Tuesday, 09 February 2010

• Vending Machine Lunch

  
  

  Have you ever bought your lunch from a vending machine?  I’m not talking about a Snickers or trail mix lunch on the run; I mean a full, hot meal.  I did this weekend.
  

  I was informed that there was a vending machine that houses Fresh Direct meals on Columbia University’s campus.  I had to learn more, so Saturday afternoon I landed on campus in search of my lunch.  The most likely location for a vending machine such as this would be at the business school building, Uris Hall, where there is an espresso shop and the elevators actually talk to you. 

  Lo and behold, the vending machines were there.  It is basically a big refrigerator that dispenses prepared meals that must be heated up by a microwave.  It only accepts credit cards and the turnover is ridiculously fast.  My meal, purchased on February 6, had a sell-by date of February 8.  I can’t imagine these machines make any sort of a profit.  According to this article, the vending machine is a huge hit during this recession.

   
  

  There a lot of options to choose from but in the end I decided to go with Lobster Ravioli in Vodka Sauce made by Presto Italian.  It provided a good deal of lobster meat and decent flavor.  The raviolis were quite large and had quality cheese, not at all runny.
  

  To my surprise, the vodka sauce was not very salty either.  I would certainly expect a better meal if I had purchased lobster ravioli in a restaurant but to get this from a vending machine is pretty remarkable.

  I heard a rumor that there is a hot dog vending machine on campus that serves up hot, ready-to-eat hot dogs.  That, my Xanga friends, is just plain horrifying. 
  

  
  

  Would you ever order a full meal from a vending machine?

   

   

  

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