Usdan University Center 45 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, CT 06459

"I visited the Usdan University Center for lunch at the Davison Family Commons. The meeting was to gather with a student group. We were a party of three and arrived at about 12:10. From my visit it was not clear whether it is only open to Wesleyan community and their guests, or if others from the public can eat there as well. It certainly appears it caters to the Wesleyan community. There was a staff member handling cashiering. One pays before entering the buffet style dining. The staff was helpful in determining g an appropriate form of payment for our group, which did end up being determined from my position at the University for a sponsored club meeting and was covered by my department. Prices were not posted so it actually wasn't clear how much it cost. Whereas the downstairs dining options are more cafeteria style, this is more like a restaurant. The food is set up along two tables against two walls in a small hallway. One thus passes down the hall collecting the food. The options for lunch included a tofu in sauce, some rice, what looked like pulled pork but was made with chicken, and one other vegetable dish. There was also a typical salad bar with chopped vegetables and a selection of dry toppings. I chose Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and sesame sticks. I do like shredded cheese which was absent, and the toppings were less extensive than some salad bars. Nevertheless, the variety was certainly adequate to make a healthy salad. There were about 5 dressing choices. I selected Balsamic. I tasted each of each hot dishes too. Other foods available were fresh apples and bananas, and sliced dinner rolls. There were also packaged granola and cereal bars and a few baked goods for dessert such as cookies and raspberry tarts. Beverages were served in self serve pitchers. There was lemonade and a few other cold choices.I had hoped for water but didn't see any. They were all marked. As I am sensitive to artificial sweeteners, I had hoped for ingredients. It did taste like there was artificial sugar so I did not drink much. Water or regular soda would have been perfect options which I did not find. Students had their water bottles which I'd probably do next time. I also noticed hot coffee and tea options in the seating area on a table to the side. The setup of the buffet was pretty effective but tended to suppose one would want either salad or hot food as they were on separate tables across from each other but the flow should be one way. I wanted to sample both which meant I went against the flow when switching to the other table. It was suboptimal but really not an issue as there were not too many other guests. I felt the serving style was reasonably sanitary for a self serve option. The seating area is self serve. The tables were quite fancy for on campus dining, with white table cloths and dressings such as napkins, salt and pepper. Most were for 4 people a day thete were about 16 set up. There were about 4 tables occupied, both by pairs and someone was dining alone while reading. The view to the Arrigoni Bridge and the Connecticut River are quite scenic. Being in fall on a sunny day, it was pleasant surroundings. There is also a veranda with small 2 person wooden outdoor seating tables. This was unfortunately closed probably due to the onset of cooler weather but it is open seasonally in warmer weather. Overall it was a quite nice experience for meeting on the Wesleyan campus. It is convenient and more classy than a cafeteria. This would be an ideal place to for example bring visiting coworkers if you do not want to go to Main Street. The staff is helpful and friendly. For me the parts to improve would be clear posting about payment options for those who are not on a university meal plan, and offering plain water and or clearly marked non diet soft drink options."

"USDAN is the heart of Wesleyan. You get your dining done here, it's close to Weshop as well. It has everything that a nice dining area should have."

"The food is pretty good and the actual center never closes, and for that I would give Usdan a 5-star rating, however I cannot: I spend too much time here, and I mean, WAY too much time here. I spend so much time at Usdan I don't have the ability to add anything to my rule of 7, because it's very hard to leave. And for that reason, I had to knock its score down 2 stars; yes, the amount of time I spend at Usdan is worthy enough to subtract two stars from its rating."

"All around good energy and decent food for a college. Heart of the campus and great place to work if you are looking for ambient sound (bring noise-cancelling headphones)."

"I like USDAN because we see all of the Wesleyan university students join us for lunch and planning events to do on Fridays. I like going to their dances in October and March. Our last dance was in April and this year our dance is in November."