Hi,

I've been at Lake Forest Hospital complex quite a bit lately. I keep thinking about this thread whenever I have to get some lunch. I've been going to 176 & Waukegan, Sunset Foods on Waukegan shopping center or into Lake Forest. I haven't quite worked myself up to trying their cafeteria.

Regards,

My wife gave birth to both of our children at UIC Hospital. About the best I can say about the food there is that the hospital is just down the street from Al's on Taylor. Unfortunately, both of our boys were born in the winter months so, alas, no Mario's.

My daughter was born @ Central Dupage(26 hours of labor), and my wife & our daughter stayed 2 days after that.

I thought the food at Central Dupage was pretty dreadfull, I wasnt expecting much, and didnt get much. I made sure to get food before of after a visit, after a breakfast, and a "dinner" there.

I had a business meeting and then a great lunch at Rochelle Community Hospital

The cafeteria is only open for an hour at lunch time (not sure about dinner time) but all of the food is home made on site by some very nice people - they make the meatballs, they make the pie dough (and it's really fruit in the pies, not canned goop). Sure, the asparagus was VERY cooked, but the garlic bread was crisp and the salad bar is fresh and green. Mostaciolli (Sp?) meatballs, asparagus and Pie was somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.

Rochelle Community Hospital
www.rcha.net
900 N 2nd St
Rochelle, IL 61068
(815) 562-2181

The cafeteria at Northwestern Hospital has changed its name from Spice O' Life to Allspice.

My guess is that they thought the former name was signalling "hot and spicy" to people while the new name is a spice that doesn't. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

I got my standby--quarter roast chicken (leg and thigh), mashed potatoes with gravy, and string beans--and was pleased.

Maybe the lawyers thought anything with "Life" in it was overpromising for a hospital.

I just spent an unexpected week in Northwest Community Hospital, where I worked my way through much of its menu (with the caveat that certain restrictions applied to my diet on some days). Having done several interviews with foodservice people at other hospitals, and seen some of the interesting ethnic choices available at Swedish Covenant in Chicago and the "farm fresh" menu at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., for example, I was interested to see what this Arlington Heights hospital would offer in the way of creativity.

Almost nothing except the ordering system, in which you can order what you want from a menu on more or less your own schedule. You call a number and they bring the meal 45 minutes later. One drawback is that there doesn't seem to be a good system for monitoring when a patient doesn't call. It's been a while since I was last in a hospital overnight, but I recall that meals appeared whether I wanted them or not, and nurses monitored what I ate. At NCH, although nurses reminded me to order meals, no one appeared to notice when I didn't.

Unimaginative American food fills the menu, which, based on a conversation with a friend who is a frequent patient there, remains unchanging, except for one daily soup.

The soups were decent, all but a really nasty and glutinous cream of potato. Cream of chicken and vegetable soup were better than canned, anyway, and the chicken noodle was quite good. Once freed from a soft-foods diet, I had a tossed salad instead, and it was the basic iceberg and this and that that you'd expect, but it tasted really wonderful after a week of nothing fresh or crunchy. That constitutes the "starters" section of the menu.

I wasn't allowed things like pizza, hot dogs or hamburgers, but the grilled chicken breast sandwich was all that is bland, on a cottonlike bun. Tuna salad compared to what you'd get out of a vending machine, and I have no reason to believe that the other cold sandwiches would be better. Grilled cheese was plastic substance inside soggy bread.

Cottage cheese with fruit was, well, cottage cheese with fruit (canned peaches, canned pears, chunks of melon). Not even a maraschino cherry for color.

On the first night I was up to eating, I passed on the meatloaf, often a safe institutional choice, after the order taker answered my inquiry about it by saying, "It's all right ... if you put gravy on it." I took up her strong recommendation of the sauteed tilapia instead. Tilapia is not my favorite seafood -- I think of it as the tofu of fish -- but this was more tasteless than usual and overcooked. I expect the "compliments" another foodservice staffer said this dish draws are all for its creamy lemon-dill sauce, which was pleasant enough, although the dill was undetectable and the lemon rather muted.

The next night, I tried beef fajitas. It was nothing like the grilled dish you get in Tex-Mex establishments, but a reasonably palatable mixture of sauteed beef strips, bell peppers and onions with a cardboard tortilla, a mild tomatoey salsa, and the saving grace of real sour cream and shredded cheddar and a touch of cilantro. I ordered it three nights running, unable to face up to risking the rest of my permitted menu: roasted turkey breast with gravy; bow-tie pasta with marinara or meat sauce; or beef stew. (Not allowed to me, the other choices were grilled chicken caesar salad and Mediterranean vegetable platter with pita and hummus.)

One night, I braved the stew, but couldn't manage more than three bites. My appetite is low, but not that low. It was simply inedible. Mushy and bad tasting. A blueberry muffin was also, incredibly, uneatable -- gummy and tasteless. Dinner rolls were unaccountably sweet, like King's Hawaiian bread.

Breakfast foods were adequate, although the practice of putting the toast under a cover with the eggs meant it was always damp and soggy.

Nutrition is such a vital part of health, and I wonder when medical facilities are going to wake up to the fact that providing tasty meals will help patients get better faster. I have an elderly friend who nearly died because the food at a rehab center was so awful he couldn't eat it. They had to put him on a feeding tube.

I have an educated palate and I'm a professional judge of food quality, but I'm not a fussy eater. I can normally stomach mediocre and even poorly prepared fare with aplomb, even when I'm not particularly hungry, something my work has often required me to do. If, even sick, there were meals I couldn't eat, there's something seriously wrong.

So sorry! Hope you're feeling better and able to eat some better grub.

I must say that I have some pretty good food at the UIC cafeteria....both breakfasts and lunches as well. I'm a bit amazed at times at some of their menu offerings, however. For example, one of their breakfast specials is biscuits and gravy and fried chicken wings....and this at a hospital cafeteria. Having said that, however, it seems to me that they make an effort to offer a good varied menu every day.

When I was a student at Resurrection on Talcott, I remember looking forward to "clinical days" so I could get the broiled scrod. That stuff was fantastic. Their kitchen was actually really extensive: Connie's Pizza, a sandwich station, a Mexican station, Italian station, etc. The soft serve ice cream machine and dessert station didn't hurt either. Sadly, unless the patients were on general diets, they did not eat nearly as well. The sickly, vomity smell of the "beef cubes and noodles" with gravy sticks with me to this day.

I eventually moved on to Hinsdale Hospital. I realized on the second day to bring my own lunch. The menu consisted of things called "Turkey-Like Sandwiches" and "Beef-Like Steak"; my lunch on that first day was, I believe, a Nutrigrain bar washed down with my own tears.

I have to admit I have an affinity to the fat free Italian salad dressing at Loyola’s Maywood campus cafeteria. I have no idea where they get it but every time I’m there I have to have a salad with that dressing.

LAZ wrote:Tilapia is not my favorite seafood -- I think of it as the tofu of fish

Why do people always make bad-tasting food analogies with tofu? I chalk it up to non-Asians. Tofu (all types) is a delectable food stuff - certainly more versatile and tasty than tilapia. Offtopic aside.

Jay K wrote:

LAZ wrote:Tilapia is not my favorite seafood -- I think of it as the tofu of fish

Why do people always make bad-tasting food analogies with tofu? I chalk it up to non-Asians. Tofu (all types) is a delectable food stuff - certainly more versatile and tasty than tilapia. Offtopic aside.

Tofu is rarely delectable by itself. Few people, Asian or not, eat it plain. Its value is as a foil for what you cook with it or put on it. Tilapia, to me, is the same. I have had good tilapia dishes, just as I have had good tofu dishes. But I prefer my fish to have more intrinsic flavor.

Pie Lady wrote:I eventually moved on to Hinsdale Hospital. I realized on the second day to bring my own lunch. The menu consisted of things called "Turkey-Like Sandwiches" and "Beef-Like Steak"; my lunch on that first day was, I believe, a Nutrigrain bar washed down with my own tears.

Let's be fair. Hinsdale Hospital is a 7th Day Adventist Hospital, a Christian denomination that is largely vegetarian. Unlike some vegetarians, they produce a variety of entrees that mimic meats.

I encountered this in a rural area in Virginia. The only other hospotal in the region was 7th Day Adventist. A primary marketing campaign was that "we serve meat."

I've got nothing against fake meat in general, but personally I don't like it. There were no veggie-only dishes on the menu other than sides like steamed corn. If I wanted an entrée, it would have had to be fake meat.

LAZ wrote:I just spent an unexpected week in Northwest Community Hospital, where I worked my way through much of its menu (with the caveat that certain restrictions applied to my diet on some days)...

My mom had an extended stay at Northwest Community this spring. I was with her for many of her meals and agree overall with your assessment. She liked being able to order her meals whenever she wanted; my sister and I were there to place her order if she was out of her room for tests, so that food would be waiting when she returned. I thought the food at Northwest Community at least looked much better than I expected it to. (I did take pictures, but, unfortunately, lost them when my hard drive died recently.)

My mom is quite the creature of habit, so she didn't explore as much of the menu as LAZ. Her favorite dish was actually the tilapia, which heavily peppered I thought was prepared fine the four or five times my mom ordered it. More than the generic character of the menu, it was the portion sizes that were most problematic. My mom often complained of still being hungry. (A problem that runs in my family.) Certainly not a practice to emulate necessarily, but my sister and I ended up sneaking in food for her--smoked fish that she really likes from Mitsuwa and, over the course of her hospital stay, most of the menu from Asian Bistro. With our contraband supplements, my mom didn't seem to mind the hospital food.

happy_stomach wrote:More than the generic character of the menu, it was the portion sizes that were most problematic. My mom often complained of still being hungry.

The portions were smallish, but you can order as much food as you want. So if you want two servings of something or an extra dessert, they'll bring it (assuming you're not on a restricted diet). I was also told that if I ordered a meal and it wasn't enough, I could call back and order more, up till the kitchen closes at 7:30 p.m. That's not explained anywhere on the menu, though.

I'm in the hospital for the second time in a week, so I've had the opportunity to experience a variety of their offerings. And truthfully...it's not as bad as I remembered.

Well, at least that holds true for UIC. I had some pretty dismal food at St Joe's. Nothing I've had here has been outstanding, or really all that good, but it's perfectly serviceable. And of course I eat everything, because what else am I going to do for entertainment? Aside from surfing LTH and planning what to eat when I get out.

So I was curious about others' experiences with hospital food, how different hospitals compare, etc.

I was in Central Du Page Hospital twice last year. The food is not too bad its edible and if you are sick you are thankful someone is cooking for you and bringing it on a tray. Nothing stands out as too exciting but you will not go hungry. I would order full meals and not skimp on ordering because you never know if you will get something you do not like and want to pass over. I would save the cookies or something like that for a snack. Sometimes you are on a restricted diet and that can be bad. I can not think of anything worse than eating broth and jello. Yuck. When I was in the hospital for a diverticulitis attack a few years ago I only could eat ice chips for three days. I was not really hungry though..

I used to be part of a company that did dicom/hl7 equipment, and had the misfortune to visit many hospitals several years ago.
I loved the fact that John Muir MC had fresh sushi made on site before it became common. My father who spent his last years in Milwaukee on a fantastic medical insurance program - all I can say is astounding with the choices offered. Like a vacation spot for the food.
The sad thing is the billing process and the costs.

I had both of my hip surgeries at Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview, and found the food to be very good on both occasions. They are very responsive to whatever menu requests you have, no matter how goofy, and have GREAT coffee, too. My surgeon told me pre-op that I would be much happier there than at Evanston Hospital, even though they are both part of the same system, and my sawbones actually has her office in the EH complex. She was 100% right.

On the other hand, I had the very unpleasant experience of suffering through what ultimately proved to be an utterly unnecessary 10-day stay (!) at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in the fall of 2010. Apart from the appalling standard of care I received, the food was nearly inedible - and they managed to screw up nearly every meal I had, whether it was for an ignored request, or by ignoring what the physican had requested for my meal plan (!!). I ended up having to hoard fruit, milk, and dry cereal to get by. As Charles Barkley would say, TURRRRR-ible.

the food on my recent stay at northwestern memorial hospital was truly terrible; except for the oatmeal and then, it was ok only if one remembers to request raisins and brown sugar with it. if you don't ask, they won't offer or bring either one. it was lucky i had no appetite. i had oatmeal every morning and drank lots of apple juice. they clearly wanted the food to be attractive- they did bizarre things like sprinkle DRY parsley flakes over a mushy/gritty omelet. who eats dry parsley?? they also were clearly proud of the grill marks on their hamburgers but the taste was dreadful. i tried the french toast 3 times. it looked ok, but when cut open it was completely white/dry inside. they hadn't soaked it at all. frankly, i wouldn't believe the food at this well respected hospital could be so bad if i hadn't experienced it for myself. the other meals were a blur of wretched choices- i tasted and rejected most of what they brought.

I think egg dishes and french toast can be iffy. So many places offer something they call french toast but it is not dipped in egg and its just dry and inedible. You can order sandwiches and hopefully they will not screw that up. Pasta with marinara sauce might be okay but expect the pasta to be soft and not aldente.

I'll second the positive comments about Glenbrook, though it is possible what I liked best was just being able to order whatever I wanted - which was rather eccentric since I was fairly nauseated part of the time. Mr. H spent some time at EH, food was fine for a short stay but got tiresome fast, both what the patient ate and what I bought in the cafeteria.

I worked ten years in various hospitals where the food ranged from excellent (per the local food critic) to absolutely miserable (a state hospital in Virginia). My major contribution was to implement a "restaurant style" menu given to patients when they entered the hospital. Patients liked the great variety of offerings and actually, it was much easier to prepare. My worst experience was attempting to implement an "airline style" food delivery system in a state hospital. In other words, prepare the food cold the day before and rethermalize the food on the patient units. It was a capital intensive solution that resulted in cold food being served warm and hot food being incinerated.

The two Centegra hospitals in McHenry Co. serve food that is generally pretty good. Actually, the food is really good when you consider that it is usually low-sodium and low-fat. You call down for your meals when ready and you get fed in thirty minutes. The young people serving the food do an excellent job of setting you up for eating the meal. The cafeteria has some limited choices BUT you can easily eat a well balanced meal if you choose to.

Unfortunately, Sherman Hospital in Elgin has some of the worst food that I have ever had. The meals generally come cold and are poorly prepared. Their choices are very limited. The cafeteria is consistently bad. It is a typical low-budget ARA operation.

The problem is that you rarely choose a hospital for the food served. You generally are directed to the facility where your specialists direct you to.

The problem is that you rarely choose a hospital for the food served. You generally are directed to the facility where your specialists direct you to.

That's why I was so appreciative of my sawbone's attention to my well-being and comfort - orthopaedic surgeons aren't generally known for being warm & fuzzy, to put it mildly. She operated in EH, too, but deliberately steered me toward Glenbrook for its superior comfort level, peaceful atmosphere, and attentive staff. I griped at her choice initially, as I live not more than 10 minutes away from EH. I'm a dope.

sundevilpeg wrote:That's why I was so appreciative of my sawbone's attention to my well-being and comfort - orthopaedic surgeons aren't generally known for being warm & fuzzy, to put it mildly. She operated in EH, too, but deliberately steered me toward Glenbrook for its superior comfort level, peaceful atmosphere, and attentive staff. I griped at her choice initially, as I live not more than 10 minutes away from EH. I'm a dope.

Actually, the MOST IRRITATING thing that I have encountered was on my last hospitalization of four days for what ended up being a magnesium deficiency.

Four different rooms in four days.

That WILL impact my choice of hospitals in the future.

I was in Delnor Hospital in Geneva for 2 days in January and then again for 2 days in February for the same thing. They have a concierge kind of a system where you can order anything at any time from 6 am until 6 pm. Unfortunately on my first stay I didn't get released from ER until after 6 pm so they had to grub around and found me a cold ham and cheese on white bread and some fruit. It was OK, I had been in the ER since noon and hadn't eaten anything. After that, the food was pretty good but I had to remember to be very specific when I ordered because they don't automatically send out things like salt, pepper, ketchup or butter unless you ask for it. The system of ordering anytime seemed a little wasteful because the food service people were constantly walking the aisles picking up or delivering food and dishes.

Just spent four days in Champlain Valley Physicians' Hospital, Plattsburgh NY, doing my second knee. They have a menu system, with lots of choices. But the food isn't very good. The weirdest thing was the reversal of salting. Things that absolutely *require* salt--grits, for example--showed up with little to no salt. But things that required only a modest modicum of salt--chicken fingers, for example--showed up so heavily salted as to be inedible. Weird. I began to suspect that it was the fault of an Evil Demon, that was the only explanation that made sense to me.

Awfully well-run hospital, otherwise.

Geo

A number of years ago I spent a few days in Swedish Covenant on the north side. Even with the dietary restrictions I was impressed with the quality of the food. I'm not saying I'd want another heart attack just to get back for the food but all in all I thought they did a great job (and all of the staff were great as well).