When you first come to Lexington High School, discovering your favorite cafeteria food will feel like an adventure. Everyone around you will tell you what is good and what is not, and you will try everything only to find out that you have been fooled. But fear not! This list will provide you with a comprehensive evaluation of food at LHS.
First, some logistics—here’s the criteria we will use to assess every meal LHS offers. There are four ways that a food will receive points: wait time, taste, calories, and customizability. A food will receive ten points if it is perfect in a category and zero if it is subpar.
Second, the competitors: pizza, salad, burgers, sandwiches, nachos/rice bowls, and yogurt parfaits.
Now, let’s dive into the first criteria: wait time. Some dishes, such as pre-cooked pizza, naturally do not have a long waiting time while foods such as sandwiches and nachos take longer because of their customizability and popularity. For this category, yogurt parfaits and burgers get the full ten points because they are fully pre-made, perfect for if you want to avoid lines completely. Pizzas and salads both get eight points because of the short period that you have to wait to pick them up. Nachos and rice bowls come in with five points; note that because they are one of the most popular dishes at LHS, long lines are not uncommon. In last place is sandwiches with two points. Like the bowls, sandwiches are ordered by many students, but they also take time to customize. If you’re already unlucky enough to get to the cafeteria late, you may spend a decent amount of lunch waiting in line.
Onto the second, and arguably most important criteria: taste. In first place, with nine points, are the sandwiches where you can enjoy the gooeyness of the cheese, matched with the crunch of the veggies. A pro tip that I have learned is to pick the American cheese because it melts the best. Tied for second place with seven points are the nachos/rice bowls and the salads, largely due to the various sauces that add lots of flavor. In third place, pizza and burgers are tied with six points each. The sauce on the pizza is often slightly undercooked, and the burger meat is often too dry. However, the burger problem can easily be solved by putting some mayo on top of the patty, along with some lettuce and tomato. Yogurt parfaits come in last place with four points because of their sweet taste, whereas most people prefer a savory lunch (though I might be biased!).
Calorie count is also an important category because it determines how full a person is after lunch, which can greatly affect their mood and attention span for the rest of the day. Nachos/rice bowls come in first place with ten points because of their large portion size and numerous toppings. Tied for second place with seven points are pizza, burgers, and sandwiches. They all have some form of bread and veggies/meat/patty, and they often come with a side, though their relatively small size stops them from being very filling. In last place, salads and yogurt parfaits are tied with four points as they both have smaller portion sizes.
Our final category is customizability, which keeps your lunch from getting boring as the school year drags on. Almost objectively, salads, sandwiches, and nachos/rice bowls score ten points because they are completely customizable, from the base to the toppings. Burgers get five points because of the sauces that you can add, as well as the option to add tomatoes and lettuce. Finally, pizzas and yogurt parfaits get two points each because they have minimal customization (e.g. chili flakes on pizza).
Tallying up all the points reveals that the clear winner is nachos/rice bowls with 32 points! It has been the most consistent item throughout the competition, as the only food to score higher than a five in any category. Salads are second with 29 points. Burgers and sandwiches are tied for third place with 28 points. Pizza comes in second to last with 23 points. Finally, the yogurt parfait crawls into last place with just 20 points.
This list will obviously not account for personal tastes and dietary restrictions, but I hope it was useful in helping you find some good food at LHS!
PS: If you are getting the nachos, I suggest adding Sriracha sauce and getting a sparkling lemonade to make it a full meal.
