Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Editor-In-Chief
Is there anything more delicious than a meal from the lunch line after a long day of classes and work? Short answer: absolutely yes.
School Lunch is historically mediocre at best and there are a thousand different places most students would rather be eating. Not to mention that the lines are so abominably long that half the time you only get your food with five minutes left. With that said, however, school lunch can be incredibly affordable and even reliable at times. Such is the case with our school’s deli line.
For us Seniors, we’ve gone through 3 of the classic school meals. Only one thing was available, and if you didn’t like it you would go hungry. Fortunately, with the implementation of the school’s custom Deli line this year, students finally have the chance to get a customized, delicious (well, that’s a stretch) sandwich for half the price of a normal one. Such freedom begets a variety of options. Some great, some poor, and some downright atrocious. With that in mind, I’m going to give you the rundown on some of the best and worst deli line lunch combos.
Starting off with an ambitious yet creative sub: The Filler. This sandwich features Ham and American Cheese on ciabatta bread with lettuce, pickles, onions, and mayo. This sub combines the classic reliability of ham and cheese on ciabatta with an infusement of endless ingredients from lettuce to onions. The pickles similarly add a zing while assisting digestion, and the mayo ends up as the cherry on top. While this sandwich certainly isn’t for everyone, it’s a great option when you need some filling after a long day.
Next, we have the classic, or as I like to call it, Ol’ Reliable. This sub includes chicken, American cheese, tomatoes, pickles, and a lettuce option on ciabatta bread. This sub is specifically designed to appeal to everyone, regardless of taste. The chicken and cheese is a solid start with a good blend of tomatoes and pickles on top. Lettuce is an option for many people who’d like to add more to the sub, but is not necessary to make the sub great. All and all, you have a low-stress meal and can easily make a sandwich that you can enjoy then move on with your day quickly.
Now, going into one of the worst combos in the lunch line, we have: The Abomination. This might be potentially the worst deli line combo of them all. It includes roast beef, swiss cheese, with balsamic vinegar and mayo on flatbread. While I do believe roast beef is overrated, each of these ingredients are the worst of their category and hard to eat on their own let alone together. This is the kind of sandwich you throw together as a last resort when you need to eat but they’re out of ingredients. All and all, stay away from any combination related to this less you want your disappointment to be immeasurable and for your day to be ruined.
Finally, I want to offer a hot take that might not be the most frequent order, but one that can compete with the best of them when built right. It’s called: The Flaming Sword. This is a spicy combination featuring spicy chicken, NO CHEESE, pickles and tomatoes on a wrap with hot sauce to top it off. For some it might burn the top of your mouth. For others it might be an explosion of flavor unlike any school sandwich you’ve ever had. I’ll warn you, this sandwich isn’t for the faint of heart. However, with the coolness of tomatoes and pickles to balance out the flavor, it tempers the spiciness just enough to bring out the sandwich’s potential.
What’s great about the Deli Line, is that it offers you the complete freedom to build your own meal. Even if you don’t like any of the combos I proposed, it has enough ingredients for you to play around with until you get something you like. It’s creative, it’s reliable, and by school lunch standards, it’s a step in the right direction…no matter how many people cut you in line before you get it.