The early days of the Microsoft cafeterias
A tour of Redmond campus cafeterias back in the old days
took much less time than
it would require nowadays.
Back then, the cafeterias were tiny affairs,
the size of maybe three offices not counting the prep area,
with a seating capacity of maybe a dozen tables.
Each cafeteria had a theme, so
going to lunch back in the day was not "Let's go to the nearby
mega-cafeteria and decide what we'll have."
It was
"Let's decide what we'll have, and then go to the mini-cafeteria that
is serving it."
Here are the cafeterias on campus back in
The Before Time,
along with their specialties:
- Building 1: Lite Bite.
Low-calorie and vegetarian food.
- Building 4: Wild Pizza.
Pizza, a hot entree, and sandwiches made to order.
- Building 5: Burger Bar.
The grill, and home of the famous Blibbet Burger.
- Building 8: American Fare.
Traditional American food for the meat-and-potatoes kind of guy.
- Building 9: International Cuisine.
A different featured country every week.
- Building 10: American Fare.
Traditional American food for the meat-and-potatoes kind of guy.
All cafeterias had a salad bar,
and the cafeterias in buildings 8 through 10 were extra large:
In addition to the featured theme, they also had a grill and made
sandwiches to order.
(It was like three cafeterias in one!)
I myself have never even seen a Blibbet Burger, much less eaten one.
Larry Osterman has some Blibbet memories,
and
Adam Barr has more cafeteria memories.
