If you ever forget to pack a lunch and are feeling brave, I highly recommend trying the cafeteria’s hot lunch option. Located in four different locations around the school, Barnstable High School offers one hot lunch opinion and one salad option for hungry students and the best part: it’s free (because it’s not something I’d recommend paying for).

I was able to go to the field house location to try out some of the grub. Before you walk you are greeted by a smiling Maitre D’ Mr.Yuen who says hello, makes sure you sanitize your hands and reminds you to scan the code located on your seat. Then it is time to check out the ambience of this dining establishment.  I’d describe it as an atmosphere of tiredness and boredom. You make your way to the table of hot lunch platters before heading to one of the dozens of desks spaced out six feet apart. I really appreciated the member of the lunch staff letting me know what was for lunch, in this case chicken tenders with wavy fries and green beans. I really felt a personal connection. After you sit down you look at your tray made out of aluminum and covered with what looked to be a piece of white construction paper. I loved how this made me feel nostalgic like I was about to eat a TV dinner from the 1980s. When you open it up you are wowed by the presentation which features three distinct spaces, which is great for those who hate their food touching! The first one is filled with three chicken tenders, the second with fries and the third with green jeans.

After you stop feasting with your eyes it’s time for you to eat with your mouth. I was quite pleased with the chicken tenders as they had a nice salty flavor. That’s probably due to the 1,407 grams of sodium. And that’s all. They were also not crispy, which allowed me to not disturb others with loud chewing. Next were the fries, which were nice and flimsy. When you bit into them, you could really taste the potato due to the lack of seasoning. Last but not least were the green beans. If you ever wondered what biting into a thin piece of plastic feels like, I’d say it feels like the outside of these green beans. They seemed to have been steamed, but the construction paper covering which made them neither soft but nor crunchy. They were, perhaps, the definition of ‘meh’.

My final thoughts are this. This ‘restaurant’ is great if you are incredibly hungry. In fact I would say the more hungry you are the better it tastes. Also, it is a real bargain with price being zero dollars. The service was tremendous and food was good (for school cafeteria food). Overall I would give the Barnstable High School cafeteria an eight out of ten.