The cereal Boxx, Never again to McDonald’s for breakfast.
After a few weeks of gossip and build-up, The Cereal Boxx has finally opened Wednesday. Tucked behind Chipotle, The Cereal Boxx was rumored to have over 200 different types of cereals and also offers toppings, granola bars and oatmeals. While rumor has been spreading throughout students about this new healthy alternative to fast food the first thing that comes to everybody’s mind is “It sounds expensive.” Is it really worth to spend five or so dollars for one bowl of cereal when you can spend that money towards an entire box of cereal at the grocery store?
As I walked out of the back of the Marshall Building on Park Ave I turned left and walked straight towards the Cereal Boxx. To my surprise, the place wasn’t crowded with interested students as I had imagined. When I walked in, I immediately was drawn towards the bright yellow menu placed on the side of the red painted wall. The manager greeted me with “Welcome to the Cereal Boxx. Have you been here before?” As I replied no, he began by handing me a yellow tri-fold menu and explaining to me the options I had.
When I opened the menu I noticed the “Cold Cereal” section which he explained were their creations (each $3.99), some of which have more than appetizing names, for example Honey of Peach or Chocolate Peanut Butter Dreamin’. There is also a section named “Your Creations” where you can choose the type of cereal, the topping, and your type of milk. They offer the Mini size ($2.99) which is one scoop of cereal and one topping; the Average Joe size ($3.99) which is 2 scoops and 2 toppings; and the Big Kahuna size ($5.69) with 3 scoops and 3 toppings. Any additional toppings are $0.50.
The cereals that they offer are more than enough to bring back child hood memories-- Apple Jacks, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Trix, and any other cereal you could think of. They also offer healthier cereals such as Kashi Go Lean or Smart Start. The toppings range from bananas to walnuts to sauces such as white chocolate, to brown sugar.
After staring at the menu for about five minutes trying to decide what I wanted, the cashier said “is there anything I could help you with?” When I told her that I couldn’t decide she said, “Yeah, I know it’s pretty hard.” I settled with the first thing on the menu, The Honey of a Peach creation. It consists of Honey Smacks and Smart Start cereals with peaches and drizzles of honey on top. In total it cost me $4.39.
When the lady behind the counter handed me the creation in a big Styrofoam cup, she directed me to the milk dispenser in the back of the restaurant. I went up to the dispenser and barely noticed the signs saying whole milk, 2%, and fat free. When I put my bowl under the fat free, it took me a few minutes to understand that I needed to pull the lever to get milk. After filling up, I found a seat and started to enjoy my meal. It was definitely worth the four dollars because after every bite of cereal the honey stuck to the spoon and it tasted so sweet with the milk. The peaches on it were perfect as well; the entire creation was a perfect light snack that didn’t make me feel like a grease ball afterwards.
As I was savoring every sweet moment crunching around in my mouth, I looked around the restaurant that was decorated in yellows and reds. It had a very modern look to it with track lighting and plasma screen televisions. Two of them were playing sports while the other television was showing the Flintstones. The radio was playing soft rock which gave me a calm feeling and I for once forgot about all my stress for the day. I really enjoyed my time there and my meal gave back meaning to “mmmmmmmm.”
They offer creations for oatmeal as well. Some are named Hannah’s Bananas or Apple of my Eye that also sound heavenly delicious. Parfaits are available for $3.99
So have students avoided the place because it’s too expensive? That solely depends on your appetite and what you think is worth it. To me a healthier alternative to McDonald’s or Taco bell is worth the four dollars for a filling and fibrous meal but some others would rather pack on the pounds just to save a buck. I say don’t eat on campus or if you choose to, spend the money to try something sweet and better for you.
