A Tour of Hampshire

(c. UMass Dining)

Jordan greets me promptly at 6:30. I've trekked down to Southwest from Orchard Hill, and the food better be worth it. I have experienced all of the dining commons at UMass except for Hampshire. We head up a flight of stairs and swipe in. Tonight is a celebration of Black History Month, and the entrees include southern fried chicken, fried catfish filets, peanut soup, and sweet potato pie. A local high school group plays jazz music, which permeates the DC. This is a rarity, Jordan tells me; it is usually Berkshire that has themed events.

As the piece de resistance of UMass dining, Berkshire is bright, shiny, and modern. Hampshire, by comparison, is dark and dingy. So why, with Berkshire just a few steps away, would anyone ever chose to dine at Hampshire?

"Hampshire is definitely the most underrated DC," says Jordan as we walk past the entrees, stir-fry station, and hot dog and hamburger station in the first room. "I usually come here twice a week for lunch. It's much less crowded during peak hours than Berkshire. It's more relaxed."

Hampshire can best be described as a maze. One wrong step, and you're in the kitchens. Seating areas are scattered, and I wonder how I will ever find my way back to our table. "The set up and design are annoying if you're not used to it," Jordan admits.

We pass salad bars, a soup station, a chicken caesar salad bar, a breakfast table, fruits, and desserts on our way to the next room, which offers pizza, pasta, and a deli station. The deli station is Jordan's favorite aspect of Hampshire dining; it offers more options than the deli at Berkshire, and at lunch it has paninis, burritos, and fries. "It's the most popular station for lunch, and the set up is really convenient," says Jordan.

There are definitely trade-offs between Berkshire and Hampshire. Berkshire has late-night, but it doesn't open until 11 am. So if you want breakfast in Southwest, Hampshire is the place to go. It also has breakfast on the run, which is the breakfast version of the popular grab n' go.

Overall, "the dining halls over here are better," Jordan says. Having lived in Central for her first two years at UMass, she has spent her share of time at Franklin and Worcester, the DCs for the Central, Orchard Hill, Northeast, and Sylvan residential areas. The food choices at Hampshire and Berkshire are comparable, and the best part is, as Jordan notes, there's no hill to walk up when you're done!