This term, to compensate for the temporary closure of Sayles Café, Carleton has extended the hours of the Language and Dining Center (LDC) to include a late-night, short-order menu. The food served is similar to the old late-night menu at Sayles, including items such as french fries, chicken tenders, and tofu strips. Late-night LDC starts half an hour after the dining hall closes at 7:00 p.m.
Many students welcomed the temporary change. “I like it. It’s way closer to all the buildings over here coming from Evans,” said Daniel Estrada ’26. “I think they should keep it at LDC, or at least concurrently with Sayles,” he said.
Others focused on LDC’s hours, which end at 12:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10:00 p.m. on all other days. It is unclear whether LDC will continue to operate during late-night hours when Sayles reopens, but according to Carleton’s website, the dining hall will maintain this schedule for at least the rest of Fall Term.
“I actually like it, but it should be held open for longer on the weekdays,” said Barry Sato ’27. Sato LAO mentioned its potential utility to students: “You know college students. Sometimes we like having another meal after our homework is done”.
One new item on the late-night menu is pizza, which was not previously served at Sayles. Estrada opined that this was “redundant,” as LDC and Burton regularly serve pizza for dinner.
LDC also brought back mozzarella sticks, which, according to Bon Appétit, was a popular request. Narjis Nusaibah ’26 agreed, saying “I came here for the mozzarella sticks, not because this is LDC, but because they are mozzarella sticks. I’d rather have Sayles than LDC, but LDC over nothing.”
The other foods are still up to standard, according to Hope Yu ’26. “The food is usually fast, and it can draw a larger crowd on the weekends, which ends up being fun. The few times I’ve gone, I’ve had a great time!” Yu rejected the idea of having LDC open permanently, however. “For LDC to truly work as a place to socialize and create community, the promise of Sayles would need to be completely gone. It sort of just feels like we’re in a stalemate, waiting and biding time until the reopening.”
Ben More ’24 shared this concern and went as far as to call LDC “temporarily possessed by the spirit of a different dining hall.” When asked to elaborate, More said, “It feels like a dream, for better or worse.”
Despite the mostly positive reviews, there have been a few complaints. “The only drawback is that there are no fountain drinks. That sucks,” said Estrada. He wasn’t the only one that drew this comparison to Sayles.
Working in a dining hall turned into a café has come with some issues, said Daniel Lumbu ’26. “I miss Sayles obviously, y’know? It’s good that they have a secondary option. It’s not the greatest, but it’s working well enough. [Sayles was] already good, so it’s hard to walk farther.” When asked about his favorite food, Lumbu expressed that a cheeseburger was his go-to. However, the longer walk does not stop him from spending his dining dollars. “All the time, I gotta budget. It would lowkey be great if there was a ten-meal plan with 500 bucks,” he said.
Carleton students can use their dining dollars at numerous cafés around campus, which are allocated on a per-term basis and do not carry over. The existing Schulze and Weitz cafes are open, with Schulze now open on weekends. Just like LDC, it is unclear whether Schulze’s expanded hours will last past Fall Term.
