Bolton Dining Commons — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

All of the following is a matter of personal experience

From someone who knows where the bodies are buried- this place is a sleight of hand marvel. The university shows it off as some sort of collection of gourmet restaurants that your lucky lucky son or daughter has the privilege of enjoying, but in reality behind the scenes lies a plethora of cheap frozen food and lowest possible quality ingredients.

Aside from having the worst reputation of the dining halls for food quality among students, Bolton is chronically understaffed because nobody wants to work there, thanks primarily to the pressure management puts on workers and the unfair treatment workers receive. The management regularly uses cheaper student labor in jobs earmarked for professionals, with workers having a reputation for hard work often forced to do the work of 3 or 4 people.

What's more, the management abuses its power to play a highly unethical game of favors and favorites against its employees, using a discipline system with no accountability and their unilateral power over promotion and termination to promote and reward the individuals they like (and those who date senior employees and managers) and mistreat and ultimately force out those whom they don't like for any reason. It was always shocking how many of the student workers who were promoted to higher posts got there after dating (a generous term in some cases) their superiors, despite it being in rank violation of UGA bylaws and federal laws regulating employment.

I even have reason to believe they’ve cheated on health inspections, having seen them rush to close down the pasta station they knew wasn’t up to code when they found out the health inspector would be coming (Health inspections are ostensibly a surprise, so what went on to tip Bolton off and whether said tip-off was legal are up for debate, but I digress.) The station wasn’t safe enough for the health inspector to see, but Bolton thought it was okay to serve your...

Fake Imposter Bolton, aka Bol'ton is the newest dining hall on campus as of 2016, replacing the ancient, aptly named "Revoltin' Bolton" that used to be up the hill, where that gravel parking lot next to Creswell is. Old Bolton had its... charm, we'll say, but I don't think anyone can say in good conscience that New Bol'ton is worse. New Bol'ton is actually quite good, the pasta at least! The choices are basically the same as they were at old bolton- Pasta, Grill/burgers, breakfast bar, huge salad bar, etc, but they also added an Asian section and a bakery, along with the mainstay stuff.

It's honestly not even Bolton anymore, because the quality shot way up. The pasta is legitimately good- you can't get anything like it at another dining hall because it's cooked to order. The convenience of it being right next to MLC also can't be understated- even if it means there are more crowds than there used to be. If you're a new student on meal plan- Bol'ton is about to become your new best friend. They even kept the old neon sign to remind you what...

Great food, better people. Rainforest coffee. What more can you ask for. I’ll break it down.

Breakfast: Upstairs egg line is the move. Mix and match your favorite toppings. Gladis, Andrew and Carol-Lynn make a mean omelette/scramble quickly and always taste delightful. They brighten my day every morning. God bless them. Don’t sleep on the cake donuts downstairs. Random Casseroles also bang. Go ahead, get some gravy

You can always count on the pasta line, tacos / wings to hit. Sandwich line is a good option if short. Burgers are decent too. Really can’t go wrong with anything upstairs. New Asian food is also decent. Great new addition.

Downstairs can be hit or miss depending on what’s being served. You’ll figure it out.

The ceiling makes me feel like I’m at Hogwarts. The Harth makes me feel like I’m at Harvard.

Thanks for reading my review

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