Does anyone else ever ponder the major differences between Frank and the Edge? True, both are dining halls on the same small campus, but that’s where the similarities end. Why does the Edge have much better quality food than Frank? They both have the same food distributor and are prepared by the same company. Is it possible that they have much better chefs at the Edge and these chefs are given better food to work with? Why does Frank get the short end of the stick?

Let’s start with salad; not only does the Edge have better, drier lettuce, but the carrots are cut differently. What’s up with that? If you ask me, I prefer the round cut of carrots slices as opposed to the whole carrots that appear rather jarring to my salad’s normal d?ecor. I also enjoy the delicious honey-lime dressing that the Edge has to offer. In Frank’s defense, I must say that the Asian-ginger dressing there is to die for. While the dressings are a toss-up (ha), the salad bar at the Edge is far superior to Frank.

Moving on to fruit. The fruit at the Edge is much bigger than the fruit at Frank. I swear, last year I had a banana that was twice the size of a normal banana and about four times the size of the bananas at Frank. Same with the apples and the plums from Frank-they’re possibly from some special tree that produces mammoth fruit in the Edge’s backyard. If you want your daily dose of vitamin C, I suggest you take a trip down to the Edge.

Now that we’ve discussed fruits and veggies, let’s take a trip down the food line to the main courses. The other night the Edge had those cute little trays of lasagna. They put it in little individual serving trays that are designed for convenience and stay warm much longer than the drafty serving dishes that sit for long periods of time under the fluorescent heat lamps at Frank. I look forward to “London Broil” nights at the Edge. Frank only serves sliced meat on themed nights and holidays. I don’t know about you, but I love steak. Sure, it’s not the same four-star quality filet mignon that can be found at an NYC steakhouse, but for cafeteria food, I can’t complain.

Last on the menu is dessert. I don’t know if my taste buds are off or I’m imagining things, but the frozen yogurt at the Edge is way better. The Edge serves food of superior quality and when it comes to Fro-Yo, there is no comparison. The Edge wins by a landslide.

For those early morning pick-me-up or that late night “I’m going to be up for hours, how in the world am I going to stay awake” calories, I highly suggest the French vanilla coffee. My personal favorite combo is three-fourths French vanilla, one-fourth hot chocolate. The combination is guaranteed to give you that buzz necessary to stay awake. This is why I’m glad that Frank is open earlier and later than the Edge. However, on a Saturday and especially Sunday morning after a weekend of partying and (ahem) drinking, big waffles at the Edge are the perfect fix. You know you haven’t done any work all weekend and Sunday is going to be crunch day. You have to forget that hangover, so pop some Advil, chug some water and head down to the Edge for that delicious weekend breakfast. As I am sure you all know, the Edge breakfast can only be compared to late-night stops at Slices for that delectable piece of pizza.

So Frank might be tough sometimes, but life could be worse; my uncle once told me that his university served “minute steaks” that were dry, grey and rubbery. Since the students couldn’t eat them, they chucked them at each other in the dining room. Colgate kids have it pretty good concerning dining options. And don’t forget that Frank and the Edge both have food accessible for weight-watchers and health-food nuts.