The Met: The envy of every Brown student
Located on Waterman Street, the Met, formally known as the Metcalf Refectory, is the biggest dining hall at RISD. To RISD students, the Met is nothing extraordinary ("It's not even that good!" is what my friend always tells me), but to us Brown students who have been blessed with the opportunity to eat there, it is heaven.
Atmosphere
When you walk into the Met, you are instantly greeted by a soothing atmosphere of dimly lit lights and pleasant smells. Not at all like the glaring lights and musty, “wow-I-wonder-what-that-is…” smells of the Ratty. Plus, it’s not overcrowded. Not a single horde of student athletes in sight!
Options
The food stations at the Met are also impressive: salad, fruit, specialties (which they make for you), grilled and fried foods (similar to Jo’s), soups, sushi, pizza, smoothies, etc. Initially, it does not seem like they have a lot in comparison to the Ratty, but you don’t need that many options when almost every option tastes GOOD.
Food quality
The food isn’t fancy, but, as I already said, it’s good. Everything has flavor. Everything is cooked correctly. I ate broccoli and was in complete awe! It was steamed perfectly, not at all like the overcooked stuff they have at the Ratty. AND I ate fish. Yes, I ate dining hall fish. If it had been fish from the Ratty, I almost positively would’ve had to make a Health Services appointment after eating.
The one (1) downside
The one downside revealed itself when I got dessert (i.e. delicious coffee-flavored ice cream) and wanted some coffee to go with it. What I found was the same coffee that the Ratty had used last year: Sun Roasters. Absolutely horrible. But the Met does have green tea on tap as well as sodas that use cane sugar, so I’ll let this one pass.
After having been to the Met many times, I have one conclusion: Get yourself a RISD friend. There really is no going back once you’ve eaten at the Met. If given the choice, I would replace every single dining hall at Brown with the Met. Really, not even the oh-so-great Andrews and Jo’s can compare. We only think they're so good because we don't know what we're missing.
