For many health fanatics and vegans, New York University's Hayden dining hall seems to be the dining hall of choice, but recent health inspections show an unhealthy aspect to the dining hall in terms of sanitation. Yet, students continue to return to the dining hall despite these revealing facts.
Hayden dining hall received a C – the only New York University dining hall to receive anything lower than an A.
With a score of 31 by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the health violations were considerably higher. Scores of 0 to 13 give the restaurant an A, 14 to 27 a B, and 28 or more a C.
In a citywide restaurant inspection graph, Hayden dining hall was in the 17 percent of restaurants that had exceeded 28 health violations points, with 78 percent of restaurants scoring lower than 27, and the other five percent closing down because of the severity of the violations. One of Hayden dining hall's biggest problems was the critical violation of the presence of rodents.
"I always went to Hayden dining hall when I was a freshman," said Emily Rubin, a New York University sophomore. "One day, I saw a huge cockroach scatter across the floor, but I still end up going back there, just not as often. I figure, or hoped, that it was just a one time thing."
Being a vegan, Rubin doesn't allow herself eat any animal products including dairy products, honey, gelatin, and broths. Hayden dining hall was her go-to place for meals, but their lack of sanitation kept her from going as regularly.
"When I heard that Hayden dining hall got a bad review by the health inspectors, I have to say that I wasn't really surprised," Rubin said.
Violations range from public health hazards where food is not stored properly causing bacterial infestations, critical violations with an example being the presence of rodents, and general violations which consists of not properly cleaning utensils, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Yet, even while many students know of Hayden's health violation score, the dining hall continues to fill up with hungry students.
"They have better vegetarian options than most dining halls," said freshman Robbin Rose, a vegetarian for over two years now. "I always go online and look at the website to see which dining hall is serving the best food." Rose acknowledged that while New York University makes it easy for students to be vegetarian at many other dining halls, Hayden consistently had the most variety when it came to vegan cuisine. "My favorite was the chilean lime tofu. I always makes sure I come for that."
Besides the diverse meal options, the friendly staff seemed to be another reason why students continued to return to Hayden dining hall.
“The grill guy Ricky is the best,” freshman Nora Unkel said. “He goes, 'Hey baby girl, what you want?' and he will literally make you anything you want. The craziest thing I've seen so far was a sandwich with Froot Loops. He calls it the Munchie sandwich.”
Working at Hayden dining hall for about ten years now, Ricky is a hit among the students.
“Everyone knows Ricky,” freshman Alec Isaacs said. “He flirts with the girls and the girls flirt right back. He is definitely one of the biggest reasons why I come back to Hayden. Letty, the sandwich lady, is also really cool. Her name is actually Latisia, but everyone calls her Letty.”
While the sanitary aspect of Hayden dining hall may not be up to par, according to the students, the staff and food most certainly is.
“We work hard to make a well rounded meal schedule,” lead night chef Shawn Perry said. “I know as well as anyone else that eating at the same dining halls over and over can get boring, even worse if you have only a set number of things you can eat like vegetarians.”
Despite the poor health marks given to Hayden dining hall, it seems as though students will continue to enjoy their healthy vegan meals there, sanitary or not.
