Wells Dining is a hotspot for innovative experiments in food. The most prominent and promising of them all is the ghost kitchen—a host of restaurants that exist to be ordered through mobile apps. There are three main “restaurants” that students can order from for meals in Wells. In this daring experiment, emboldened by the excess of dining dollars on my meal plan, I sought to try each of these ghost kitchens. I was aided in this experiment by the Kiwibot service, enabling students to order food to their dorm through a fleet of cute little mobile delivery robots.=

Day One: Mr. Beast Burger

I started with the one I presumed to be the most promising. I decided to order a Nashville Hot Chicken Tender Sandwich as a combo with seasoned fries and Starry, due to only having four drink options, and not out of any particular love for the drink. Immediately, I was disappointed by the inability to even see the ingredients on the sandwich, let alone to customize. I did, however, find the process of ordering with meal dollars quite easy. I placed my order at 5:48 p.m. and it arrived at 6:22 p.m, eight minutes within the estimate of 42 minutes. I was pleased to be greeted with heart eyes by the Kiwibot, but this soured as it gave me side eyes after I picked up my food. Not sure what I did to deserve that. To my dismay, my order was messed up. I received a regular chicken sandwich, sans Nashville Hot, and my fries were, in fact, not seasoned. I had to pick numerous pickles off the sandwich, but fortunately my roommate is quite the fiend. The fries were disappointingly undersalted and dry, but I’ll give them the credit that they were warm. The chicken was surprisingly flavorful and even a little spicy without the hot sauce. The bun had a very pleasant buttery toasted flavor. The sandwich ended up being surprisingly good, despite the lingering taste of pickles haunting me. I was not able to finish the fries, however, and my order not being correct did taint the experience. 

Final Rating: 7/10

Would I Order Again?: Yes

Day Two: Pardon My Cheesesteak

I must disclose that I do not enjoy cheesesteaks, which might bring into question my authority on this review. I ended up ordering the chicken tenders and fries bucket, which arrived 2 minutes before the time I set for delivery: 8:45 p.m. I was not given the option to include a drink or sauce, which was unfortunate, but I’m not devastated that I couldn’t order Starry again. I greeted the Kiwibot, who once again gave me a side eye, only to wink after. This meal delivery robot is playing a dangerous game with my emotions. The food arrived in a bucket labeled “Barstool Bites,” which leads me to question the existence of a more secret and ghostier kitchen. The fries were soft and limp, and displayed an aggressive lack of flavor outside of what registered as a bitter aftertaste, which was very confusing to me. I had to add my trusty Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce, and ultimately I was still not able to finish the fries and had to pawn them off to my roommates. I am not impressed with the french fry game at Wells Dining. The chicken tenders were better. It was warm and had a little bit of seasoning to it, but ultimately still plain. My conclusive thoughts on the chicken tenders is that I would’ve been very enthused to receive them at a fair or amusement park but let down by this being the fare at a school where I pay several thousand dollars for my meal plan. The fries are inexcusable. 

Final Rating: 5/10

Would I Order Again?: No

Day Three: Nascar Refuel

Once again, I must disclose my food preferences as they play into this exploration. I am someone who will almost always choose boneless wings over bone-in. Nascar Refuel offers exclusively bone-in wings. I am not anti-bone-in, but it’s not my usual preference by any means. I was joined this episode by my friend, who placed the order due to technical constraints. The app had a hold barring orders until 9 p.m., and would not let me order in advance. The Kiwibot, who had spent the entire time giving me cold eyes and taunting me, made heart eyes at her. She found this problematic because she is in a committed relationship, and Kiwibot flirting throws a wrench into that. We opted to get the BBQ sauce. The wings were very warm when they came, which was nice. I was hoping for more of a smoky flavor from the sauce, but my friend was content. I think if I ordered again on my own I’d get a different flavor. The sauce also seemed a bit haphazardly dumped. The chicken was decent, certainly not dry. However, I must again come to reckon with the final boss of these kitchens. The french fries at Wells have consistently let me down. Nascar Refuel is no different. They just can’t win. They were utterly lacking in flavor, even less than “Pardon My Cheesesteak”. It felt as if they didn’t even attempt to put salt on them. We stopped eating the fries after maybe ten, they just didn’t get better. I wish I could’ve opted out of the fries.

Final Rating: 5/10

Would I Order Again?: Maybe, with a different sauce.