*This is a lie.
Gratz Perk is a reliable coffee shop on Transylvania’s campus. It provides a fresh breath of air from Caf for anyone who needs a quick treat or a caffeine pickup. With so many options for coffee, treats, and snacks, I decided to take on the huge role of trying everything at Gratz Perk. Hopefully, Transylvania’s student population can be enlightened and humored, and have all of their curiosities put to rest.
I decided to rank based on three categories. Taste, so how well the item makes the taste buds on my tongue feel delighted versus frightened. Texture, for my folks who have to avoid sensations that may not be great (just like me don’t worry). And by Looks, because let us be honest, we all love how things fit in our aesthetic, right?
Well, let us get into it!
Fruit Cup
Taste: 9/10
Texture: ~8/10
Looks: 10/10
First up, is the fruit cup, one of their refrigerated snack items. It is always a good go-to for when you are on the run and need a quick, healthy snack. The cup today had fresh fruit with watermelon, pineapple, honeydew, and blueberries. For taste, none of the fruits showed signs of going bad, and each individual fruit had a good flavor. This can be a rarity, especially with someone as picky as me. Some of the blueberries were too tart, but that isn’t something that can be controlled. You can’t ever go wrong with fruit, and it is always a safe bet! With looks, it shows a great display of color so that it is fun to look at, just has a questionable puddle of fruit juice but I always slurp it up! So, maybe not so questionable?
Overall score: 9/10
Chocolate Croissant
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 6/10
Looks: 7/10
The chocolate croissant is a coffee shop classic, and this one follows that standard. It has a great chocolate middle that when warmed, just melts in your mouth. It looks wonderful, with the buttery shine that all croissants tend to have. The only thing is that the croissant doesn’t have the same flaky texture as a true croissant. I have a sense of disappointment in this factor because I love a crunchy, flaky croissant from all of its layers created by the layering of butter and dough (Does this sound snobby of me?). Even then, this chocolate croissant still satisfies as a tasty pastry by the end of the day. Pair it with any coffee, and you are now a true coffee shop connoisseur! Or just eat the pastry as if you were like anyone else, by shoving it into your mouth!
Overall: 8/10
Blueberry Muffin
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Looks: 6/10
I fear this one may get some backlash as I can already hear the complaints, but I am going to say it! This blueberry muffin is just a sad muffin with blueberries in it, and I stand by that. Controversial opinion, I know! However, it tends not to stack up to the blueberry muffins offered at various coffee shops from local to chain. By taste alone, it is okay but doesn’t hit it out of the park like other bakery items do. Texture brings some points, but it tends to be too spongy. With its looks, It is a bit small compared to other goodies.
“Booo!!” Yeah, yeah I know but it still can be a good snack and can satisfy anyone who needs it. And it brings joy to those of Transylvania, just not me…
Overall: 7/10
Lemon Poppyseed Muffin
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 10/10
Looks: 8/10
Also known as the blueberry muffin’s better cousin, we have the lemon poppyseed muffin. Hands down, it’s one of my favorite pastries to buy at Gratz Perk. The common buyer may not realize what this muffin has in store for you, but I assure you it is full of lemon goodness. The muffin is lemon-flavored and has poppyseeds mixed into the batter, so whenever you take a bite, it gives small amounts of crunch that are just right. For some people, that may not be a fun experience, however for me it is extremely satisfying. As for looks, I think it is one of those surprises of the bakery section that Gratz has to offer, and if you are feeling up to a treasure, this muffin may just be it. Who knows, it could become your favorite!
Overall: 9/10
Chicken Salad Sandwich
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 6/10
Looks: 7/10
Chicken salad tends to be not a popular choice of sandwich, so it was interesting to get a review on this. At first, by looks the sandwich seems good, it doesn’t seem squashed or soggy in any way at looks. But surprise, the bread was soggy! I guess that is to be expected with sandwiches with wet components. On the bright side, the lettuce was crunchy and fresh which always makes me happy. The chicken salad itself tasted good, and as someone who isn’t the biggest fan of chicken salad, I’d say that’s great! The sandwich was grabbed when it was newly restocked, so nothing tasted old. For a not-so-popular sandwich, this was a win for Gratz Perk!
Overall: 7/10
White Chocolate Raspberry Scone
I, uh, forgot a picture. My bad folks!
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 8/10
Looks: 10/10
The white chocolate raspberry scone is one of my all-time favorites. It is a good combination, with the perfect mix of raspberry flavor and white chocolate chunks. One time, I got this scone just because it was a sad day (I bombed a chem exam), and I needed a pick-me-up. This scone was able to do that, and any interaction with our awesome Gratz Perk ladies helped me. As for texture, the scone is a little moist for a scone but it pulls it off. I love white chocolate, so I will get this scone with an iced white mocha to make my day perfect. With looks, it has that mix of red coloring that makes it appealing. Overall, I think it is a good sweet treat for one of those days when it is needed.
Overall: 9/10
Apple Cinnamon Scone
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 8/10
Looks: 9/10
This is the season of apples and cinnamon (oh how an apple pie would be great at the moment…). Well, look at this! This scone is readily available and is a great pairing of any fall favorite drink that Gratz offers. Like the pumpkin pie latte, pumpkin chai latte, or even a classic chai latte, this scone goes so well with them. Puts me in the mood for sweater weather and crunchy leaves (Spotify playlist, who?). Apple and cinnamon is a combo that can’t ever go wrong, as the two flavor palettes complement each other very well. It looks good from the outside, and the texture is still slightly moist for a scone but I think it can be ignored due to the sweetness of the scone.
Overall: 9/10
Sunbutter and Grape Jelly Sandwich
Also forgot a picture here, but you see these in caf right?? I can’t do EVERYTHING for you…
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 7/10
Looks: 8/10
Ah, the classic sandwich! The sun butter and jelly sandwich is something I can always fall back on when no food in the world sounds appetizing. Personally, the sun butter is a nice touch as it provides a flavor that is different from peanut butter. Also, these sandwiches are peanut allergy friendly so it won’t put anyone at risk! As for flavor, I think grape jelly and sun butter go well together. However, the bread texture can either be soggy or dry depending on the day (I ate a lot of these sandwiches last year!). The inconsistency means it’s a surprise every time you grab a box. This sandwich also can get very sticky and oozes out, so it’s vital to have napkins on standby. As for looks, the sandwich always looks as if it has even layers of sun butter and jelly but it seems to be oozing out of the sandwich at all times. Overall, it’s a good go-to and can help anyone get through a busy day!
Overall:8/10
Naked Juices
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 7/10
Looks: 10/10
So, these Naked Juices are one of my favorite things to drink whenever I need a nutritional snack that will fill me up. They are full of good stuff like fruit and veggies, and I say that is very good for college students. The juices allow people to have a nice treat and also get missing nutrients. As well, it reminds me of drinking a smoothie, which can be hard to beat. The usual variety includes Power C Machine, Blue Machine, Green Machine, and Mighty Mango. I eat these up every time I see them, and each of them is very colorful, so hooray for pretty colors, right? As for texture, it can be slightly thick and have pieces within but it isn’t too bad overall. I love fruit juice generally, so these just brighten my day whenever I can get one!
Overall: 9/10
Double Chocolate Chip Muffin
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 8/10
Looks: 10/10
This muffin is another home run! I am a huge fan of anything chocolate, and this muffin is just double the fun. The taste comes out good with rich chocolate as the base with chocolate chips baked within. For texture, it is moist, but I think it makes it better as it feels like I am eating a cupcake versus a muffin. I always will love an excuse to have a cupcake in the middle of the day. As for looks, it suffers the same problem as the blueberry muffin. It just looks small and a bit sad-looking and isn’t bringing anything home in that category. Other than that, it is a really good muffin and is a guaranteed win for chocolate lovers.
Overall: 9/10
So, yeah that’s all I have!
…
You are probably thinking, “Wow, that’s all? This seems way too short. The Gratz Perk I know and love has more items than this??” Yes, you are indeed right, my dear reader. The problem is that halfway through the semester, I ran out of money on my crimson card. Granted, I only had $50 because of my commuter plan but that means I was limited to my choice of food to maximize this review. Also, asking others for help was somewhat of a struggle because some people rely on Gratz Perk on their busy days. I do have a decent amount of meal swipes with this commuter plan, and that would have allowed me to expand my horizons. However, Gratz Perk only takes dining dollars which puts myself and other students at a crossroads when it comes to deciding on what to get.
So, this does give insight into the recent changes to Gratz Perk and how it has made “Grab & Go” a lot more difficult and less accessible when students are limited to only Dining Dollars. Meal swipes allowed students to grab a decent amount of food to eat and be out the door. Now, it has been made more difficult, especially for students on commuter plans, who have busy schedules and do not have time to go to Caf. Due to the prices on these items, I wasn’t able to review many sandwiches because they are nearly 9 dollars, and that would limit me to only 5 sandwich boxes. In another perspective, students who have $200 in Dining Dollars are limited to roughly 20 sandwich boxes. Hypothetically, If someone were to eat their 3 meals a day for a single week at Gratz Perk only grabbing the sandwiches, then they would be out of money by the next Monday. I knew students (typically athletes) who would grab at least ⅔ meals at Gratz due to their schedules. With Caf, it can be inconsistent with how quickly you can get through depending on the time of day, which makes it a gamble on whether a student chooses to go there during a 30-minute to an hour break. This change has made Gratz Perk less accessible and makes it difficult for students who have tight schedules not be able to obtain food whenever they can. It is especially difficult when Transy is within a food desert (an area that has limited access to food that is plentiful, affordable, or nutritious). While I am thankful we have an option, it makes it harder for students to thrive when our options are super limited.
This review hopefully can help some students decide on what to grab on a given day and maybe give insights to others into the situation some of our students may be struggling with.
