Marigolds

3.5 stars
Caveat: rated as a cafeteria, not as a restaurant.
Food: limited hot food options, but fresh and fair amount of variety when considered on a day-​to-​day basis as opposed to the selection on any given day.
A mix of cultural and American foods (although cultural foods may be a bit Americanized they’re still better than most cafeteria versions of ethnic foods). If you have any dietary restrictions, the hot foods all have a card listing all the ingredients, although the font is a bit small and common allergens aren’t bolded. Peanuts are a frequent ingredient.
Salad bar is pretty fresh; fruit selection is on the smaller side (and all the cut fruits are mixed together).
Sushi (the plastic container kind) is marked as sustainable (which I read as near-​guilt-​free mercury) but not significantly more expensive than comparable
Soups are good, and advertised as all-​natural (no preservatives, I presume?). Two choices per day, one of which is vegetarian.
Breakfast is the least extensive of all meals. Come early to get a breakfast sandwich (egg and cheese or egg, cheese and sausage) or content yourself with cold food and hot coffee.
Service: Dave is a great guy – the kind that remembers your name and says hi after your first visit. He works lunch and dinner shifts most days. He’s also the fastest when it comes to working the register. Furthermore, he’s always willing to help validate your food (/​life) choices. It’s nice having someone tell you it’s okay to buy that extra package of Milano cookies every once in a while. The other register tends to be much slower.
Pantry items (cookies! And other things like microwave meals, detergent and various hodgepodge items) are slowly replaced, so get what you like when it’s there. That said, stock seems to move pretty slowly so if there’s a few of what you want, there’s no rush to buy anything. I’ve been told they sometimes sell (raw) eggs, but have yet to witness it.
Pet peeve: the dishes are not always as clean as one would hope. They’re usually fine, but at least once a week there’s a plate on top of the stack that has leftover veggie-​bits or something stuck to it. Check your plates before getting your food; if they’re dirty it’s usually pretty obvious.