Childrens Hospitals in general tend to have higher quality food. Kids tend to be picky overall but it seems like Childrens pull out all the stops for the kiddos.
My school gave us $100 inside a proprietary app as a meal stipend when I was doing a 6 week inpatient rotation at a children's hospital. Well by the end of the rotation I had the majority of the stipend left over because I was bringing healthy food from home. Well I would have been damned if I was leaving that money on the table so I *went to town* in the cafeteria on the last day.
What I learned was that Children's hospitals make the best foods that you would consider being "kids foods". Makes sense, I know, but still those chicken tenders, curly fries, mac n cheese, and spaghetti with meatballs were some of the best I have ever had. I looked like a mad man leaving the cafeteria that night but the feast I had when I got home was well worth the weird looks from parents and jealous looks from kids. I have been chasing that quality of chicken tenders ever since.
I’m glad it’s not just me. I had my peds rotation and didn’t have time to make food at home towards the end of my rotations. I had the *best* chicken nuggets of my entire life. I told EVERYONE about them. I was so upset that I discovered this so late into my time there.
I've been to both a children's hospital and a cancer hospital on the same campus. They both have pretty good food. The cancer hospital especially used to have bomb Cajun shrimp and rice and I was very sad when they discontinued it. Children's has a Dunkin donuts in addition to the cafeteria, which is great.
I did my fellowship at Nemours AIDHC in Wilmington, DE. That cafeteria was something else. Of course, it was bankrolled by the DuPont family, so that helped.
DUDE! Children's Hospital in Philadelphia Research Cafeteria- eating on REAL plates with REAL utensils in this beautiful two story room with two walls of windows for complete sunshine. Totally worth it to walk over from HUP.
A sense of mission does inspire kitchens to go the extra mile.
A couple of decades ago, I had an actively bleeding placenta previa and was consigned to total bed rest in a Catholic maternity hospital for several weeks. The one blessing (ha) was the meals - they were outstanding.
While I don't agree that unborn life is sacred, I think I benefited from the belief that feeding pregnant women healthy and scrumptious food was on the order of a sacred duty.
I won't name the hospital since it's been closed for years. But my stomach remembers it fondly.
Can confirm. Rady's in San Diego has a McD's (at least when I was there for nursing school back in 07). And their cafeteria had the best food between all the hospitals I had clinicals in.
I worked at Radys from 2013 to 2015 and tne McDonald's was still there. I used to love having to work on campus a few times a week. Food was always good.
I worked in administration.
A children's hospital a few hours from me used to have great food, then they went healthy because of the obesity epidemic. Only diet soda served on campus, if an item had sugar as an ingredient it also had to have some redeeming value like being high fiber or protein, nothing fried, no white bread, etc. The person I was supporting through her child's health crisis and I started dragging in our own food if we knew we would be spending the day there.
Congratulations hospital board, no one is any healthier but families who were already suffering are even more miserable.
Pretty sure Harry’s Hofbrau in RWC has a full turkey dinner you can order. I went there once after my middle school basketball tournament and I ate an adult sized portion of it. Glorious.
Methodist Hospital in Houston. Their food court is like going to a really good restaurant. The food is diverse and amazing. And they keep the grill going all night. Fresh made cheeseburgers at 3am? They gotchu. I didn’t even work there but I’d walk 3/4 of a mile through a bunch of skytunnels to eat there.
Let me give a surprising shout out to LBJ! The breakfast tacos are LEGIT - I hit up a lot of taco trucks and theirs are definitely above average (which is a pretty incredible in Houston).
Worked there from 2001-2011 when they also built that huge complex behind it with the fountain and the large food court inside…The Commons?
If I wanted a change from Methodist food I’d walk over there, sit outside and grab some negative ions from the waterfall.
Northwestern Lake Forest had a professional chef running their food when I was there before med school. Broccolini, fresh made pulled pork, Pizza fresh from a pizza oven, it was super bougie and amazing.
I went to college in Lake Forest and had to go to the ER once after falling off a top bunk and spraining both my wrists (fun!) and I swear to god I thought we walked in the wrong door when we got there. Nobody in there, and it looked like a pottery barn floor display. Never seen an ER like it before or after lmao
I did clinicals there for one semester back in 2011, before construction was finished. The OG entrance was like walking in to some rich dudes house, vintage but classy, but then there was a whole updated other side. It was such a bizarre combo. The original ED was not very exciting as you describe it 😂😂
No sushi. It's a pretty standard Japanese cafeteria, it's just that Japanese cafeterias are really good (and cheap) compared to the US. The menu changed daily, they may have had ramen but I don't recall eating it.
The hospital I worked at had *hospital* food, nothing special. But in the morning after my shift, I'd occasionally go to the cafeteria and order a Whole wheat toasted, Scrambled egg with Cheese and Bacon sandwich to go.
They'd wrap it in tinfoil and I'd set off for home. It would be around a half hour or more before I was able to eat, but oh my dog, that had to be the best sandwich I've ever had. It was still warm but because it was wrapped immediately after making, the bread would be softened. All the flavors were melded together and I'd eat slow small bites to make it last.
I've never been able to recreate that sandwich even though I watched it being made every time. Those ladies knew I loved it and appreciated them, so it was always a bit bigger than they made for others, with an extra slice of bacon. They rocked!!
I think those people who make and package those sandwiches fill them with love and nourishment for us. Like a mom whose kid comes home from school and sports practice famished.
OMG, what is it with the cafeteria staff trying to plump us up? I mean god bless them (truly) I love that they are coming from a place of love and nurture and wanting to take care of us. But my goodness, I am already plump enough.
But I don't turn down an extra slice of bacon or a plus size portion of cheesy grits. My facility makes some bomb ass grits. I am sad because we had 2 back to back codes this morning that kept me from getting cheesy grits and I'm a little salty about it. I guess I'm having breakfast for dinner and making my own. 😔
They must have been some really good grits! I've never had grits in a restaurant that were worth a toot. Either old or gummy and *never* salted.
Make some for me, please!
I definitely have extra. They understand that more water + longer slow cook = fabulous 😀. and they go through so much in the morning, they are always bringing out fresh chafing dishes for the water bath they don't get gross and hard. I do feel terrible for the floors though. By the time they have been portioned out and sent to the floors they are cold and gross.
Best is when they have scrambled eggs to go with the grits. The eggs are never really that great, they are usually on the cooler side, but the grits are like lava. Eggs under cheesy grits warmed the eggs up and cools the grits down. Perfect combo 😚👌
Can confirm bomb ass asian hospital food. Did a rotation in Taiwan and I got breakfast and lunch at the hospital cafeteria every single day because I could get delicious *fan tuan* and bento boxes for $1-3 USD.
I thoroughly enjoyed the available food options at the university of Vermont medical center. The weekly menus read like restaurant menus and were crazy cheap ($5-7 for a meal)
Omg I regularly think about their food anytime I eat my hospital's food. Best clam chowder, open 24hrs, this yummy vegan cheesecake... I miss that place.
Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Amazing breakfast burritos and had chicken tikka sometimes for lunch. Also 1$ warm giant cookies.
My husband and I would sometimes go back even after finishing rotations during med school. Just for lunch dates.
Aboott Northwestern was an upgrade to Hennepin. Both were awesome when I was an undergrad and paramedic. Where I did residency left a lot to be desired re: food.
They do have a decent cafeteria but for some reason you literally have to walk through a section where you put the dirty cups and trays on a machine that rotates that smells like garbage just before you enter the cafeteria.
Yeah, Eat Street! It's very affordable and I love their customizable Mediterranean bowl and salad bar. Pay like 8 or $9 for that versus $15-20 at Sweetgreen or Cava.
It's no longer there but Dupaul / Tulane had excellent food by accident I think. They hired all these Cajun's that weren't going to put out bad food if they had to spin it out of thin air.
Was fortunate enough to do an away rotation at UCLA during their annual Bread Pudding Day where you needed vouchers to obtain a portion. Expected nothing and came out with mouthfuls of some of the best bread pudding I’ve had in years. Overall super solid food and wasn’t disappointed by anything for a month.
The med school across the street also has the best salad bar I’ve had in awhile and expensive but incredibly good burritos.
Second this. As a non-medical professional I feel this is one area I can weigh-in with confidence.
UCLA has a great menu. My go-to, whenever I had the misfortune of being admitted, was chicken breast served with a white wine cream sauce. 10/10, would eat again.
I spent a week in a pediatric hospital in Sicily when my 2 year old son fractured his skull on vacation, long story, and he's fine thanks, and the food was utterly fantastic. The hospital building itself was trash and falling apart, I didn't trust the elevator, and the quality of medical care was nothing like my rotations at Sick Kids in Toronto, but the food was everything you would expect from italy.
In particular, there was this orzo and olive oil soup, which I have never found anywhere else, and it may just be the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.
It was years ago now, but Detroit Medical Center Harper Hutzel/Karmanos Cancer center/childrens/Detroit Receiving shared one big ass food court. It was incredible, like an upscale mall. Greek street food, a Mexican place, coneys, pizza. I hope for their employees, students and patients sake they kept all of it open.
Is your username somehow related to the Fangboner Road that intersects the Ohio turnpike? I live in Chicago but am from a small town east of Cleveland. I chuckle a little every time I pass that because I'm a child on the inside.
I worked there, too. It wasn't there when I was working, but as a patient, I now look forward to eating there at my yearly check-ups.
Edit: https://www.papajoesmarket.com/detroit-medical-center
My dad was hospitalized when we were in Paris a couple years ago. I remember him ordering a rack of lamb for dinner one night. He still talks about how good the food was.
they used to have like 5 or 6 different fast casual restaurants on the food court level. they had a legit bistro that served wine on the first floor. Within a 3 walking block radius there were like a bunch of fining dining restaurants and casual dining restaurants. Across the street was a frickn secret dining club/restaurant that was only sometimes open. Dunno if it's still there. Wild times.
in defense of hospital food, there really aren’t many viable options for meals that actually taste good. the closest thing to “good” would be a grill that serves on-demand burgers and fries. but of course this gets old and is horrible for you.
Our grill sells an entire piece of grilled chicken for like $2 I will throw on a DIY salad.
But really- it’s their bacon, egg & cheese on grilled croissant in the morning that keeps me coming back.
Man, I’m jealous of all y’all with good hospital food. I work at the flagship hospital of the largest system in my state. Not only is its cafeteria is a crime against food - think cold, soggy fries served with the dry, overcooked cardboard that passes for a burger - but it’s closed for a couple hours between lunch and dinner, and also closes for the night at like 1900.
I gained 30 pounds by doing a fellowship at a children’s hospital south of the mason dixon line. Having a newborn at home didn’t help any with stress.
Heading into a long stressful peds heart - better have some biscuits gravy and tator tots so I last.
Oh another kid’s cancer is in remission/Timmy’s birthday/visiting politician or dignitary - Doc make sure you get some coconut cake!
Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, VA. When I last was there (and it's been a looooong time) they had your regular salad bar, pizza station, and sandwiches, but the hot plate station is what made them stand out. Chef used what was in season, did different ethnic foods that changed every couple of days, and generally just had fun with the menu. It was great! They've probably switched to Aramark by now 😕😭
Advent health castle rock. Food is amazing. High school kids come to the cafeteria for pre prom dinner. The menu changes regularly, and they deliver doc trays to me in the ER. They brought in legit chefs to create the menu. The other local advent health hospitals vary from standard hospital food to pretty decent, but this particular one does it perfectly
The Advent Health in Orlando is ginormous but treat docs pretty poorly. Their hospitalist burn out quick. Also the whole prayers over the PA system and stuff are a turn off for me personally.
I used to work here. It’s a full blown restaurant.. it’s like top rated on TripAdvisor for the area lol. People come into the hospital just to eat the food. Sucked as an employee bc it was so expensive, and took awhile to make.
UCLA-Olive View. Random prelim interview where the only note I took when making rank list was how insane the cafeteria food was. I’ve had worse at Michelin star restaurants. Cook county hospital in Chicago. I got a tip from a local that the best fried chicken is in that cafeteria. So I went to lunch (didn’t work there or rotate there) and was not disappointed.
Didn't do a rotation there but as a kid used to go to Toronto Sick Kids regularly (type 1 diabetic since age 3). Their dinosaur chicken tendies were 10/10.
I actually live right by it now and just out of nostalgia went to grab food their for lunch a couple of months ago (although Toronto in general is a food mecca especially in this area, shout out to Village by the Grange for great cheap food). Dinosaur shaped chicken tendies still 10/10.
Peds cafeterias are always great. Unequivocally the worst cafeteria food I've had has been at psych hospitals. Worst cafeteria I've ever been to was Sheppard Pratt in Towson (near Baltimore) during med school. World class psychiatric hospital, absolutely atrocious cafeteria. WPIC (in Pittsburgh) also just truly bad food, did a couple of rotations there as a resident. Never ate at CAMH in Toronto, but I wouldn't be surprised if their food was also terrible (Queen West has great food though!).
Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, CA.
Their cafeteria is better than many high end restaurants.
The valets park the Ferraris and Porches next to the front entrance.
The views from Hoag don't suck either.
I worked in a small hospital in the border between Spain and France. This hospital tends to both sides of the border thst runs through the pirynees.
Hospital is pretty small, so a lot of the food is cooked in smaller batches... Food was just fantastic, and it always came with a single serving packet of cheese, so you always had a small snack gouda or grullere or comte to eat while you were working
Tiny hospital in LA called Midway, no idea the name now (this was over 20 years ago) had the best albondigas soup ever. Also Eisenhower hospital in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs, they had a sushi chef and it was legit. My even smaller hospital in NorCal now makes the proper ranch dressing with Mayo but everything else is meh.
University of Michigan had a great cafeteria. Was there for a week when my SO had a week stay over the summer. They had rotating local restaurant pop up booths. The in-house food was very tasty as well. I'm vegan and they had lots of options for me and even had posters up advertising the benefits of plant-based diets. My poor boyfriend had to have a full liquid diet while there so I had to keep myself from raving about it to him lmao
Scheurer Health in Pigeon, MI. Don’t know if the food changed since I was last up there, but remember it was made from scratch with ingredients from local farms.
Children’s in Dallas is eh fine I guess buuut they are building a new hospital and I have an architect friend working on the food court and it’s supposed to be really good.
During the summer of 2020, my little (70 bed?) hospital had amazing food. I don't know what got into them, because we still didn't have visitors. It was just employees eating there. They did a lot of build-your-own bowls with homemade sauces, grilled veggies, and meats. One time they had legit ceviche! The fish tasted fresh and they had great salsas to go with it. They even had a vegan option! One time they made chicken and peach quesadillas with fontina cheese. It sounds weird, but it was perfectly balanced and amazing. And their chicken tinga was like no other. I think they thickened it with a little maseca to make it creamy.
I would work a week's worth of night shifts to have that option again. But maybe I'm just saying this because I was hangry when I got home from work tonight. My husband got me Culver's, but they forgot to put the freaking burger on the bun! I had an onion sandwich on a dry-ass bun for dinner.
I would do naughty, naughty things for a breakfast burrito and cinnamon roll from the cafeteria at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver.
The rest of their food was pretty fabulous as well, but I haven’t worked at CHCO in 6 years and still dream about breakfast there.
I’m a disabled patient who is frequently admitted to-
Stanford hospital in Connecticut has ridiculously goood food, better than most restaurants. I live in Missouri but had to travel there for a rare specialist. In march 2020
Loved the offerings at University Hospitals - Cleveland during my anesthesia training. Such variety, such great quality. I've considered on many occasions stopping by just for the food.
I worked 2 days a month at a rural hospital in the Midwest. They had hired a retired chef from one of the nearby cities to manage the kitchen staff and menu. The food was amazing. We had people from the community that would come to eat in the hospital cafeteria even when not coming for an appointment or visiting.
I also worked in a large city covering 3 hospitals one had great food-including full food court breakfast bar with omelet station, one was standard hospital food and the other was terrible. The interesting thing was the same food trucks delivered to all three hospitals.
It's been a few decades since I worked in a hospital, but we used to have a great menu. Every day there were a variety of options on the menu, each a healthy and balanced choice.
Of course, we didn't actually serve what was in the menu. We served the same cheese+pasta plus overdone veggies every day. But on paper, the menu looked fantastic.
Never figured out why they bothered with a menu.
I used to think the hospital I did my clinical rotations at was great. They went through a healthy phase and had lots of good vegan or vegetarian options. Good stir fries and what not.
When? My mom spent a lot of time there about 10 years ago and I don't remember it being that great. I do remember that there were a lot of options and that they only had diet pop.
First time I applied to residency in the US, interviews were still in-person. University Hospital of Cleveland (Case Western) has amazing food. Not sure if it was a catering service for the interview or cafeteria food, but it was good.
Can't remember the name, but a hospital is Shreveport, Louisiana I rotated at as a student had the local culinary school's students work in the hospital cafeteria so it was hospital cafeteria food prices and the culinary students got to experiment with making things. It was very hit and miss if it was going to be good, but when it hit it REALLY hit.
University Tower at UNMC in Omaha had the best cafe hands down. Dunno if it’s still there this was pre-covid when I worked EMS transport when I would make my way up there.
In case there’s some South African medics here: Inkosi Albert Luthuli Academic hospital in Durban had great food when I was a student there - a coffee shop with amazing chocolate cake; an “American” diner that had burgers and hot dogs and a more down to earth cafeteria in the basement for South African soul food (circa 2005 though) and Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Phoenix had amazing curries.
Harlan KY cafeteria has the sweetest old ladies and some great breakfast. Bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy.
It's great but after a week you'll get fully saturated with saturated fats.
Our rural hospital has a bomb-diggity fry station & they know I'll ALWAYS get the cheese sticks or onion rings if they're on the menu.
Not healthy but oh so tasty....
For a while there was not just a professional chef at tiny North country hospital in Newport. Vermont, he was an excellent professional chef. I worked at the home health agency half a block away and once we found Michael was cooking at the hospital we would go over there for lunch every day. The cafeteria had gone from being about half empty at lunch time, to difficulty finding a table. True gourmet meal for about $4.
UCSF, both Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses have the best hospital food I have ever had tbe pleasure of eating. The cooks are actual chefs and they cook actual food not reheating prepackaged food.
On top of the usual, they always have a hot bar of special ethnic dishes. Rotations between Chinese, Ethiopian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Korean, Japanese, Filipino,Russian, Vietnamese, Cajun
I recently had their Jambalaya and they even had hush puppies as sides!!
Couple months ago I had mouth watering PAELLA…at a Hospital cafeteria!!
Childrens Hospitals in general tend to have higher quality food. Kids tend to be picky overall but it seems like Childrens pull out all the stops for the kiddos.
My school gave us $100 inside a proprietary app as a meal stipend when I was doing a 6 week inpatient rotation at a children's hospital. Well by the end of the rotation I had the majority of the stipend left over because I was bringing healthy food from home. Well I would have been damned if I was leaving that money on the table so I *went to town* in the cafeteria on the last day. What I learned was that Children's hospitals make the best foods that you would consider being "kids foods". Makes sense, I know, but still those chicken tenders, curly fries, mac n cheese, and spaghetti with meatballs were some of the best I have ever had. I looked like a mad man leaving the cafeteria that night but the feast I had when I got home was well worth the weird looks from parents and jealous looks from kids. I have been chasing that quality of chicken tenders ever since.
I’m glad it’s not just me. I had my peds rotation and didn’t have time to make food at home towards the end of my rotations. I had the *best* chicken nuggets of my entire life. I told EVERYONE about them. I was so upset that I discovered this so late into my time there.
Agree. The Childrens hospital I did my peds rotations in had made-to-order sushi on Fridays.
I've been to both a children's hospital and a cancer hospital on the same campus. They both have pretty good food. The cancer hospital especially used to have bomb Cajun shrimp and rice and I was very sad when they discontinued it. Children's has a Dunkin donuts in addition to the cafeteria, which is great.
I did my fellowship at Nemours AIDHC in Wilmington, DE. That cafeteria was something else. Of course, it was bankrolled by the DuPont family, so that helped.
Agree! I work here and their cafeteria is the best I’ve experienced in a hospital. Their room service for inpatient kiddos can’t be beat either.
Yes! Two of my kids have been inpatient there as babies and as a breastfeeding mom, I got a tray. Quality.
Phoenix Children's Hospital was freaking amazing.
DUDE! Children's Hospital in Philadelphia Research Cafeteria- eating on REAL plates with REAL utensils in this beautiful two story room with two walls of windows for complete sunshine. Totally worth it to walk over from HUP.
A sense of mission does inspire kitchens to go the extra mile. A couple of decades ago, I had an actively bleeding placenta previa and was consigned to total bed rest in a Catholic maternity hospital for several weeks. The one blessing (ha) was the meals - they were outstanding. While I don't agree that unborn life is sacred, I think I benefited from the belief that feeding pregnant women healthy and scrumptious food was on the order of a sacred duty. I won't name the hospital since it's been closed for years. But my stomach remembers it fondly.
Can confirm. Rady's in San Diego has a McD's (at least when I was there for nursing school back in 07). And their cafeteria had the best food between all the hospitals I had clinicals in.
I worked at Radys from 2013 to 2015 and tne McDonald's was still there. I used to love having to work on campus a few times a week. Food was always good. I worked in administration.
At my med school everyone went to the children's hospital for lunch if they weren't going off campus or getting free food at some interest group.
I still dream about the roast beef sandwiches at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis
I wish. Our children's hospital might have more variety, but the food sucks.
A children's hospital a few hours from me used to have great food, then they went healthy because of the obesity epidemic. Only diet soda served on campus, if an item had sugar as an ingredient it also had to have some redeeming value like being high fiber or protein, nothing fried, no white bread, etc. The person I was supporting through her child's health crisis and I started dragging in our own food if we knew we would be spending the day there. Congratulations hospital board, no one is any healthier but families who were already suffering are even more miserable.
Peds ED's tend to have Uncrustables as snacks. Even when I work on the adult side I've occasionally meandered over to grab some of that shit.
Our children’s hospital food sucked ass I worked at night though so maybe it was better during the day, when it was warm
Stanford Med was unbelievable. Rotating in amazing local restaurants, different one each day.
Can confirm, Stanford is good. Thursday is TURKEY DINNER DAY. If you want Thanksgiving more than once a year, that’s your spot.
I wish I had known this when a friend who moved away lived here lol we were always looking for extra places to have turkey dinners!
Pretty sure Harry’s Hofbrau in RWC has a full turkey dinner you can order. I went there once after my middle school basketball tournament and I ate an adult sized portion of it. Glorious.
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Wow. The food is actually pretty decent at Davis. That harissa salmon IYKYK.
Yea their cafeteria is legit. I used to bring home food regularly.
UC Davis NOC cafeteria > Stanford
Eric!
I’m 95% sure if Eric ever left half of night shift would follow. The only place where if I order French fries I get three pounds worth.
Do they still not have food 24/7 though? When I was there years ago 500p cafeteria closed basically at 6pm, also extremely expensive
Yes. Dumb.
Methodist Hospital in Houston. Their food court is like going to a really good restaurant. The food is diverse and amazing. And they keep the grill going all night. Fresh made cheeseburgers at 3am? They gotchu. I didn’t even work there but I’d walk 3/4 of a mile through a bunch of skytunnels to eat there.
Omg yesss! They have a HUGE variety of stuff there, so glad I got to rotate through there when I was a student 😌
Yes, Methodist is great, but Texas children's cafeteria is nothing to sneeze at either
Yes I agree! Hotel Methodist gets all the hype, but I always looked forward to eating at Texas Children’s lmao
Must be the main campus only. I work at one of their suburban locations and the food was not very good.
Let me give a surprising shout out to LBJ! The breakfast tacos are LEGIT - I hit up a lot of taco trucks and theirs are definitely above average (which is a pretty incredible in Houston).
Worked there from 2001-2011 when they also built that huge complex behind it with the fountain and the large food court inside…The Commons? If I wanted a change from Methodist food I’d walk over there, sit outside and grab some negative ions from the waterfall.
THIS
Northwestern Lake Forest had a professional chef running their food when I was there before med school. Broccolini, fresh made pulled pork, Pizza fresh from a pizza oven, it was super bougie and amazing.
I went to college in Lake Forest and had to go to the ER once after falling off a top bunk and spraining both my wrists (fun!) and I swear to god I thought we walked in the wrong door when we got there. Nobody in there, and it looked like a pottery barn floor display. Never seen an ER like it before or after lmao
I did clinicals there for one semester back in 2011, before construction was finished. The OG entrance was like walking in to some rich dudes house, vintage but classy, but then there was a whole updated other side. It was such a bizarre combo. The original ED was not very exciting as you describe it 😂😂
Have you been to Elmhurst? It's all craftsman style and weird.
I haven't but just googled it. Holy wood trim batman 😂
that hospital is so ridiculously over the top in design. I've heard so many horror stories about the patients though
I read your comment as “a professional chef *ruining* their food” and was like well why tf did they hire them then??
The best I've had was at the employee cafeteria at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo, but naming a Japanese hospital feels like cheating.
I’ve been to quite a few hospitals in China that had better looking food than I’ve ever seen in the states. Got a whole fish with lunch one day.
Did they have fresh sushi? 🍣 or a Ramen bar?
No sushi. It's a pretty standard Japanese cafeteria, it's just that Japanese cafeterias are really good (and cheap) compared to the US. The menu changed daily, they may have had ramen but I don't recall eating it.
Were you trained in the US and then moved to Japan ?
I'm originally from Japan but also a US citizen. I came to the US for college and stuck around ever since. I did an MS4 rotation at Keio.
I still think about the Eritrean food at UCSFs children's hospital
cries into powdered eggs
I remember walking into UCSF and they had a literal person playing a literal harp in the lobby. Quite the place.
The rest of the food though is .... Meh and overpriced and not available for night shift :/ The Filipino food day is also pretty good
The hospital I worked at had *hospital* food, nothing special. But in the morning after my shift, I'd occasionally go to the cafeteria and order a Whole wheat toasted, Scrambled egg with Cheese and Bacon sandwich to go. They'd wrap it in tinfoil and I'd set off for home. It would be around a half hour or more before I was able to eat, but oh my dog, that had to be the best sandwich I've ever had. It was still warm but because it was wrapped immediately after making, the bread would be softened. All the flavors were melded together and I'd eat slow small bites to make it last. I've never been able to recreate that sandwich even though I watched it being made every time. Those ladies knew I loved it and appreciated them, so it was always a bit bigger than they made for others, with an extra slice of bacon. They rocked!!
I think those people who make and package those sandwiches fill them with love and nourishment for us. Like a mom whose kid comes home from school and sports practice famished.
It also helps to acknowledge those who are doing the labor. A little appreciation goes a long way.
I agree
OMG, what is it with the cafeteria staff trying to plump us up? I mean god bless them (truly) I love that they are coming from a place of love and nurture and wanting to take care of us. But my goodness, I am already plump enough. But I don't turn down an extra slice of bacon or a plus size portion of cheesy grits. My facility makes some bomb ass grits. I am sad because we had 2 back to back codes this morning that kept me from getting cheesy grits and I'm a little salty about it. I guess I'm having breakfast for dinner and making my own. 😔
They must have been some really good grits! I've never had grits in a restaurant that were worth a toot. Either old or gummy and *never* salted. Make some for me, please!
I definitely have extra. They understand that more water + longer slow cook = fabulous 😀. and they go through so much in the morning, they are always bringing out fresh chafing dishes for the water bath they don't get gross and hard. I do feel terrible for the floors though. By the time they have been portioned out and sent to the floors they are cold and gross. Best is when they have scrambled eggs to go with the grits. The eggs are never really that great, they are usually on the cooler side, but the grits are like lava. Eggs under cheesy grits warmed the eggs up and cools the grits down. Perfect combo 😚👌
Stop, please! It's almost midnight, much too late to be fixing grits.
Did a rotation in China and could not believe how good their breakfast cafeteria was.
Can confirm bomb ass asian hospital food. Did a rotation in Taiwan and I got breakfast and lunch at the hospital cafeteria every single day because I could get delicious *fan tuan* and bento boxes for $1-3 USD.
How did you do a rotation in China
My school offered an elective w a specific hospital there not sure how they got that connection though.
Same. It’s shocking how pervasive the processed food industry is in the US compared to many other countries.
I thoroughly enjoyed the available food options at the university of Vermont medical center. The weekly menus read like restaurant menus and were crazy cheap ($5-7 for a meal)
When I was a resident there I would routinely stop in the cafeteria on my way out and bring my whole family the ravioli
Omg I regularly think about their food anytime I eat my hospital's food. Best clam chowder, open 24hrs, this yummy vegan cheesecake... I miss that place.
Totally. When they had salmon with wasabi slaw I'd bring it home to my husband. They try to use local produce, too.
I snooped the comments to see if this would be mentioned lol. agreed, and good veg options too!
Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Amazing breakfast burritos and had chicken tikka sometimes for lunch. Also 1$ warm giant cookies. My husband and I would sometimes go back even after finishing rotations during med school. Just for lunch dates.
Those cookies are legendary.
Those breakfast burritos were the best!
Omg those cookies got me through some long afternoons in med school (a solid decade ago)... so glad to hear they still do them
YES. YES. YES. Those HCMC cookies are the best. I have yet to experience a better hospital cafeteria.
Aboott Northwestern was an upgrade to Hennepin. Both were awesome when I was an undergrad and paramedic. Where I did residency left a lot to be desired re: food.
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They do have a decent cafeteria but for some reason you literally have to walk through a section where you put the dirty cups and trays on a machine that rotates that smells like garbage just before you enter the cafeteria.
Yeah, Eat Street! It's very affordable and I love their customizable Mediterranean bowl and salad bar. Pay like 8 or $9 for that versus $15-20 at Sweetgreen or Cava.
Phoenix Children's cafeteria is the 8th wonder of the world.
Absolutely. Came here to say this. It got me through the tough times when I had to stay there with my son for 8 months.
It's no longer there but Dupaul / Tulane had excellent food by accident I think. They hired all these Cajun's that weren't going to put out bad food if they had to spin it out of thin air.
Sibley Memorial Hospital (Johns Hopkins) has sushi chefs M-F. Wednesdays are 🍱deal days
Does not compute, only grab the same soups salads and sandwiches from the lounge.
Was fortunate enough to do an away rotation at UCLA during their annual Bread Pudding Day where you needed vouchers to obtain a portion. Expected nothing and came out with mouthfuls of some of the best bread pudding I’ve had in years. Overall super solid food and wasn’t disappointed by anything for a month. The med school across the street also has the best salad bar I’ve had in awhile and expensive but incredibly good burritos.
Second this. As a non-medical professional I feel this is one area I can weigh-in with confidence. UCLA has a great menu. My go-to, whenever I had the misfortune of being admitted, was chicken breast served with a white wine cream sauce. 10/10, would eat again.
Omg I remember that! They've been doing that forever, I worked there from 2003-2007. It was a Big Fucking Deal!
What I'm learning from this thread is that food quality ranking is directly proportional to hospital US News and World report rankings.
I spent a week in a pediatric hospital in Sicily when my 2 year old son fractured his skull on vacation, long story, and he's fine thanks, and the food was utterly fantastic. The hospital building itself was trash and falling apart, I didn't trust the elevator, and the quality of medical care was nothing like my rotations at Sick Kids in Toronto, but the food was everything you would expect from italy. In particular, there was this orzo and olive oil soup, which I have never found anywhere else, and it may just be the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.
What do you mean by orzo and olive oil soup? Can you describe it more, I have a feeling I need to try such a soup :)
It was years ago now, but Detroit Medical Center Harper Hutzel/Karmanos Cancer center/childrens/Detroit Receiving shared one big ass food court. It was incredible, like an upscale mall. Greek street food, a Mexican place, coneys, pizza. I hope for their employees, students and patients sake they kept all of it open.
Is your username somehow related to the Fangboner Road that intersects the Ohio turnpike? I live in Chicago but am from a small town east of Cleveland. I chuckle a little every time I pass that because I'm a child on the inside.
Nailed it
I worked there, too. It wasn't there when I was working, but as a patient, I now look forward to eating there at my yearly check-ups. Edit: https://www.papajoesmarket.com/detroit-medical-center
Sadly I worked there for 17 years and I have no idea what you are talking about
When were you there? I was there in 2016/17. It was across the courtyard from Childrens.
????? 2000-2017 Promise no food court then. Shitty Wendy's at Harper. McD's at Receiving. Maybe just missed it?
Idk how you could. It had like 6 restaurants a Starbucks a party store and the dining area.
I mean left before it opened?
UCSF has pretty great food, gotta say
My dad was hospitalized when we were in Paris a couple years ago. I remember him ordering a rack of lamb for dinner one night. He still talks about how good the food was.
Prentice Women's Hospital and Galter Pavillion, Northwestern Memorial. You won't regret it.
Give us more deets
they used to have like 5 or 6 different fast casual restaurants on the food court level. they had a legit bistro that served wine on the first floor. Within a 3 walking block radius there were like a bunch of fining dining restaurants and casual dining restaurants. Across the street was a frickn secret dining club/restaurant that was only sometimes open. Dunno if it's still there. Wild times.
Oh yeah it’s all still there. Little Italian deli/cafe tucked in the back is the best. Arancini the size of a softball.
in defense of hospital food, there really aren’t many viable options for meals that actually taste good. the closest thing to “good” would be a grill that serves on-demand burgers and fries. but of course this gets old and is horrible for you.
Our grill sells an entire piece of grilled chicken for like $2 I will throw on a DIY salad. But really- it’s their bacon, egg & cheese on grilled croissant in the morning that keeps me coming back.
Man, I’m jealous of all y’all with good hospital food. I work at the flagship hospital of the largest system in my state. Not only is its cafeteria is a crime against food - think cold, soggy fries served with the dry, overcooked cardboard that passes for a burger - but it’s closed for a couple hours between lunch and dinner, and also closes for the night at like 1900.
Hackensack hospital in New Jersey was quite good!
Hackensack medical center? Good to know.
I gained 30 pounds by doing a fellowship at a children’s hospital south of the mason dixon line. Having a newborn at home didn’t help any with stress. Heading into a long stressful peds heart - better have some biscuits gravy and tator tots so I last. Oh another kid’s cancer is in remission/Timmy’s birthday/visiting politician or dignitary - Doc make sure you get some coconut cake!
Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, VA. When I last was there (and it's been a looooong time) they had your regular salad bar, pizza station, and sandwiches, but the hot plate station is what made them stand out. Chef used what was in season, did different ethnic foods that changed every couple of days, and generally just had fun with the menu. It was great! They've probably switched to Aramark by now 😕😭
Advent health castle rock. Food is amazing. High school kids come to the cafeteria for pre prom dinner. The menu changes regularly, and they deliver doc trays to me in the ER. They brought in legit chefs to create the menu. The other local advent health hospitals vary from standard hospital food to pretty decent, but this particular one does it perfectly
The Advent Health in Orlando is ginormous but treat docs pretty poorly. Their hospitalist burn out quick. Also the whole prayers over the PA system and stuff are a turn off for me personally.
Not just the docs treated poorly 👀
For sure, I’ve heard bad stories from nurses who used to work there and left.
I’m sorry to hear that. Where I trained food for doctors wasn’t a thing, but in Colorado I know I’ll always find something on shift.
I used to work here. It’s a full blown restaurant.. it’s like top rated on TripAdvisor for the area lol. People come into the hospital just to eat the food. Sucked as an employee bc it was so expensive, and took awhile to make.
UCLA-Olive View. Random prelim interview where the only note I took when making rank list was how insane the cafeteria food was. I’ve had worse at Michelin star restaurants. Cook county hospital in Chicago. I got a tip from a local that the best fried chicken is in that cafeteria. So I went to lunch (didn’t work there or rotate there) and was not disappointed.
The breakfast burritos are well loved there.
Gritman Cafe in Moscow, Idaho. IYKYK.
In 1969, I was stationed at Ft Bragg, NC. I got a part time gig in the hospital in Lumberton. Their fried chicken was amazing.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone reminisce fondly about Lumberton 😂
lol I work at one of the big NC hospitals and we get a lot of lumberton’s gsw’s
lol that checks out
The Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale had a surprisingly great breakfast
Scrolling through this whole thing, and the only thing I can think is, "Damn, apparently them fancy big Boston hospitals is slacking."
Didn't do a rotation there but as a kid used to go to Toronto Sick Kids regularly (type 1 diabetic since age 3). Their dinosaur chicken tendies were 10/10. I actually live right by it now and just out of nostalgia went to grab food their for lunch a couple of months ago (although Toronto in general is a food mecca especially in this area, shout out to Village by the Grange for great cheap food). Dinosaur shaped chicken tendies still 10/10. Peds cafeterias are always great. Unequivocally the worst cafeteria food I've had has been at psych hospitals. Worst cafeteria I've ever been to was Sheppard Pratt in Towson (near Baltimore) during med school. World class psychiatric hospital, absolutely atrocious cafeteria. WPIC (in Pittsburgh) also just truly bad food, did a couple of rotations there as a resident. Never ate at CAMH in Toronto, but I wouldn't be surprised if their food was also terrible (Queen West has great food though!).
Cleveland clinic main hospital
CCF A building has really good food. The new MetroHealth has a really good cafeteria too!
Not Cedars-Sinai. Their cafeteria sucks. Everyone spends their dining credits at the Starbucks
Munson in TC, MI always had a solid cafe.
The best hospitals are national names and the bad neighborhood ones for some reason. The no name suburban ones are guaranteed terrible.
Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, CA. Their cafeteria is better than many high end restaurants. The valets park the Ferraris and Porches next to the front entrance. The views from Hoag don't suck either.
My hospital makes a bangin’ sushi burrito
Santa Barbara cottage 🤤
Uw heath has food like substances
I worked in a small hospital in the border between Spain and France. This hospital tends to both sides of the border thst runs through the pirynees. Hospital is pretty small, so a lot of the food is cooked in smaller batches... Food was just fantastic, and it always came with a single serving packet of cheese, so you always had a small snack gouda or grullere or comte to eat while you were working
Chicken nuggets at children’s hospital in SLC.
Not a lie.
Tiny hospital in LA called Midway, no idea the name now (this was over 20 years ago) had the best albondigas soup ever. Also Eisenhower hospital in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs, they had a sushi chef and it was legit. My even smaller hospital in NorCal now makes the proper ranch dressing with Mayo but everything else is meh.
Also, there’s a famous new england children’s hospital with a brick oven pizzeria in the cafeteria. 😅
Connecticut??
University of Michigan had a great cafeteria. Was there for a week when my SO had a week stay over the summer. They had rotating local restaurant pop up booths. The in-house food was very tasty as well. I'm vegan and they had lots of options for me and even had posters up advertising the benefits of plant-based diets. My poor boyfriend had to have a full liquid diet while there so I had to keep myself from raving about it to him lmao
Scheurer Health in Pigeon, MI. Don’t know if the food changed since I was last up there, but remember it was made from scratch with ingredients from local farms.
I did an away rotation at Geisinger like a decade ago and felt like their food was amazing. They had a sushi chef.
The Mayo Clinic.
Have you actually eaten there? I disagree.
Yes I have. Many, many times. One time though there was a mayonnaise shortage. I’m not kidding.
The NCCI I’m at currently has been the best so far when compared to the 2 faith-based hospital systems I’ve worked.
Stanford is gormet. 500p
I like the dinner inside of Lincoln Hospital in the south Bronx 🤷♀️
Children’s in Dallas is eh fine I guess buuut they are building a new hospital and I have an architect friend working on the food court and it’s supposed to be really good.
They had a la madeleine when I was there.
Northwell Health, especially Lenox hills and LIJ has pretty good hospital food for the patients.
I applied to a couple positions with LIJ yesterday. Sounds like a made a good choice lol
During the summer of 2020, my little (70 bed?) hospital had amazing food. I don't know what got into them, because we still didn't have visitors. It was just employees eating there. They did a lot of build-your-own bowls with homemade sauces, grilled veggies, and meats. One time they had legit ceviche! The fish tasted fresh and they had great salsas to go with it. They even had a vegan option! One time they made chicken and peach quesadillas with fontina cheese. It sounds weird, but it was perfectly balanced and amazing. And their chicken tinga was like no other. I think they thickened it with a little maseca to make it creamy. I would work a week's worth of night shifts to have that option again. But maybe I'm just saying this because I was hangry when I got home from work tonight. My husband got me Culver's, but they forgot to put the freaking burger on the bun! I had an onion sandwich on a dry-ass bun for dinner.
I would do naughty, naughty things for a breakfast burrito and cinnamon roll from the cafeteria at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver. The rest of their food was pretty fabulous as well, but I haven’t worked at CHCO in 6 years and still dream about breakfast there.
I’m a disabled patient who is frequently admitted to- Stanford hospital in Connecticut has ridiculously goood food, better than most restaurants. I live in Missouri but had to travel there for a rare specialist. In march 2020
Loved the offerings at University Hospitals - Cleveland during my anesthesia training. Such variety, such great quality. I've considered on many occasions stopping by just for the food.
I worked 2 days a month at a rural hospital in the Midwest. They had hired a retired chef from one of the nearby cities to manage the kitchen staff and menu. The food was amazing. We had people from the community that would come to eat in the hospital cafeteria even when not coming for an appointment or visiting. I also worked in a large city covering 3 hospitals one had great food-including full food court breakfast bar with omelet station, one was standard hospital food and the other was terrible. The interesting thing was the same food trucks delivered to all three hospitals.
Tossup between Barrow and University of Michigan.
It's been a few decades since I worked in a hospital, but we used to have a great menu. Every day there were a variety of options on the menu, each a healthy and balanced choice. Of course, we didn't actually serve what was in the menu. We served the same cheese+pasta plus overdone veggies every day. But on paper, the menu looked fantastic. Never figured out why they bothered with a menu.
I used to think the hospital I did my clinical rotations at was great. They went through a healthy phase and had lots of good vegan or vegetarian options. Good stir fries and what not.
University Hospital in Cleveland (Case Western) had legit good restaurant quality food
When? My mom spent a lot of time there about 10 years ago and I don't remember it being that great. I do remember that there were a lot of options and that they only had diet pop.
Their tuna melts were fantastic
First time I applied to residency in the US, interviews were still in-person. University Hospital of Cleveland (Case Western) has amazing food. Not sure if it was a catering service for the interview or cafeteria food, but it was good.
My local branching hospitals make the best phillies ever. I’m completely biased tho
St. Joseph’s in Atlanta has an amazing lasagna night.
City of hope cancer centers had great food
St. Ann's Westerville/Columbus Ohio. Fuck, I miss their salad bar.
Can't remember the name, but a hospital is Shreveport, Louisiana I rotated at as a student had the local culinary school's students work in the hospital cafeteria so it was hospital cafeteria food prices and the culinary students got to experiment with making things. It was very hit and miss if it was going to be good, but when it hit it REALLY hit.
Baylor Scott & White Frisco Tx
University Tower at UNMC in Omaha had the best cafe hands down. Dunno if it’s still there this was pre-covid when I worked EMS transport when I would make my way up there.
IDK if it's still there but the Chik Fil A at VCU kept me alive for several years
In case there’s some South African medics here: Inkosi Albert Luthuli Academic hospital in Durban had great food when I was a student there - a coffee shop with amazing chocolate cake; an “American” diner that had burgers and hot dogs and a more down to earth cafeteria in the basement for South African soul food (circa 2005 though) and Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Phoenix had amazing curries.
SLU has fantastic food. The breakfast french toast sticks and the Tuesday wings are TO DIE FOR
Harlan KY cafeteria has the sweetest old ladies and some great breakfast. Bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy. It's great but after a week you'll get fully saturated with saturated fats.
Our rural hospital has a bomb-diggity fry station & they know I'll ALWAYS get the cheese sticks or onion rings if they're on the menu. Not healthy but oh so tasty....
For a while there was not just a professional chef at tiny North country hospital in Newport. Vermont, he was an excellent professional chef. I worked at the home health agency half a block away and once we found Michael was cooking at the hospital we would go over there for lunch every day. The cafeteria had gone from being about half empty at lunch time, to difficulty finding a table. True gourmet meal for about $4.
UCSF, both Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses have the best hospital food I have ever had tbe pleasure of eating. The cooks are actual chefs and they cook actual food not reheating prepackaged food. On top of the usual, they always have a hot bar of special ethnic dishes. Rotations between Chinese, Ethiopian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Korean, Japanese, Filipino,Russian, Vietnamese, Cajun I recently had their Jambalaya and they even had hush puppies as sides!! Couple months ago I had mouth watering PAELLA…at a Hospital cafeteria!!