Chew on This:
Blink Bonnie offers food at reasonable prices

-- Margaret Pribel

Did you know that Metropolitan State University has a Scottish cafeteria? It’s on the St. Paul Campus, down on the second lower level of New Main on the north side of the building. Blink Bonnie is its name and the current company running the cafeteria.

The first thing I noticed was the strange lighting. The seating is in the front and there are small lights that might be used in track lighting suspended from the ceiling that don’t necessarily correspond to the tables and seating. It’s dark and cave-like. I know the Blink Bonnie people aren’t responsible for the lighting since it was like this with the previous company, but it seriously needs help. The chairs are upholstered and some look as though two-year olds ate on them with some substance ground into the fabric and I didn’t want to sit on it.

The atmosphere is like a surreal coffeehouse. Most tables harbor last-minute studiers and their laptops quietly clicking away.

I went to check this establishment out in the evening before class a few times. Only one person was working; the service was a bit slow and the soft drink dispenser was out of ice two weeks in a row.

The menu is a bit ambitious to offer espressos, lattes and smoothies along with made-to-order sandwiches when they only have one person working. The prices are reasonable for student budgets. They offer a daily soup-and- sandwich combination with a fountain drink for $6.50.

The soup choices tend not to be very dieter-friendly. I accidentally tried the tortellini soup that had I had been told was the tortilla soup before ordering. It was thick and cream-based and hard to taste through the guilt. Another time I ordered the chicken noodle and specified that I didn’t want it starchy, instead it was thickened with corn starch as it was still clear but thick. It tasted all right but I never understand the need to thicken a broth-based soup. Their soup warmer claims to be Campbell’s but I’m not so sure that it is.

Sandwiches are Blink Bonnie’s focus. Those of us watching our carbohydrate intake are limited to the salads or we can choose the whole wheat or low-carb wraps for the odd upcharge of 63 cents more. The average sandwich fiend should be satisfied at this place. The bread is baked in an oven behind the cash register and there are four choices of breads.

The menu is hard to read because there isn’t an obvious grouping of ingredients. The only easy-to-figure-out section is the hot sandwich group. If you want, say, turkey, you will have to meander through the menu seeking it out through all the Scottish-named creations. The cashier/cook was as helpful as she could be considering how busy she was. There were several things she said she didn’t know and that scared me. How is a dieter supposed to make good choices when the restaurant doesn’t provide information about the ingredients used in their food? How does a place serve people with food allergies? Am I blowing my diet in one meal?

When I ordered the Highlander sandwich and asked about the dressing I was told it was fat-free. I got a to-go menu and it says, “Fat-free, toasted-sesame dressing.” Oxymoronic isn’t it? Sesame is full of oil. The Highlander was a decent enough sandwich, but again I was faced with the guilt from the oil I could see soaking into the bread. Another time, I had the Loch Ness with what was supposed to be citrus tuna; I didn’t notice a hint of citrus flavor.

Ironically, there is a lighted advertising board in the cafeteria space where McDonalds’ dollar menu is advertised. Just another place I will try to avoid, but will use in a pinch. Sorry to say the report card here says "needs improvements."

Blink Bonnie is open 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday—Thursday and 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Friday—Saturday.