Lakeside Dining Hall now offers Upscale Exhibition, a menu including marinated steaks, baked potatoes, sautéed shrimp and fresh green beans. The new eating option is available Fridays from 10:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

“The idea behind the menu is fairly simple,” said Shirley Miles, senior location manager for Lakeside Dining. “We wanted to get more student requests honored. We are here to make the students happy as much as possible and to accommodate some of their wants. This menu is just like one of our theme event menus; it is just upscale.”

Kelsey Faust, marketing coordinator for Bama Dining, said the upscale dining began this semester because students voiced a high demand for a renewal of the menu that was offered at Bama Bound sessions.

Customer feedback from online surveys caught Bama Dining employees’ attention, Faust said, and that led them to instate Upscale Exhibition.

Though the menu is only available Friday, Miles said preparation begins mid-week.

“All of our steaks come in fresh and we hand-cut them ourselves,” Miles said. “Then we marinate them starting on Wednesday.”

On average, Faust said, the exhibition attracts 450 people more than normally seen during the lunch period. As a result, lines have grown as the exhibition has caught students’ attention.

“Students seem to love the menu, and we have not received any complaints about the wait time,” Miles said. “But we are going to start a double line starting this Friday.”

However, Andy Lindenberg, a sophomore majoring in art and business, said the steaks were sub-par.

“They’re really thin-cut and way too well-done,” Lindenberg said. “It didn’t taste like much.”

Dylan North, a freshman majoring in music, said he thinks traffic at the exhibition will remain limited to the number of people who regularly dine at Lakeside.

“I can’t imagine anyone from Tutwiler saying ‘Oh, they’re having a gourmet thing at Lakeside, so let’s go,’” North said.

Clay Greene, a freshman majoring in English, said he was impressed with the food selection.

“It was pretty good,” Greene said. “It was toward the end of it when I went, but many of my friends who went there earlier said it was good.… It was pretty nice to see shrimp, steak and potatoes being served at Lakeside.”

If You Go

What: Upscale Exhibition

Where: Lakeside Dining Hall

When: Fridays 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.