With the highly anticipated opening of the Patriot Wellness Center (PWC) and its new cafe, students have been taking the opportunity to grab healthy snacks during their breaks. The food bar carries a wide variety of meals and drinks, ranging from wraps to pastries and smoothies. Among the choices, three items seem to have become the most popular: the boba, the acai bowl and the power wrap.

After working out, there’s nothing better than indulging in a sweet drink, and what drink is better than a tasty cup of boba? Unfortunately, the boba at the PWC is not that drink. One would think that a delicious mix of fresh fruit blended with peach tapioca would create a splendid burst in your

mouth, but this time it was our taste buds that burst. For a wellness center, both the watermelon and mango boba were a mouthful of sugar, and the fruit flavor was quickly lost. The widely anticipated tapioca balls also fell flat. Our tapioca blended in with the rest of the sugary drink, and we were unable to distinguish between the actual flavor of the boba and the peach tapioca balls. Additionally, the taste was not the only issue we encountered. Priced at $5, the boba at the PWC is more expensive than Liquid Fusion’s price of $4 and Sweet Cafes’s price of $4.25, making it difficult to commit to buying such a costly drink. Overall, getting a healthy, fun drink at the PWC was definitely not a par-tea. 

Among the multitude of snacks and desserts sold at Stevenson, one noticeable staple is missing: ice cream.

This all changes with the addition of the açaí bowl—a tasty and healthy alternative to ice cream. This rich, tropical dessert is filled with a delicious açaí berry sorbet, and the best part is that it’s completely customizable. After you place your order, you can select your own toppings, including a wide variety of fruit, nuts and granolas. Regardless of the mixture of toppings you choose, your taste buds will thank you as the crunchiness from the toppings compliments the creamy texture of the açaí perfectly.

The last food we reviewed was the power wrap, which consisted of chicken breast, spinach, tomato and onions. At first glance it didn’t look appealing with its green hue and soggy texture, carried into the bland taste. The vegetables were too overpowering compared to the rest of the wrap, and the flavor of the chicken was barely noticeable. However, we felt that the lack of flavor balanced out since the addition of the vegetables added a healthy feature to the snack and a nice crunch. Another positive aspect was the wrap itself which was made of spinach. We could clearly taste the spinach flavor and did not feel it was too overpowering compared to the rest of the ingredients. While we felt that the power wrap could be a bit more flavorful, nonetheless, we recommend it as a healthy snack after a workout.

There is certainly a difference between the taste and quality of the food sold at the PWC; both the acai bowl and the power wrap lived up to the wellness label, but the boba did not, as its excess of sugar served as a detriment to its healthiness. Nevertheless, the PWC provides an environment for students to take a break while picking from a variety of snacks. While some of the more popular options did not stand out to us, we still encourage you to give them a try, whether with friends or after a workout!