A vegan’s guide to surviving Rice’s serveries
Illustration by Esther Tang
There are two rules to eating vegan in Rice’s nationally renowned serveries: 1. Don’t try. 2. Okay, fine, you can try being vegan if you want to, but be warned that you’ll be eating salads five out of seven days of the week. That hasn’t scared you away? Okay. You’re ready.
If you’ve decided that the eco-conscious, animal-friendly and dairy-free lifestyle is for you, here is a comprehensive list of do’s and do-not’s at our beloved on-campus dining halls, straight from the guilt-free mouth of a very off-campus vegan.
Serveries will not have dessert options for you – but never fear! Every servery has pre-packaged peanut butter cups. I really enjoy eating a serving of peanut butter after a meal. People definitely judge me for it, but what do they know? I’m just getting a good ol’ serving of protein, fiber and magnesium.
If peanut butter isn’t your thing, but you still have a hankering for something sweet, try cereal. Most of the cereals in the serveries are accidentally vegan. Eat your serving with fortified soy milk to get some tasty B-12.
I have a third dessert option for you Thresher and sugar consumers. If peanut butter and cereal aren’t your speed, try a frozen ice pop. Serveries won’t always have them, but if you’re lucky, you can track down a cherry Italian ice in the freezer section in your very own servery.
Seibel Servery definitely has the best salad bar around – edamame, chickpeas, red onions, shredded carrots and more. I have a very particular salad recipe which I will begrudgingly share here. Step 1: Add everything in the salad bar at Seibel to your salad. Step 2: Look disapprovingly at the cheese offerings in the salad bar. Step 3: You’re done.
West Servery is not the best if you’re trying to craft a salad for yourself.
It doesn’t have a ton of options (and it doesn’t have red onions, unfortunately). It does, though, often have a seaweed salad that is pretty tasty as long as you can get past the saline taste and spidery appearance.
Seibel has yummy curries and roasted vegetables most days in its vegetarian line. Arrive early – otherwise you might end up with soggy veggie friends.
West’s vegetarian line will often have some form of pasta. This is great if you are trying to carb-load for a big race day; it’s less great if you’re just trying to be a normal, sedentary person.
North Servery: I’ve heard that recently North has been trying harder to appease those of us on our plant-based journey. With that in mind, North is a solid “meh,” but an improving meh.
South Servery: Big meh. So, bear in mind that if you aren’t from a select few colleges, you might have to trek across campus to get a hearty, filling meal.
Baker College Kitchen is a delicious servery, but there are so few options because it’s so itty bitty. Check the menu before going to make sure that it’s worth-your-vegan-while.
This point is, in particular, for my friends at H&D: I know that we vegans may seem hard to please, what with our laundry list of dietary restrictions and we’re-better-than-you-because-of-our- cruelty-free-diet demeanors. However, please know that it’s not that hard to sate our veggie-based appetite. Vegan food can be delicious food! We need not always be relegated to a couple of curry or pasta dishes in the vegetarian line.
Most of all, don’t lose faith, new vegan children. People like to whine about how difficult it is to eat vegan in the serveries, but truly, our serveries are pretty great. As long as you aren’t super picky, you will be well-fed. Just be sure to take a multi-vitamin so that you can be a well-fed and healthy newbie vegan.
More from The Rice Thresher
Rice accepts 13% of record-setting ED applications
Rice accepted 13.2% of Early Decision applicants in its first round of admissions for the class of 2029, said Yvonne Romero da Silva, vice president for enrollment. With 2,970 total applicants, this year saw yet another record-high; a 3% increase from last year’s previous high of 2,886. An additional 100 students gained admission through the Questbridge National College Match program, an uptick from last year’s 77.
Students reject divestment proposals
The student body voted to pass S.REF 01, which asks the Rice Management Company to disclose all of its holdings investments, but rejected the remaining divestment proposals. While every ballot measure gained a majority of votes in favor, the remaining three did not achieve the two-thirds majority required to pass.
Student organizations form coalition to support SA referenda
Four Student Association referenda open for the general student body vote today at noon. The referenda call for disclosure of Rice Management Company holdings and divestment from entities that profit off the Israel-Hamas war. The referenda also ask that Rice release a statement condemning genocide and materially support anti-colonial scholarship. Voting will close Dec. 11 at noon and the results will be published the next day. For the referenda to pass, a two-thirds majority with a 20% student body turnout is needed.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.