Cougareat — Restaurant in Provo

Never eat here if you have Celiac disease unless you are desperate. There are only really 4 options in the whole food court and its frustrating because if BYU would make just a few changes that would be different. As of now your options are a sandwich from Cougar Cafe on gluten free bread (costs extra for gf bread), a grilled chicken lettuce wrap from Chick-fil-A, a salad from Cougar Express, or the pork from Aloha Plate without any sauce or seasoning.

The first change that would open up options is gf buns. Adding gf buns opens up the possibility of eating Scoreboard Grill, just because I have to eat gf doesn’t mean that I’m a health nut and don’t like a good burger. Adding gf buns would also make getting Chick-fil-A nicer because I could get a grilled chicken sandwich with a bun. All the Chick-fil-A’s in the surrounding area already offer this so why don’t you?

Another simple change is just training your employees. I can’t get anything at L&T because the employees never change their gloves and even if they did the way they add ingredients onto the wraps and gyros makes high levels of cross contamination highly likely. I’m not super sensitive but high levels of cross contamination are enough to make anyone with celiacs sick. A simple change of procedure would prevent that.

The third change is the using an alternative thickener to flour. BYU adds wheat flower to all their soups as a thickener, but this is completely unnecessary as they could just as easily use another starch such as cornstarch or tapioca flower to thicken their soups without drastically changing the cost. Simple enough if they would just use their brains.

The last simple change I’ll speak to is using gf soy sauce. Gluten protein is added to soy sauce only as a preservative. It does nothing to enhance flavor or make it thicker. The fact that it is even added in the first place is bizarre since the shelf life of gf soy sauce is hardly reduced at all. Using gf soy sauces in sauces used at Aloha Plate or anywhere else in the Cougar Eat would open up several more options for people needing gf food.

Cougar Eat I hope you read this and realize that by making a few simple changes you will better cater to a larger percentage of the student population and since you are technically a buisiness I’m assuming that’s your goal because it means more revenue. I also hope you realize that gf isn’t just a fad and there are a lot of people like me who medically cannot eat gluten because our body’s immune systems attack the rest of our body when we do eat it.

For now as you continue in your ways of excluding people like me, J-Dawgs and Cupbop just down the street are more than happy to cater to people like me so you won’t be seeing a dime...

UPDATE: It’s been 5 months since my review and I am extremely impressed. They started cleaning tables in the evening and you can find clean tables in the evening now. They also have someone new cleaning during the day who does a much better job. Lastly, they added some new music to their playlist. Awesome!

I have eaten in the cougareat countless times. Been in and out of school since 2007 (mission/health problems). I even worked in the dish room for a semester. The cougareat has gone through several changes during my time here. I absolutely miss Tomasitos (when it was where chick fil a was, not the small version). Pap John’s and chic fil a were big upgrades though which is nice. The new soda machines are awesome as well. Employees are always super friendly and It’s a great place to get a quick meal without having to leave campus. There is room for improvement though.

Complaints: First is the cleanliness of the tables in the evening and night. No one cleans them...they are always super dirty.

The other thing is about 4 years ago they started playing music in the cougareat. Cool idea but not executed well at all. They play the same songs EVERY DAY, YEAR AFTER YEAR; It is very annoying. To be honest, the cougareat was fine when there wasn’t music...but if you are going to do it, it would be very much appreciated if you mixed it up. The same songs being stuck in your head...

Decent selection, crowded and noisy! Taco Bell is by far the cheapest choice, but for the most bang for your buck, go eat at Aloha Plate. They have a lot of variety in food and sizes, and food there is really delicious for a fast food restaurant. Their Dole Whip is so good. If you go late at night, I think the bagels and donuts at the front of the cafeteria are cheaper. That place has really good ice cream and lots of it, too. Their child size is like a medium anywhere else. The Ice cream Taco they have on Tuesdays...