Friends Select students have an abundance of options when it comes to lunch. Students can eat their lunch anywhere in the Upper School, with the notable exception of the hallways. Once students receive building leave, their food options open up too. But with all the choices available to them, how do they decide where to eat?
While the Dining Hall is the most common place to eat, it is not assumed that all students will eat there – they wouldn’t even fit. A close competitor at lunchtime is the library. The R.H. Gray library is well suited for lunch, with many tables and chairs. “I don’t like eating in the cafeteria. It’s noisy” says Max Andrews ‘24, who eats lunch in the library almost every day. According to a survey sent out by The Falcon, the library is the second most popular place in the Upper School to eat lunch, behind the Dining Hall. The library isn’t perfect, though – the space is designed to be a study and work space, and even students who appreciate its quietness can get rowdy during lunch.
Max isn’t alone in his appreciation for quietness in a lunch space. In the student survey, the most common issue students have with the Dining Hall is how crowded and noisy it is. While the Dining Hall was listed as the most common eating space, it was rivaled by other locations that offered greater respite from noise, especially classrooms. Behind the Dining Hall and library, some form of “classroom” or “lunch club” was the third most popular place to eat lunch. While not all classrooms are available during lunch, those that are are likely quiet and fairly empty.
A more niche lunch location that also offers quiet is the Falcon’s Nest, in the basement of the main building. Sophia Le ‘25 frequents the Falcon’s Nest for lunch. “I eat in the Falcon’s Nest because there’s not many people,” says Sophia. “The cafeteria is usually loud and busy.” The Falcon’s Nest was mentioned a few times in the survey sent out by The Falcon, though not as frequently as other places around the school such as the library and classrooms.
Another option offered to students is eating off-campus. Several students responded to the survey saying that they eat in the Comcast Center Concourse. Options in the Concourse include Di Bruno Bros., Panda Express, and Big Chicken. Unlike other lunch options around the city, such as Wawa and the variety of food trucks, the Comcast Center has seating within the food court.
Given this plethora of locations to choose from, Friends Select students do not have a shortage of ways to spend their lunch break.
