Over the years, school lunch has gotten a bad rep. From media depictions in Captain Underpants to Monster’s University, cafeteria food has been universally deemed gross. However, the lines for the school food at Magnet have always been out the cafeteria doors. As a frequent flyer in the AMHS lunchline (I have only brough my own lunch twice throughout all of highschool), I have deemed myself qualified to investigate and interview students to decide if they’re secretly being forced to consume cafeteria cuisine or if our food is really just uniquely good.

The Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup 

Starting off strong we have arguably the best hot lunch served on school grounds: the grilled cheese and tomato soup. The bread is crisp, the cheese is not layed on too thin, and the soup is flavorful and hot. It hits every time. Elliot Romero is seen here enjoying his portion in Honors Environmental, and as you can see, he just can’t get it down fast enough. When told that this is the meal being served today, Elliot noticeably perks up and gets excited, stating, “I mean that’s pretty good”. I have personally enjoyed this delicious meal and can agree. Elliot gives it a 8.7/10.

The Cheese Pizza

Alaina did not finish her cheese pizza, but still gave it good reviews. She said the bread was perfectly toasted and the sauce flavorful, but that it could be improved with “less plastic-like cheese”. Her friends chimed in in agreement. Of course, the cheese provided is no fault of the AMHS cafeteria, and it appears to have been cooked to perfection. Alaina gives this concoction a 6.7/10.

The Chicken Wrap

Chase says that while the basic components of this sandwich are not very impressive, it is made delicious by the yummy sauces packed into the food. He is a self declared “big sauce guy” and considers sauce the most important factor in any meal. When asked how this wrap could be improved, he says, “by adding more sauce.” A man who knows what he wants! He also gave this a 6.7/10.

The PB&J Protein Pack

Elliot says that while there is nothing wrong with the classic PB&J, it is just “kind of boring”. However, the dependable nature of this snack, combined with pretzels, makes it a reliable delicious lunch when you don’t know what you’re craving. In Elliot’s words, it is “meh”. He had no complaints about the quality of the fruit, and he says you can never go wrong with an uncrustable. Wise words! The boring aspect of this lunch knocked it down to a 6/10 in Elliot’s book.

The Veggie Salad

I have gotten this lunch so many times that the lunch ladies have deemed me “Salad Girl”, making me feel that it is my duty to personally give this review. While the veggie salad has taken on many forms over the past few years and varies almost monthly (veggies and cheese; veggies and croutons; kale instead of romaine, etc), its current iteration is my favorite. The veggies have been fresh and crunchy, it now includes bell peppers, onions, and tomatos, and best of all, they do not skimp on the croutons. I vary between honey mustard and ranch as my dressing, but the classic nature of this salad makes it so you can not go wrong. This salad has carried me through middle school at SOA all the way to senior year at Magnet, and I would be a traitor if I gave it anything other than a 10/10.

The Pepperoni Pizza

In constrast with its cheesy counterpart, Lily Thompson declares the pepperoni pizza perfect. In fact, she says it may be the best pizza she’s ever eaten in her entire life. Big statement! I wonder if she’s ever had Evo’s pistachio pizza. I highly recommend. Nevertheless, this rave review shows that this pizza must be delicious, as Lily says there is “absolutely nothing” she would change. When asked what she would rate this meal, she said, “oh, one hundred percent a 10/10“.

The Tater Tots

Lindsey Griffin was eager for this snack to have a feature because they were “the most delicious tater tots she has ever tried.” Sounds like many of the junior class have found their favorite food right here in the cafeteria! Lindsey describes the outside as thick and crunchy, with the perfect texture in every bite. Please note that these were so delicious that she would not share one with me. Because of her impressive testimony, I did go and get my own, and can confirm they were well deserving of the 9.5 that Lindsey gave them.

The Fried Chicken Sandwich

Last but not least, we have Sacha rating a chicken sandwich to rival Chic-fil-a’s. Her winning smile in this photo says it all. Her energy from this sandwich is so infectious that her buddy Lindsey Griffin is also smiling behind her! Sacha describes this sandwich as “classic”, and per the old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, that sounds pretty good to me! She elaborates that the bread is perfectly buttery and moist, and that the chicken is also good, “if a little dry”. Despite small drawbacks, this fried chicken sandwich was still good enough for Sacha to rate it a 8/10.

My school lunch investigation has revealed that Magnet may be unique in having a pretty good, if not in some instances exceptional, school lunch. I am going to take these findings to whoever bumped us down to #8, because this is pretty impressive. Either we are the only public school who has achieved this level of cuisine (likely), or Hollywood has dramatized something and made it seem much worse than it actually is (which seems like a stretch to me). However unique we are, I hope this article encourages you to branch out from your typical lunch and try something new that the cafeteria has to offer (or simply not panic if you realize you forgot your lunchbox on the kitchen counter). At the very least, try those tator tots!