undertaking most forms of consumption, do not run out. Meals, though certainly not home cooking, are pretty good for the college standard. Plenty of food is always available at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Though it doesn't stray from the norm, a la Worcester's Oak Room, Berkshire can be counted on to provide decent traditional food. Though there are international options, these are somewhat limited and often a bit of a stretch - most people don't consider nachos an especially foreign dish, as the dining services website contends. Quirkily, Berkshire's crowning jewel is its tray return setup. Instead of forcing students to stand in endless lines to

dispose of their dishes, much in the same way that they acquired them, several bussing stations around the hall make for an easy drop-off and quick exit, a welcome deviation from the setup of most dining halls. Berkshire, though already a good dining hall, will be under renovation during spring semester. With the changes that will come with the renovation, Berkshire may well become the top dining commons at UMass. The changes listed on the UMass news Web site include: a vegan station; a fruit, soup, and salad bar; a Pan-Asian station; a noodle bar; an on-site pizzeria complete with a brick oven making custom pizzas, calzones and sandwiches; a grill station; an on-site bakery; and a grab-n-go station on a lower level. While these changes sound superb, at the same time they pose a problem. Many students will undoubtedly flock to Berkshire once the renovation is complete. This may have the unfortunate effect of lessening the number of students who frequent Southwest's other

main dining hall, Hampshire. Should this be the case, the best way to increase Hampshire's attendance would be a renovation to that dining hall, which may be a financial impossibility. Despite this hypothetical conundrum, the renovation is a welcome project in the eyes of students and administrators alike. Progress, a sometimes forgotten concept in the world of college dining, is on the march at Berkshire. Peter H How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for FREE with Photos. Get Photos

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