Conference 7.286::digital

    There are cafeteria in a number of DEC locations. To the best of
    my knowledge they are all run by separate, for profit companies
    that have a business arrangement to serve as cafeterias. That is
    the cafeteria staff is not made up of DEC employees (there wear
    contractor badges in most facilities) and they are under contract
    to serve food and are entitled to make a profit.
    
    			Alfred

    I am not very knowledgeable in this area but in most locations Digital
    supplies the facility (cafiteria, kitchen) and equipment (ovens,
    stoves, serving displays, etc.) and a contractor supplies the
    staff, food, etc. The contractor agrees to supply good food at a
    cheaper price (because they pay no rent or equipment costs) but
    they do intend to make a profit.
    
    				Dick
    

    My understanding is that in the beginning we did all our business
    with Tobin for some concessions (unintended). As time went on,
    and the contract (and food) got old, individual facility managers
    were able to negotiate their own contracts. Hence some facilities
    with Marriott (yum,yum) as their vendors. The capital equipment
    may or may not be ours.  If not, that mitigates for a long contract
    to amortize startup expenses for the vendor.  If so, times awastin'.
    
    Gary

>    I am not very knowledgeable in this area but in most locations Digital
>    supplies the facility (cafiteria, kitchen) and equipment (ovens,
>    stoves, serving displays, etc.) and a contractor supplies the
>    staff, food, etc. 

which means that if they need a new serving spoon or tray they have to 
go through DEC purchasing (and probably write a justification, etc.) -
wonder whose cost center this comes out of, and how that person is measured 
(well-equippedness of the cafeteria, or lower expenditures, etc)

    Any truth to the rumor that Tobins also owns a chain of mortuaries??
    
    -- B

    re. 514.1:
         Just curious since the food is not significantly cheaper then
    eating out.
    

    The cafeteria at ZKO is run by Canteen and has gotten steadily better
    over the past year.  I have had meals there that rival or even better
    those at regular restaurants, and the prices are reasonable - maybe
    20-30% lower than a restaurant would charge.  They don't hesitate
    to innovate, such as the "Gourmet Pantry" section of cooked-to-order
    meals, like Shrimp Scampi, Sirloin Tips Stroganoff, Veal Oscar.
    
    				Steve

    If I had to chose, I'd rate the ZKO cafeteria as the best I've seen
    in any DEC facility.  The selection, quality and price of things
    in that cafe are tremendous.  
    
    It's almost a reason to go to New Hamshire, but not quite!
    
    
    -bill

    The best DEC cafeteria that I have seen is in the office in Paris.
    Geneva and Munich also rate well.
    
    Tim

    Having eaten in a dozen or so US canteens, and in every European
    country but Portugal and Norway, my canteen votes are:
    
    Best food: Brussels, Belgium (by a big margin).
    
    Best furniture/surroundings: Helsinki, Finland.
    
    Best view (on a clear day): Ayr, Scotland.
    
    European canteens tend to be run by third parties and subsidised.
    
    Maurice
    

    Well, I wasn't including the Euroupean ones.  Yes, the one at the
    DCC in Munich is very nice.  Also, the cafe in Rungis (Paris)is
    great, but I don't think the whole building is DEC occupied, so
    it's not a real DEC cafeteria.
    
    
    Just considering the GMA cafeterias, ZKO wins by a landslide.
    (especially when comparing it to the Mill)
    
    
    -bill

     To get back to the original question....
    
     It was explained to me once by the cafeteria manager in NIO that
    the companies that staff the cafeteria are allowed to make a profit.
    However, the contract between the company and DEC stipulated that
    the AMOUNT of profit was to be limited to a certain percentage.
    Any additional profit over the agreed to percentage was to be turned
    over to the facility.
    
     Don't know if it still works that way (above info is a few years'
    old)......
    
    
                                     Ken
    
    P.S. The MKO1 cafeteria also deserves high marks for food quality
         and variety - but the layout (traffic patterns) is abysmal!
    

    The Milan office has an interesting lunchtime arrangement. They
    don't have a canteen/cafeteria of their own, so they use the one
    in the high school over the road......
    
    The food is OK, but I don't know if it is subsidised though... 
    
    Peter.
    

    
    Best at HDO Hudson New Hampshire.
    
    All Sandwiches $1.00, extras $0.15.
    
    Special of the day $2.25, 
    anything from prime rib to 
    cheap chicken veggies and potatoe.
    
    Salad bar by the ounce.
    
    cbc

    Just returned from Ayr (Scotland). I had baked salmon for lunch
    (Deliciious). That, plus dessert, came to just over $1.30. The view
    was still superb.

    We were just informed that Valbonne was changing Cafeteria companies
    starting Monday (Lunch today was the last meal).  They didn't tell
    us what the name of the new company was though.  At least one person
    is losing her job as a result (not clear if it was a voluntary
    decision).  The food was never anything to write home about, but
    the people were usually quite friendly.
    
    For best selection -- I vote Reading's Shire Hall.  (And for those
    of you in Reading who disagree, don't come down here!)
    
    The Evry (outside of Paris) cafeteria ties with the one in
    Geneva--Morgines for second place.
      
    Valbonne has GREAT views though.  Where else can you see both the
    sea and snow-capped mountains?
    

    re: .17--``Where else can you see both the sea and snow-capped
    mountains?''
    
    From the Space Needle in Seattle.  (I still remember the World's
    Fair.)
        John Sauter

    Re: .18

>    re: .17--``Where else can you see both the sea and snow-capped
>    mountains?''
>    
>    From the Space Needle in Seattle.  (I still remember the World's
>    Fair.)

    Is that a Digital cafeteria?  (Heaven forbid we should stick to the
    original topic  :-)
    
    -  David (content with just the mountain view from the CXO cafeteria)

    And while we're on the subject ...
    
    Has anyone else noticed the drastic decrease in quality of the food
    served at MRO3? I mean borderline edible stuff like tuna and chicken
    "salad" sandwiches that are drippy filler, and "stews" that are
    all corn starch and slimy, mysterious stuff.
    
    It seems clear to me that Tobin's has followed the classic laws
    of monopolistic enterprise: when there's no competition, you can
    provide as lousy a product as you want. I have heard that Tobin
    was promised the DEC franchise in perpetuity; that would explain
    the excremental food there.
    
    
    KBS
    
    

        Since you are unhappy with the food in the MRO3 cafeteria,
        have you discussed it with (a) the MRO3 cafeteria manager,
        and (b) the MRO3 facilities manager?
        
        Further, in Marlboro, you have MANY alternatives, including
        but not necessarily limited to going to the MRO1 cafeteria,
        which has a different cook and often different selections.
        Since you're paying for the service, you can always vote with
        your feet (and take your business elsewhere).
        
        Tom

Re -.1: It's a 10-minute walk from MRO3 to MRO1 and no faster if you drive.
And it's a long ride to the nearest restaurant. So going out is not really a
good alternative. Bringing in food from home is a good alternative IF you have
easy access to a fridge at work.
  Re -.2: Are the entrees getting worse too? I would like to hear more about
the 'perpetual franchise' at MRO3. 

    Tobins *can* cook good food.
    They didn't at Parker Street when I worked there. (1976-1982)
    They didn't at Marlboro when I worked there.      (1982-1986)
    But the food at LKG (but NOT LJO!!) in Littleton is quite good.

    RE: .23
    
>        But the food at LKG (but NOT LJO!!) in Littleton is quite good.

    I'm told that Tobin uses the LKG cafeteria as a demonstration for
    potential customers of their service.  That's why the food seems
    better there.
    
    I even notice a difference between MKO1 and MKO2, the latter being
    better even though it's the same menu, supposedly.  I think it's
    because they get a lot of customers come to MKO2 for seminars or
    something.
    

    Re .24
    
    The food at LKG may be good but they keep hiking the prices. Fruit
    salad and deserts cost a bundle.
    
    Dave

    My vote for the worst cafeteria in all digital is NKS2 (where low
    quality food is "compenstated" by high prices).
    
    L.

They should give the cafetaria contract to a pizza and sub shop.

Dileep

    Instead of knocking the bad cafeterias, which goes against the idea of
    "speaking ill of no-one" in DIgitals conferences, why not be positive?
    
    For instance, I *really* like the ZK cafeteria food.

>    Instead of knocking the bad cafeterias, which goes against the idea of
>    "speaking ill of no-one" in DIgitals conferences, why not be positive?

In some cases the "speaking ill of noone" is a bad idea.  Good thing it's not
in the orange book.

The reason that LKG is so much better than other Tobin cafeterias is probably
mostly due to a good facilities organization which specifically demanded in the
contract that all food be prepared fresh, daily, on the premises.

And when Tobin tried to cut corners (frozen hamburger patties was one attempt)
the facilities organization stepped right in and stopped it within two days.

/john

    RE: .28  
    
>        For instance, I *really* like the ZK cafeteria food.

    So do I, but I don't think it's a Tobin concession.  Stow, when
    I was there, also had a non-Tobin cafeteria that was very good.
                          
                          

        If you don't like the food you are served in the DEC cafeteria
        in your site: 
        
         o  Complain to your site facility staff.  Find out who in the
            facility staff deals with the cafeteria. 
        
         o  Tell your manager that you don't like the cafeteria, and
            remind your manager how much more productive you would be if
            you were in a good mood after lunch. 
        
         o  Determine if site has a cafeteria committee composed of
            employees.  If there is one, join it.  If there isn't one,
            try to get facilities to start one. 
        
         o  When you have specific complaints or suggestions about the
            food or food service, present them (in a civil manner) to
            the cafeteria manager and to facilities. 
        
         o  Find out when the contract for the cafeteria will be up, and
            when decisions will be made about renewing the contract or
            putting the contract out for bids.  It is especially
            important at this time that facilities knows what you don't
            like and what you want from the cafeteria. 
        
         o  Whenever you hear anyone else make a complaint about the
            food, request that they also follow these steps. 
        
         o  And, when the cafeteria provides you with good food,
            tell them you liked it.
        
        Complaining about bad food may be fun, but it you only do it to
        your friends and in this conference, you will just get more bad
        food and more reason to complain. 
        
        					B.J.

    re: what to do about expensive, inedible cafeteria food
    
    Join the brown-bag brigade!
    
    The leftover from what I ate for dinner last night is much cheaper and
    usually better than the cafeteria stuff, and does not contain things I
    am allergic to (such as oranges, sigh...or potatoes, corn, egg whites,
    peanuts, etc.) or shouldn't be eating (salt).

    
    In Comparison to "Servend" and Canteen" Tobin is very good.
    
    Cal.
    

    The cafeteria at ZKO is run by Canteen, which was chosen by a
    committee of prospective ZKO tenants back in 1980.  I think the
    choice was very good - the ZKO caf is the best I've seen within
    DEC (and much better than Tobin's MKO caf in my opinion.)
    
    				Steve

    I agree with Steve.  The ZKO cafeteria is a wonderful place to eat,
    with a wide variety of inexpensive choices.  The only other DEC
    cafeteria I've ever really looked forward to  eating in was at Stow.
    
    We have a large variety of food choices partly because we are in such a
    large facility (+/- 2600).  I know that some of the smaller facilities
    wouldn't find it cost-effective to prepare such a wide variety of food.
    Fresh food seems to be a high priority. 
                                                          
    There doesn't seem to be much turnover in the staff, either.  I
    find them all friendly and supportive, and I think we are extremely
    lucky to have such good food service.
    
    Holly 

    I agree with the comments about the quality of the ZKO cafeteria.
    I'd rate it an A-.
    
    Let's consider another side of this.  Given the rapidly escalating
    costs of health care, the nutritional quality of food served at DEC
    sites should be of concern to DEC.  This means having alternatives that
    are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, and high in fiber.  In that
    respect, I'd rate ZKO's cafteria as C-.
    
       Gary

    Get ready for longer lines at the microwave ovens...
    
    /Charlotte

    I've worked in DEC for almost twelve years now and brown bag
    it just about every day. I may buy a burger a couple of times
    a year but that's it. Save the money that I would have spent
    on lunch and I put it to nice nights out with my wife. Plus
    my wife's leftovers seem to be much more appealing to the stuff
    I see in the Cafe.
    
    Jim C.

   re .37
   
   The original memo was rather vague on the reason behind this price
   increases. 
   
   Call it a withdrawal of subsidy if you wish, The net effect to most of the
   people that lunch in a DEC cafeteria, will be an increase in their cost of
   living. Needless to say, DEC salary calculations are not based on Cost of
   Living indices, so the ultimate brunt of the change will be born by the
   employees...
   
   There will be those that grin and bear it, and there will be those that
   start to brown bag it. A lot more employees will now consider going outside
   for lunchs. (Hypothetically,) I can get as good a lunch for an equivalent
   price, at one several restaurants within a mile of the office. Of course,
   now I have to negotiate weather and traffic, and so will probably have a
   longer lunch, and come back less relaxed. By eating out, I will loss the
   lunch time interaction with my peers which often is of benefit to my work.
   
   I've said it before and I'll say it again. Nickel and Dime the corporation
   or it's people and you do more damage than good.
   
   q
   
                                

    We have been told that we are expected to each lunch in Digital
    cafeterias, when available, on business trips because they are
    subsidized.

Ahh, but the poor of Wall Street need all of those Nickels and Dimes }8-)}

The removal of subsidies has not only led to increased prices in our small caf,
but the level of service and quality of food has gone out the window. 

Not good... much better to brown bag it or go out...

-Amy.

re Note 514.43 by RAZBRY::ASBURY:

> Not good... much better to brown bag it or go out...

        And when people "go out" there probably is some, probably
        small, loss of productive time and energy.

        The law "you get what you pay for" (which, more accurately,
        would be "you get no more than you pay for") applies to
        corporations as well as individuals.

        Bob

    I strongly agree that a good, low-priced cafeteria is one of the best
    investments a company can make.  On my last job, we (the MIS staff)
    made an informal study of our eating habits.
    
    We found that cafteria lunches lasted 35-40 minutes on the average,
    while outside lunches tended to last about an hour - PLUS 20-30 minutes
    driving time (we didn't include the time wasted standing around
    deciding who was going and where we were going).
    
    Changes that drive people off premises for lunch are a false economy.
    
    -dave

    .43 ff:
    
    It must be nice to afford to eat out at lunch.
    
    Dick

    
    I've just decided to join the "brown-bag" or eat out crowd. The cafe
    at SHR3 just *&(*&* me off for the last time. 
    
    I think a valid solution to the cafe problems is compitition. Let sites
    have more than one cafe. Hell, let them have commercial chain fast food
    places.
    
    
 ed
   

re: .47,
    
>    I think a valid solution to the cafe problems is compitition. Let sites
>    have more than one cafe. Hell, let them have commercial chain fast food
>    places.
    
    	This was perhaps the one thing I liked most about Data General's
    main headquarters in Westboro.  They used to have a choice between three
    (count them - *three*) different cafeterias to choose from.  They had
    one sort of generic cafeteria for morning coffee and doughnuts, etc,
    and there were two different lunch-styled restaurants (one run by a
    local Pizzaria, and I forget what the other one was).  Anyway, the
    competition worked quite effectively in producing some very good
    service (although the accomodations always left something to be desired,
    but then, that was D.G. afterall).  This was some time ago, and I'm not
    sure if all three are still in operation or not.

    	I seem to recall however, that Ken Olsen once signed some sort of
    pack with the devil that allowed the Tobin corporation exclusive rights
    to vendorship of [at least the Massachusetts based] Digital facilities
    in exchange for investing in DEC back in the early days or some such thing.
    Can anyone verify this?

    				    -davo

p.s.   	I never actually worked at D.G., but my wife once did, so ended
    	up spending a good deal of time in their cafeterias.

	The cafe in HL01 is always running out of food, ice and there is never
anyone around to run the registers. Oh, when there are people there they look,
see you and then pretend that they never saw you. They come over eventually
always saying, "I didn't see you..." I have learned to NEVER eat carrots here
as they are always hard from being undercooked. It's amazing at how poorly the
cafe is run sometimes. How can they run out of these things at lunch? Don't
they check it BEFORE lunch? There used to be a notesfile for the cafe, but I
don't have a clue as to the name of it. Anyone know?


Glen

    
    
    	Tobin hasn't run the cafeteria in BXB and LTN for the past 2 or
    	3 years.
    
    	I think we've gone through 2 or 3 food service companies since
    	Tobin was thrown out.
    
    							Mike
    							----

    Contact the Corp. Cafeteria Commodity Manager, and let her
    know/hear what happened/what your complaint is!
    

    Although this is a minor thing, in WMO, Tobin's runs out of giant
    coffee cups EVERY SINGLE WEEK!  This has been going on for months and
    months.
    
    It wouldn't bother me so much, but in light of the "Quality" note in
    here and the fact that, as a mfg plant we're always seeing people
    running around talking about MRP, JIT, Twenty-three Sigma or whatever,
    I find it truly amazing that this annoying little shortage can happen
    over and over again in ANY business.
    
    As for telling "someone who CAN do something about it", it's turned into
    a kind of game for me.  I'm just wondering how long this will go on.  I
    mean, someone who SHOULD be able to do something about it obviously
    knows since there are occasionally signs up notifying us of various
    shortages and the cashiers will regularly apologize for the
    inconvenience.
    
    -joe tomkowitz

    re: .48

    The Data General cafeteria setup was pretty good.  There were three: a
    'traditional' cafeteria in the original Building 14, and when they
    added Building 14 B they added a pizzeria and a Deli.  The choices made
    it much more pleasant.  I worked right across from the pizzeria so I
    would order a pizza at 11:30 and pick it up at 11:45, right out of the
    oven.  Prices were very good too, about $1.00 less than outside.  The
    deli was a little more 'upscale', and not generally to my liking.  It
    was good for breakfast. I didn't patronize the regular cafe.
                                      
    To balance the memories, not everything was that good.  The pizzeria
    served premade (slightly soggy) grinders, with no choices of
    ingredients for ordinary stuff.  Things like steak grinders were made
    from steam trays of meat, not fresh cooked (if you went at odd hours,
    and knew the people, you could get fresh).  Not much different than 
    a lot of fast food joints that don't do as well at off peak hours.

    Still, the idea was good.  There were more choices, and people tended
    to stay in more, rather than waste time going out.  I don't know if the
    idea could work at other places, I don't know how many people worked
    there, but it might be worth a try if there's a large enough
    population.
    
    
       Jeff
    

    I think the worst cafeteria I've been in is in CXO1.  On one visit,
    they ran out of the main course before 12:00 noon.  Also, on one
    day there they charged three different prices for a large coffee
    -- one high, one low, one correct.  They averaged out to the correct
    price.
    
    As I understand it, CXO changed vendors a couple of years ago and
    it has gone downhill since then.
    

    In Holland the purveyor of our lunchtime salmonella savories would go
    out of business very quickly if there was any form of competition
    within walking distance. 

    There is a choice of one hot dish, two warm snacks and a few cold ones.
    This last item is really appreciated these cold winter days. There is a
    choice to two soups, but one is always tomato and I happen to dislike
    tomato soup. Some of the offerings in the soup line lead me to believe
    that our chef owns part of the North Sea as each bowl contains the
    daily salt requirement for a family of four.

    For the convenience of the canteen all payment is made by magnetic card.
    You put this card into one of the many machines round the building and
    feed in bank notes or coins. The coins are usually accepted but they
    are very fussy about the notes. To force you to use said machines only
    one cash desk is equipped to take cash and add it to your card. So if
    you do not have enough on your card and either you have no bank note of
    the correct denomination or the machine turns up its nose at the notes
    you have then you must queue for this one cash register. Naturally this
    till does more business that the other two put together.

    Great effort was put into the recent rebuilding of the self serving
    area. Before it was a sort of "flow control" you worked your way down
    the line and passed everything in turn. Now it is free standing
    counters. Thus people are walking hither and thither carrying trays of
    food and drink. They keep a mop handy for when they bang into each
    other. 

    The cash till is brilliantly placed so that those leaving the canteen
    share the same narrow passage as the majority entering. This
    effectively slows thing up nicely.

    The staff have set priorities, idle gossip between themselves is the
    highest. Idle gossip with customers is next and somewhere near the
    bottom is serving customers.

    Oh one last point, unlike America where you can get breakfast and lunch
    our canteen is only open from 11:45 to 13:15. After 12:30 they start to
    run out of things. The non smoking area consists of about half a dozen
    tables down one side.

    As I said at the beginning one fast food chain anywhere nearby and they
    would be out of business directly. 

    Jamie.
                         

    I've worked in Utrecht, and can assure that Jamie is not exaggerating.
    
    DEC Park Reading is even worse. Quite the worst canteen (sorry,
    restaurant) that I've ever eaten in.
    
    DEC Brussels on the other hand, is magnificent, and rivals many a UK
    restaurant. It's not quite as good as it was when I was here 4 years
    ago, but still pretty damn good.
    
    Laurie.

    Jamie was actually rather mild (he must be tired ;-)).
    He forgot to mention the wet trays, the free supply of food on the just
    washed plates.
    Those plates have one advantage though. They're usually warm so you can
    use them to bring your butter to a temperature where you can actually
    spread it on your bread rather than use it to knock out people who
    decide to have meetings in the narrow passages.
    
    Charles

    
    Having worked for the past three years on DEC sites with *no*
    cafeteria at all I am seeing these facilities in a new light.
    
    I used to work at DECpark and bitched and moaned along with everyone
    else.
    Now, in London, I miss the facility. No, it wasn't perfect. No, it's
    not wonderful food and I can cook better myself. It's certainly far
    from ideal and has it's problems.
    But at least you could get a meal other than a sandwich at a tolerable
    price without taking a lot of yours or DEC's time to go off-premises.
    
    In London most people go out and get a sandwich.
    Obviously London is expensive compared with most parts of the UK -
    a sandwich seems to cost around #1.50 minimum. We've recently taken
    the revolutionary step of inviting a local vendor onto site to
    provide sandwiches (and also packaged salads and soup and some stuff
    that can be easily microwaved) but the choice is nowhere near that of
    a DEC on-site facility.
    
    'gail

      Our canteen  @UFC is not too good, It does have the advantage that if
      the food is unacceptable you can give it back and select something else.
      I have handed back cold soup. (It did not pass the third finger test).
      I have also handed back Salty soup.
      Although *I* find the food poor. The complain rate seems to be quite low.
      On at the one occasion when I handed back salty soup. I was unable to
      find anything to replace it so the next day I got a free meal. (beer
      included)
      Have you tried complaining about poor canteens. For salty food I usually
      take it back and suggest that it be tasted. On the above occasion the
      manager declined to taste it himself and with ceremony called the
      responsible cook. The offending dish was removed from the serving area.
      Cooks seem to be o different from programmers.. The first serving is the
      Field test version.
      Rgds,
      Stephen

    I swore off the cafeteria some time ago and bring my own lunch.  Both
    my husband and I do (both DEC) and save big bucks and it helps our
    budget.  The only drawback is sandwiches get tiring... and I feel like
    I'm back in grammar school.  Now that I'm at the Mill, I have no fridge
    (working on that one).  The good news is that winter's setting in and I
    can use my car for a refrigerator for now!  
    
    I miss the use of a nearby microwave, though.  It's great being able to
    heat up leftovers you brought in for lunch, or popcorn for a lo-cal
    afternoon snack. 
    
    My, aren't we spoiled, though?  Had I never had the luxury of a
    microwave and refrigerator closeby at other facilities I'd worked at,
    I'd never be missing it...

Re:          <<< Note 514.54 by WONDER::REILLY "So I rewired it" >>>

>    The trend seemed to be that the new service moves in and starts out
>    with great food and service, gets comfortable, then cuts back on both.

This was certainly not the case in CXO (mentioned in another reply).  When 
Marriott got removed, the "service" was taken over by Canteen who had 
complaints from day 1.  A year later, they cut the choices and put their prices
up further citing "lack of business" and "inability to make a profit" as the
reasons. 

It seems they've never heard of price elasticity... 

-  David

Here at DSG (Westford, MA.), we've had Corporate Chefs since the facility opened.
In general, their food is edible; there's always burgers, a sandwich bar, and a
salad bar. The quality has been highly variable. There have been some months that
I went out most days; other times, I've had trouble deciding between the 2 or 3
choices. Generally, the simpler the food, the better. One day, they had people 
selecting a cafeteria company for another site (or another company). That day, the
food was real good - steak, plus several other choices.

Before this, I was at Parker St., which had Tobin's. When I started, they were
quite good. Then, the chef left. The quality went WAY down. They also had trouble
keeping help. (I understand they didn't pay so well.) For a couple of months,
the person running the grill couldn't handle more than 2 burgers at a time. 
It could take 20 minutes to get a burger! I could walk to downtown Maynard
faster than that.

In general, I prefer Corporate Chefs to Tobin; both have variable quality, but
Corporate Chefs tends to be better most of the time.

I guess I'm lucky.

I work in MRO4 and I think the cafeteria is wonderful. Seiler's has the
contract.

Their food (virtually all of it--hot food, sandwiches, salad bar, and desserts)
is better than any of the other DEC cafeterias I've been to. It's both better
*and cheaper* than the food in the local Marlboro restaurants. It's the best
thing about working in MRO4.

Vicki Meagher

    
    
    	The best cafeteria I think I've been in is ZKO. It's larger than
    	most restraunts I've been in.
    
    						Mike
    						---- 

    re.-1

    Gee, you should hear the complaints here at ZKO... 

    But seriously, years ago, when I was in the catering business. (This
    was feeding N thousand workers at a mine site, not catering weddings
    etc), we had to cope with a thing known as palate fatigue. Put on a
    lobster dinner, and people would head out for a greasy spoon hamburger
    instead...
    
    q
    

    Well, no problems here in LA with our cafeteria! JKust like there's no
    problems with parking at our DCU branch in LA!
    
    Clearly, this is a local, not a US- or corporate-wide problem!
    
    - Larry.
    
    Oh, :-)