Man vs. Bronco

Welcome back guys and thanks for checking in again. After a weeklong hiatus I’m back with another post for you and an important one at that. This post is the first of my three dining option reviews for college students attending Santa Clara University. This week I had the pleasure of eating at a campus favorite I’m sure you’re all very familiar with, the Bronco. From my experiences at Santa Clara thus far, it appears that most students have mixed feelings about this dining option that can only be described as a love hate relationship. On one hand the Bronco offers fast, convenient, tasty food to the Santa Clara community. On the other, it’s the only on-campus dining option that’s open at night and because of this many students complain they are forced to eat there a lot more than they would prefer; especially considering the type of food the Bronco serves is hard to classify as healthy.

            The Bronco is designed and laid out in a style very similar to many sports and fast food restaurants that are found in other colleges around the country. Large flat screens TVs displaying current sports games, comfortable seating, and plenty of Santa Clara athletics sports memorabilia fill the restaurant. However, upon entering the Bronco it becomes clear that it is actually comprised of three different dining options. This layout is similar to the rest of Santa Clara’s on-campus dining options and is intended to provide more selections for students when it comes to choosing what they want to eat. The three options available in the Bronco are: Tailgaters, the main component of the Bronco that serves traditional American fast food such as burgers and chicken tenders; 540, the Bronco’s pizza kitchen that operates during the same hours as Tailgaters and serves up pizzas, calzones, and pastas to the University’s students; and Fresco, the popular salad bar that is only open for limited hours each day and is often plagued by long lines and waits. Together these three options combine to make the Bronco.

            When I walked into the restaurant my food was already hot and ready waiting for me under a heat lamp. I had tapingo’ed my order with my phone using a smartphone application that links to a resident dining account. This allows students to place orders in advance for convenience. As I approached the counter I found my usual order, the infamous Bronco Burger, prepared and ready to go. The Bronco Burger is a staple of many students’ diets and is ordered by the majority of them each week, including myself, more times than we’d like to admit. I loaded it up with my favorite fixings including lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and ketchup at the condiments stand then hoped into the Tailgaters line. After picking up a bottle of water and side of apples with peanut butter I was ready to enjoy my lunch. I sat down with some friends at one of the nearby tables and eagerly began to consume my lunch.

            The first bite of the burger was pure bliss. The tender meat, melted cheese, and blend of assorted condiments were exactly what I had been craving. Bon Appetite, the company that supplies the food for Santa Clara’s on campus dining, works hard to ensure that they use locally grown beef and fresh vegetables in all their food. This combination produces a noticeably superior burger and there’s no better way to understand that than by trying one yourself. Within minutes all that was left on my plate was a large pile of greasy fries that were included with the meal. I opted not to eat these and instead moved onto the apples and peanut butter I had picked up to replace them. I sipped on my water as I finished eating to wash the entire meal down. From the first bite to the last I can safely say that the Bronco provided me with a satisfying meal.

            Although I did not have to pay for the burger or sides with cash they definitely weren’t free. The Bronco Burger cost $6.79 for the burger and fries. On top of that the additional side of apples and peanut butter that I purchased cost another $2.29. In total my meal ended up costing $9.08. All things considered this is a pretty reasonable price to pay for a good, filling meal in Benson. Most meals purchased on campus typically end up costing over $10 due to their high prices. However, although their prices are high they are justified due to the fact that the food is always fresh and comes from responsible sources. I am interested to see how the price of this meal compares to what I’ll be paying when I eat off campus at In-N-Out as well as when I prepare my own food that I purchase in the coming weeks.

            One of the most important factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing any meal in college, and throughout all our lives for that matter, is how healthy is the food we’re selecting. It is critical to understand where our food is coming from and what is in it. Although the Bronco has a bad reputation among students for serving unhealthy food, the research I did didn’t necessarily reach the same conclusion. Bon Appetite’s website provides health information for all of the food served on campus and states that a Bronco Burger contains, “420 calories, 20 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 28 grams of protein, and 540 milligrams of sodium” (Bon Appetite). These health statistics are very comparable to what is found in many other burgers at other colleges and restaurants. This proves that although it’s probably not the best idea to order a Bronco Burger regularly, the Bronco may not deserve all the harsh criticism it receives from people around campus.

            I enjoyed having an excuse to make an extra stop at the Bronco this week and get another delicious Bronco Burger. I hope you guys come back during the next few weeks to see my comparisons of the on campus food at the Bronco to off campus and self-prepared options.

Work Cited

"Grill Entrées | Café Bon Appétit." Grill Entrées | Café Bon Appétit. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May

2013.