When a new dining location opens up on campus, there’s no excuse not to head over and see what all the hubbub is about.

Market Pollock opened last week at the former location of The Mix at Pollock Commons. The convenience store received a much-needed facelift and a slew of other renovations, including upgrades to its kitchen. That said, we sent some of our staffers over to give Market Pollock’s brand-new menu items a try.

Matt DiSanto

I ordered the distinctly-American “Cheesesteak Pasta” — a heaping serving of cavatappi pasta topped with shaved beef, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and alfredo sauce. The pasta itself was cooked perfectly al dente. However, that was about the only thing I liked about the dish. The sauce was quite watery and offered little taste, while the “shaved” beef reminded me more of a chopped-up hamburger than that of Philly’s finest culinary offering.

I paired the pasta with Market Pollock’s “Garlic Sticks.” The side dish only ran me $1.99 and actually went quite well with the pasta. It provided a nice crunch and garlic flavor, but wasn’t really the “sticks” as advertised.

While the meal left a bit to be desired, you get what you pay for, and the minimalist price tag makes Market Pollock a nice addition to the dorm-life dinner rotation.

Rory Pelella

I want to preface this by saying I am not a salad person, at all. But considering the fact that there were none of the classic Mix burgers on the menu, I opted for the “White Bean & Prosciutto Salad,” which came with spinach, roasted red peppers, pesto, and grilled chicken. Overall, this concoction was tasty and definitely filling, thanks to all the protein mixed in. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t leave slightly underwhelmed and reminiscing about what the Mix once was.

You definitely can’t go wrong with the tater tots, though. They were crunchy and delicious and served as a nice distraction from the lackluster salad.

Will Pegler

Market Pollock definitely has plenty of options, my favorite of which is the tater tots. These tots offer plenty of crunch and flavor to just about any meal you’re eating at any time of day, and are quite frankly a staple of college dining.

For my main course, I ordered the “Classic Mac N Cheese.” While the pasta was pretty good, I just didn’t feel like there was enough cheese on it. Lastly, the chicken fingers were a solid addition to my meal. The white meat was juicy and tender, and the breading added more flavor and a bit of crunch.

Overall, my experience at Market Pollock was a pretty good one. The store definitely has a few kinks to work out, but I expect it to be considered one of the better and cheapest on-campus dining locations in the near future.

Ryen Gailey

As a student without a meal plan, I really wanted to see if this would be worth paying full price. To do so, I ordered the “Vegetable Arugula Salad” with tater tots and garlic sticks as sides.

The first thing I noticed was the unique selection of offerings. The items weren’t as basic and redundant as the ones in Market East. However, some of the options that I would have wanted to try weren’t available and the food took a long time to come out. I understand that Market Pollock just opened, but orders that were 15 numbers after mine came out before mine.

The food’s presentation was very classy — especially the salad, which came with a wide array of vegetables and herbs including beets, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, tarragon, and baby arugula. However, if there was any dressing on it, it didn’t seem like nearly enough. The dish was pretty bland and didn’t taste like much.

My side of tater tots was the same as the nice, crispy tots I ate religiously last year at Findlay Commons. My favorite part of the meal was the garlic sticks, which ended up being the food that held up my order. Although they were more like garlic croutons, they have great flavor and were appropriate for the $1.99 price.

As an off-campus student, I don’t think I see myself making my way out to Pollock to eat this again. However, Market Pollock seems great for the folks living in the dorms (and on a budget).

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Overall, Market Pollock’s new menu serves as a nice alternative to the usual on-campus food scene. While some of the pasta dishes and salads left us wanting more, the cheap price tag will definitely be popular with hungry students. Once the kitchen irons out some kinks and polishes its craft, Market Pollock should become an on-campus favorite for years to come.