This is a retrospective review for Brittain Dining Hall at Georgia Tech. This was *the* dining hall…read moreon Georgia Tech's East Campus. I know there are a lot more food options for Tech students these days, especially on the east side of campus. For example, North Ave Dining Hall.
I had a meal plan here my freshman year at Tech, 2000-2001. I took part in Tech's "Freshman Experience" program and lived in Howell Residence Hall, right behind Brittain. What was great about that was I never had to worry about food. Access to Brittain was easy. It was also a cool atmosphere outside on football game days because Brittain is right next to Bobby Dodd Stadium.
My first time living away from "home," stupid me for thinking that just because I was on a college student meal plan, that everything inside the dining hall was healthy and OK to eat in large amounts. I loaded up on biscuits and gravy, eggs, burgers, French fries, soft serve, and more. I didn't gain weight, but my cholesterol went up. I knew because for extra credit in health class, I went to the student health center and got a physical that included bloodwork. My cholesterol came back high, I think for my age. It was a wakeup call for me. My cholesterol levels have been in the healthy ranges since.
A few other memories come to mind for me when it comes to Brittain:
1. During orientation / the early days of freshman year, a girl on East Campus caught my eye. She lived in Brown Residence Hall, one building over. One day, I noticed she was eating a meal here with a friend. Just the two of them at a table. Somewhat impulsively, I asked a buddy/acquaintance to join me in sitting down to eat with them and that's how I introduced myself to her. It took some cajones, especially for young, 18-year-old me, but the effort proved fruitful. Haha.
2. The staff at Brittain would regularly prepare special meals at a center-display "chef's table," I'll call it. This chef's table was in the middle of the serving area. It was in addition to the typical cafeteria lines that served the regular menu items. One day, there were bunches of Chiquita bananas on the chef's table. Brittain's manager/head chef at the time was preparing something that involved bananas as an ingredient. I took a Chiquita banana, knowing it was better than the standard bananas served at Brittain. The manager/head chef noticed, didn't approve, and said something to me. That leads me to #3 below.
3. The bulk of the food from Brittain was sourced from Sysco. I distinctly remember seeing Sysco trucks parked outside Brittain, making deliveries. This was how I first learned about the existence of Sysco. Since then, I've associated Sysco with mass-produced, generic-quality food. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It probably makes sense based on logistics and cost. Sysco is a major supplier to restaurants too.
4. The eggs were liquid and poured out of bottles onto a flat-top griddle. I'm not sure I've seen that anywhere else, but this was certainly the first time I'd seen it.
5. There were rats outside Brittain. I saw them in multiple places around the building, both in front and back. They were big.
As for the food, in general, it was OK. Three Yelp stars. I remember being disappointed that it wasn't better than it was, and that was when I had a young, inexperienced, and less-refined palate too.
You can consider this review a companion piece to my review of Brittain's former West Campus counterpart, Woodruff Dining Hall: https://www.yelp.com/biz/woodruff-dining-hall-atlanta-2.
Brittain is named after Marion L Brittain, Georgia Tech's president from 1922 to 1944.
