REVIEW: Dining with smoke at the Patio Cafe

The Patio Cafe, located on the first floor of the Bayou Building, is not your typical college campus cafeteria. It’s worse.

First of all, it’s confusing to navigate the ordering, pick-up and payment process. The flow of the space doesn’t make sense. There is one long counter, a separate grill area and different cash registers in separate parts of the room, making it difficult to figure out where to order and where to pay or in which order to do either.

Only recently did I learn that the Grill and the Deli offer separate food choices from each other, which means that the Grill offers burgers, chicken tenders and fries while the Deli offers sandwiches, weekly specials and pre-made refrigerated items. I ended up walking back and forth between menus trying to figure out what I wanted. It would be more efficient, and much less confusing, to have one menu with everything the Cafe offers, be able to place an order and pay all at the same spot.

The Grill’s most popular order item is the chicken tenders and fries. The fries are good because it is hard to mess up fries. The chicken tenders were crispy on the outside and served piping hot. The taste and texture of the meat, however, is not quite up to Whataburger’s chicken strip basket but I would give it a 6 out of 10. The chicken tender/fry combo will cost you $7.19.

Haia, clinical psychology major, who did not want to give a last name, stated that she eats at the Patio Cafe once every couple of weeks. On her latest visit, she ordered the crispy chicken burger combo and rated it a 7 out of 10. Haia also complimented the Cafe’s new buzzer system to notify students and staff when their food is ready instead of yelling out numbers.

The Deli’s most popular item is their chicken salad. It is served cold and very tasty. I would suggest eating it with crackers or perhaps on a sandwich instead of by itself. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

Jessica, clinical psychology major, who did want to give her last name, said that she often has to bring her own lunch to school because of her food allergies to gluten and dairy products. She has noticed more variety for packaged snack products and the addition of sushi but feels that the Cafe could expand to include more gluten-free hot items. 

Something I was very disappointed with when last visiting the Patio Cafe is the actual patio! After getting my food and sitting down on the patio to enjoy it, I realized the whole patio is a smoking area. There were cigarette butts all over the tables and ground. I had to go back inside because the smell was so miserable. Who wants to breathe in smoke while trying to eat? You might as well name it the Smoking Patio Cafe.

To be fair, the Cafe has made some major improvements within the last few months and is continuing to update its ambiance and menu.

“The Cafe has changed over the years in the types of food that is offered,” said Debbie Carpenter, executive director of procurement and payables. “In order to add variety, local food trucks come on campus three days per week. Hot meals and specials are rotated to also provide a mixture of items. Additional improvements to the Patio Cafe include the dining area was repainted and a graphic of UHCL’s mascot was added to the grill area. The dining area floors have been replaced and a new cash register system was installed spring break week.”

Another well-deserved addition to the Patio Cafe this past year was Starbucks. Coffee and college students go together like President Donald Trump and spray tans. You cannot see one without the other.

“Last fall a ‘We Proudly Serve Starbucks’ was added to the Patio Cafe,” Carpenter said. “This has been a welcome addition.”

The Patio Cafe is open Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m to 8 p.m. and Friday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Deli and The Grill close at 7 p.m. Monday – Thursday.

Carpenter said the UH System is currently in the process of requesting proposals for dining service providers on all UH campuses. The RFP document can be found at http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/bid_show.cfm?bidid=131576 . The new contract will go into effect July 1.

On-campus housing is just a little more than a year away. In order to serve students in the new dorms, a kitchen will be provided so students will not be completely dependent on the school cafeteria.

“The plan is to have a community kitchen for all residential students to share,” Carpenter said. 

Overall, the Patio Cafe is a place I would go if I were starving and only had 10 minutes before my next class, and I would probably only eat something to hold me over until I could go get something else. The prices are not competitive with nearby fast food chains and college kids do not like spending $10+  on a just average meal.

I am very interested to see what the new contract will bring for future UHCL students and hope it will be a positive addition to the food services offered. With on-campus housing coming quickly, low-cost, big named fast-food chains in multiple buildings on campus would be a great addition to the on-campus food available. Also, extended hours of the cafe would be very beneficial to keep students on campus for breakfast and late night snacks. Hint, hint.