"I'm Starting to Look a Little Husky"

                                                “I’m Starting to Look a Little Husky”

            A steamy hamburger, stuffed with frizzled onions, juicy bacon, and crisp lettuce, dripping with rich barbeque sauce between two golden buns. Your eyes have just seen the product of the Burger Studio. One of the 4 food stations located inside the best place to eat on campus, the Husky Lounge. It’s about 6:30 pm, Monday on campus at Bloomsburg University, and all the students are being hassled by their stomachs to feed them. Walk in through the doors and enter. Your nostrils are injected with the delighting aroma of fried food, toasted bagels, leafy greens, and sub sandwiches all in one sniff. A little over whelming? Maybe, but it’s the only way to fulfill your savory satisfactions at Bloomsburg University.

            The Bagel station, one of the four incredible spots to get food in the Husky Lounge. During the wild dinner rush the vast lines of hungry students at each station make it difficult to choose where to eat from. Overhead the hardworking employees, dressed in beige collared shirts covered by a black apron with a name tag (as well as a black hat), reads two plasma monitors with choices available to construct a meal. A variety of toasted or non toasted bagels fill the crates behind the two energetic employees such as plain, cinnamon raisin, blueberry, chocolate chip, poppy seed, sesame, and everything. From these choices students have the option of either making a bagel sandwich or simply putting on a spread such as strawberry, cinnamon, or veggie cream cheese, peanut butter, grape jelly, butter, and strawberry jelly. Other students rather have something more “meaty”. To make a bagel sandwich, students have the opportunity to use turkey, smoked turkey, and ham along with a variety of different toppings like mustard, mayonnaise, ranch, bacon, lettuce, tomato. The cheeses range from pepper jack to American. “What can I get you?” a warm-hearted lady behind the counter says to a stomach driven student. A wide grin slowly forms on the student’s face. “Just a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese!” the ecstatic student replies. They keep the line moving fast so students do not complain or get annoyed. “A majority of students can get pretty disrespectful because they don’t understand we are serving 60 people at a time.” Says Husky Employee Sean. The employees are extremely kind though under any circumstances and do their best to satisfy all the students’ needs. But a steamy warmth roams the air coming from a nearby station.

           
        The Burger Studio, where scrumptious delights such as hamburgers, grill chicken sandwiches, crispy chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers, Philly cheese steaks, and chicken fingers are cooked to be fed to salivating mouths. The three chicken products are priced at $5.09 while the burger is $4.09, the veggie burger is $4.75 and the cheese steak is $5.05. Two touch-screens head a line of students. Here, students place their orders and make their creations. Each of the foods stated before are available with a variety of tasty toppings. With the touch of a button (or screen), students can place ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, onions, bacon, ranch, barbeque sauce, guacamole, and much more on their desired burger or fillet. The guacamole and bacon are both charged seventy-five sense extra; absolutely worth it.  Right before the masterpiece is processed a choice of side dishes such as seasoned curly fries or regular fresh cut fries for about two dollars more make the decision just a little more tasteful. A crunching noise arises as a junction occurs inside the machine, and finally the holy receipt slides out.

 Students wait anxiously for their number to be called so they can receive their meals. Appetizing sounds fill the room as students await their tender chow. “Tssss”, a hamburger slaps the grill, “plluusshh”, a bundle of fries fall into the deep fryer, “pssshhhh” a refreshing fountain drink shoots into the cup of a student who has already received their food, and one thought conjures within the mind of each student “I can not wait until I am in that position.”  The chitter-chatter of fully filled tables over whelms the environment. One student eats in a hassle as she writes rapidly with her free hand as a group of students behind laugh like hyenas, mouths full of chewed food. It seems impossible for this student to get her work done but as the husky products flow every one gains the ability to go into their own tunnel of focus, whatever that may be. “541!” shouts a hurried employee. A student excitedly scurries to their meal, unaware of the complete and utter thrill for simply food, but every other starved-ridden mind in the Husky thinks in a n identical manner. The student appears satisfied, but only to see the next obstacle before him, the line to pay. Students take quick snags of fries from their tray, unable to wait until they arrive at the cash register. Curly and fresh cut fries crowd the area, leaving students with squished potato bits in between the crevices of the soles of their shoes. A toothpick will be necessary for later. “Meal on Flex” repeats over and over from a kind but tiresome employee. A simple “thank” escapes the lips of each student and they are happily given their fountain drink cup, available with any combo.

Splitting the two cash registers, another line flows monstrously, far lengthier then any other wait in the Husky. Filled with a majority of female students, the snake-like shaped group barely being contained inside the lounge headlines with a sign that reads “GREENS TO GO”. This veggie-orientated station satisfies the needs of students that want something flavorsome, but healthy. Caesar, ranch garden, buffalo bleu cheese, and Mexican garden are signature salads but students are more then welcome to assemble their own. They watch as the multi-talented employees collect the ingredients desired and amass them into a square plastic container. Don’t be surprised if an employee that was at the salad station Tuesday also works at the burger studio Thursday. “ I do multiple things here. I’m able to work at all these stations here so if they (managers) tell me to make sandwiches, burgers, assemble sandwiches, cut onions, cut beefsteak, I can do all that. Basically I can do anything they tell me to do.” raves a confident husky employee. Having trust in the employees to make perfect meals proves simple because they are able to perform superbly in any tasks around the husky.

Last but not least a station that goes by the name “Sandwich Shack” awaits starved students piling into the lounge. People looking for that “packed lunch from mom” taste are eager to get in line and craft there own sandwich. In the vicinity the smell almost replicates any homes-style kitchen smell, consisting of fresh oven-toasted bread and newly wrapped cold cuts. Students might start to feel a little homesick, but once this sandwich enters their mouth they know that momma would be proud. “Turkey, mustard, and lettuce on white bread please.” A student says. The husky employee quickly and efficiently snatches each ingredient one by one and places them softly and tenderly onto the white bread, almost as if she purposely trying to imitate the works of the student’s mother. She then slices the sandwich in a diagonal line, reassuring the student with nothing short of what used to be a packed lunch back at home. The meats available are extremely similar to what would be of choice at the bagel station but add to the fun by being able to pick salami, pepperoni and smoked ham. Panini’s are also a unique component of the stations menu. Hummus ciabatta, ham and Swiss, tuna and cheddar, four cheese and several more can be chosen to have a delightful and exciting meal. But the excitement does not end just yet.

A noisy, vibrating conjunction over powers the sound of fountain drinks being spewed. Loose straws, caps, and napkins flood the area of this lone machine. The job of this contraption? To stir up the sweet F’real milkshakes that are made to gratify the taste buds of a student seeking something sweet. Place a vanilla, cookies and cream, lemon drop, root beer float, or strawberry flavored milkshake underneath the towering machine. Before you, a metal rod pierces the frozen ice cream within the cup and pulls it up into oblivion. A clamorous happening occurs inside the erupting rectangle. A creamy milkshake of desired thickness finally descends and waits ready for enjoyment.

The Husky Lounge, a tall glass building giving all on-lookers the ability to watch hundreds of students blissfully enjoy their meals. Students on the inside basically become advertisements brought to life, having the power of giving any on coming student a strikingly hungry stomach. A student rushes outside, food in hand and knapsack of back. He sits down on a mellow table and calmly breathes deeply, enjoying the silence that seems non-existent inside the vibrant lounge. Tables with umbrellas surround the content young man, along with other students who also take pleasure in consuming their food along with beautiful scenery. A mild gust of wind presents itself and blows a stack of napkins right off the student’s table. He chases down the scurrying napkins and chuckles as a group of students at another table politely giggle along. Eye contact intertwines the two; a friendship begins. The Husky Lounge apparently also has the capacity of uniting Bloomsburg students all around campus in meticulous ways.

Hearty subs, toasty bagels, vital veggies, juicy burgers and creamy milkshakes make the Husky Lounge the absolute finest place to eat on campus. A student that chooses to make amends elsewhere must be thoroughly confused and needs to be educated of the awesome powers the Husky has on an empty stomach. Nobody wants to leave a restaurant with a full stomach and a frown, so why take the risk. Do your body justice and take a trip to the Husky Lounge; you will not be displeased.