According to the Wikipedia Page entry for Panda Express, the restaurant chain operates in mall courts, airport plazas, college campuses and really any other place one would expect to find fast food restaurants lined up next to each other. There’s also a Panda Express in, get this, The Pentagon! Other than the fact that it’s hilarious to imagine that the Pentagon’s Panda Express looks like Fordham’s Panda Express, and by that I mean Fordham’s Panda Express looks like George Lucas and Doc Brown from Back to the Future collaborated on the design proposal. The interior, which was renovated this summer and is barely recognizable from the old Dagger John’s, features the color silver. And that’s about it. The tables and chairs are metallic silver. The bar is, like, three different hues of silver. And the walls! The walls are crazy. If anything, go to Panda Express just to see the walls.
If you like Chinese food, though, stay for the food. Panda Express is buffet-style. They offer three sides, two of which are rice, the other chow-mein, or Chinese noodles. As for entrees the choice is between Orange Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Stir Fried Steak and a Chef’s choice. Of course, the buffet is bookended by two choices of egg roll. For an entrée, a side and an egg roll the charge is around $7. I thought this was about exactly what I should spend. Maybe the lady behind the buffet liked me, but my plate was filled with a heaping helping of food and my meal was very filling. I ordered the chow-mein, orange chicken and an egg roll. The chow mein was dry, but quite tasty. I liked that it was not overly salty, as some Chinese noodles sometimes tend to be served that way. The orange chicken was not great and I probably won’t get it again. That being said both the beef and broccoli and the steak stir fry were super tasty from what I sampled. As for the egg roll, it was awful. I have no clue what was in it. In fact, I have no idea what’s usually in an egg roll. Sheesh. Chinese food is kind of gross.
That being said, the Jamba Juice and the “Starbucks,” which share the same room as Panda Express, both look on par. College students’ top two favorite non-alcoholic drinks are coffee and smoothies, so that’s a big plus in terms of on-campus convenience. All in all, it’s an upgrade. Huzzah Fordham.
