Several changes have been implemented on the menu at The Stein, the on-campus restaurant at Brandeis. This semester's menu is an entire page shorter than last semester's, which has raised concerns among students regarding the quality and variety at the restaurant. In an e-mail to the Justice, Director of Dining Services Mike Newmark wrote, "This particular menu was designed keeping the student menu request and preference in mind while balancing the need for speed of service due to high volume in house, take out and delivery service with somewhat limited kitchen space." He elaborated that student preferences were gathered "through face to face student feedback, student worker and full time employee feedback."

However, according to Szkilnik Tolan '11, who has worked at The Stein for three semesters, such popular appetizers as the 'Deis Dip and Beef Teriyaki Satay are no longer on the menu. Cheesy Southern Comfort and Tofu and Sesame, pasta entrées, have also been removed. The Fire-Grilled Pizza Selection section of the menu has been removed entirely. New items such as the Santa-Fe Chicken Springroll, BBQ Grilled Chicken Grill and Lonestar All-Beef Ribs have been added in their places.

Tolan noted that the former menu contained "more healthy options like rice dishes, salmon and pasta. The new menu in effect is much shorter," Tolan said.

Emily Frost '10 is "disappointed" with the "limited" items available on the new menu. Christina Tom '10 found the menu to be "ok," but has noticed that "a lot of things" have been removed.

Newmark, on the other hand, wrote in the e-mail that he believes the menu has a "wide selection." He recommended the Mandarin Chicken Salad, Big Mouth Salmon Burger, Portobello Mushroom Grill or the Black Bean Burger for a "healthy" alternative. He also wrote that The Stein has nightly specials that add "variety offerings and options" to the menu.

The Stein is also no longer open at lunch hours. In his email, Newmark explained that since the restaurant experienced a "decrease in lunch business," it was decided that the Stein would no longer be in service during lunch. He added that the opening of the new lunch options like Quiznos would have increased competition.

Both Tolan and Curtis Mcleod '09, who has been a Stein employee for four years, agreed that cutting down the menu has shortened the workload of Stein employees. In an e-mail to the Justice, Mcleod wrote that "simplifying the new menu has made the cooking job easier and a lot more sensible for staff and student workers who work long hours for little pay." For example, he said that boxing pizzas from the Fire Grilled Pizza selection for delivery was a "pain," as they had to be specially packed for each order.

Manopees Mookhiruntara, a cook at The Stein, does not find that the new dishes are easier to prepare. He agrees that there is "not much variety" on the new menu, but at the same time believes that "you can't please everyone." Mookhiruntara appreciates the introduction of "new and different" items because he feels that students should be exposed to fresh choices.

John Orr '12 agrees, finding the new menu to be "really good."

At this point in the semester, it is still unclear what effect, if any, the menu changes will have on the number of Stein customers. Newmark wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that "customer count continues to increase," but Curtis believes that it is too early to note the difference because "school has just started.