We’ve all seen them. The Instagram posts. Or at least those of you who follow @tulanedining on Instagram. 

Yeah, yeah, we’re excited to be back in New Orleans if we’re not from here. And if you’re freshmen, you’re super excited to start what everyone’s told you will be the greatest four years of your lives. Maybe you’re excited to connect with Tulane’s renowned professors, explore the city or join a club you saw online that seems right up your alley. Maybe that club is The Tulane Hullabaloo — shameless self-promotion, but the 2019 Fall Activities Expo is on Sept. 1 from 4-6 p.m. We’ll be there.

No, but really, you’re probably looking forward to so many things, but you’re probably most looking forward to… drumroll please… the Commons! 

If you’re new to campus and did not have the pleasure of experiencing the Bruff Commons dining hall, the new Dining Room at the Commons is hyped up to be a major improvement. Word on the street is that President Fitts even called the building “spectacular.” 

The idealized, almost holographic, stock images of what the building would look like have been all over campus and the Tulane website for the past year. They show people lounging on picnic blankets with friends, biking, running, or playing soccer on the quad in the background of the towering, modern-looking Commons. Images within show spacious and infinite seating. Long, white tables with green chairs and a large variety of green-brick lined stations.

The Commons is composed of three floors, the dining facility claiming the first two and the Newcomb College Institute the third. The Dining Room features 1,100 seats.

Variety is what the Dining Room at the Commons is striving for. New dining platforms will showcase new menus aimed at pleasing all different tastes and preferences. All nine of the platforms — Carved, Garden, Grilled, Hearth, Simmered, Simplified, Chef’s Table, Sliced, and Al Dente — will offer vegan and vegetarian options.

Besides a long list of food options, Patrick Norton, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Tulane University, wants the Dining Room at the Commons to play a larger role in undergraduate student life.

“Eating together reminds us of our shared humanity,” he says. “It builds relationships, strengthens bonds, mentally nourishes us, and serves up memories for a lifetime. That’s what the Commons is all about – fostering intellectual and interpersonal community at Tulane.” 

The dining room will stay open past dinner until 2 a.m. to accommodate students looking for a late-night space to grab a snack, study, or socialize. The space will also offer Provisions on the Thirtieth Parallel, a convenience store (R.I.P. Mac Mart) for students to grab groceries and other miscellaneous products one would need to save a trip to a local drug store. 

And, if you haven’t yet, go stalk the Tulane Dining Instagram to learn more about the new dining platforms and for up-close teasers of the food that are bound to make your taste buds tingle and send you running for the Commons.