Every day during fourth, fifth, and sixth period, hundreds of students head down to the cafeteria to see how the day’s menu stacks up. Lunch at our school has evolved into a matter of personal strategy, where food is ranked by a strict rarity system ranging from “gray loot” to “mythical loot” based on student opinion.
Because the menu changes daily, students constantly debate which items deserve the top spots on the overall tier list.
“If it’s an Orange Chicken day, that’s easily the top drop on the menu,” sophomore Max Santillan said. “Nothing beats it, it’s mythical loot”
At the bottom of the system sits gray loot—the standard burgers and chicken sandwiches that offer baseline options but zero excitement. Moving up, common loot includes the reliable chicken tenders, curly fries, and mozzarella sticks. They’re enjoyable but basic. Then there’s the specialty pizza, which is widely considered epic loot.
“The Big Mac pizza is amazing,” sophomore Raymond Miller said. “When that specialty tray comes out, the energy in the cafeteria completely changes. I’d say it’s epic loot”
While the specialty pizza is a massive hit, the taco bar serves as a major playmaker on the menu. Loaded with rice, chicken, beef, corn, and queso, it stands as a reliable, big-portion staple that easily holds down the fort, though it typically only takes the spotlight when the top-tier items are absent.
“The taco bar is an always good when you need a huge meal,” freshman Aiden Dong said. “It’s common-tier, and I’d obviously only get it if Orange Chicken isn’t on the menu that day.”
The absolute highest tier, mythical loot, has seen the most dramatic switch ups this year. Pizza rolls held the crown during the first half of the year before completely vanishing from the menu, leaving a massive void until the kitchen came in clutch with the Orange Chicken late in the year.
“The pizza rolls leaving was a tragedy, but the Orange Chicken saved the semester,” junior Jonah Wyant said. “It came out of nowhere at the end of the year and instantly became the best thing on the menu.”
