What is Otay Ranch’s Best School Food? Part 1
- Kalani Patel and Tyson Pruitt
- Sep 29
- 14 min read
Expert rating from two seasoned lunch food professionals.
School lunch is necessary, but sometimes inherently bad. State-funded programs have provided food to students for free ever since the pandemic, but we have found that many options available in these last few years are really chopped. However, there are a few hidden gems in the rough. As we are now seniors and have been dedicated to school lunches for years, we decided to break down the main 30 dishes from our time in a list from worst to best. Keep in mind that these ratings are against each other, not against all food in general.
For your viewing guide: In our list, we list rankings of foods from worst to best. We will give our group overall ranking first next to the food name. Under each food, we will first provide a category of either a main dish or a backup dish with the main dish being what they first provide when the lines open and the backup dish being what they provide when there is nothing else left. Then, we will say its rarity (as of September 25, 2025) being common, uncommon, rare, super rare, legendary, or vaulted (no longer provided). After the categorization, we both will provide our own comments about the food under T for Tyson and K for Kalani. At the end, we will provide a brief group summary.
Disclaimer: It is important to note that we go to get lunch at the cafeteria pretty much every day, and we always head over there at about 1:23 (12:23 on Mondays), which means that we often arrive when the main dishes for the day are out of stock and we are left with rarer backup items that our school’s early birds are probably less familiar with.
Disclaimer too: We are seniors and have been here for years, so we have tried some old items that many current students have never seen before.
Disclaimer (also): This is part 1 of a 2 part series of ratings. We’ve realized that this might be too much information for a casual viewer to read in one sitting so we’ve made the executive decision to split the article in 2 parts for easier understanding.
Disclaimer (as well): Due to a severe lack of pictures with us eating these food items, we have made the executive decision to draw expertly crafted illustrations for half of these food items for easier viewing.
30th place: Bean Tamale: 1/10
Category: Backup Dish
Rarity: Uncommon
K: The bean tamale is terrible. The beans are grainy and don’t even taste good while the actual maize part is dry and brittle. It is everything a tamale should NOT be. However, it is not completely terrible because it is somewhat filling so my rating would be around a 2/10-3/10 if not for the terror that was early junior year lunchtime. Every day for about 2 ½ weeks, we were forced to eat the bean tamale which led to my resentment for it and its place as the WORST school food. 1/10
T: This item has one of the most extensive reputations of any food at our school among the people I’ve talked to. It’s actually comically bad. I don’t eat tamales outside of school, but I don’t need to do that in order to know that these ones are horrible. Luckily, they are pretty rare to see now (unlike junior year when they were the backup item literally every single day). Still, I’m eternally haunted by the sight of walking into the line and seeing that tin foil wrapping waiting at the end… every single day. This makes it easily the worst item in circulation and I have actual resentment for them.
We both (along with many others) agree that this is the worst food item that is and has ever been served within our 4 years at the school.
29th place: Taco Salad: 1/10
Category: Backup Dish
Rarity: Super Rare
K: The taco salad sucks. I’ve had it once EVER (learned from my mistakes) and it was terrible. It advertises itself as a “taco” salad with assortments of veggies and a vegan sort of meat. The meat is genuinely some repulsive stuff. It's chewy and grainy at the same time and it tastes like nothing (I had to put lemon on it to make it taste like anything). The rest is just a giant salad but its random vegetables like corn and lettuce so it's not much better. 1/10
T: I have had the taco salad one time, and funnily enough it was during a journalism meeting (join!!!). But anyways, it’s really bad and I don’t plan on ever getting it again. There’s just nothing there. It actually sounds pretty good on paper, but in reality the chips are the only remotely redeeming factor, and there is vegan meat with random veggies which just don’t taste good. I have seen so many of these in the black reject box it’s not even funny. I nearly wanted to place this below the bean tamale, but nothing can ever fall below that bar.
Both agree that it sucks. No taste with random assortments of veggies.
28th Place: Falafel: 2/10
Category: Backup Dish
Rarity: Common
K: Personally, I might just not like falafel. I know that some may enjoy falafel but it's honestly just really crumbly and bland (at least the school one is). The only redeeming part of this dish is the hummus and sides they give like chips, cucumbers, and carrots which work together. The hummus is bad quality though so not much credit to it. 2/10
T: The falafels genuinely bring me despair to see. Discounting the Tamale tyranny era in junior year, this is easily the most common backup dish in recent cafeteria history. It’s possibly a personal issue of me just not liking falafel, but I think that the amount you see rejected and the fact that they are always last left over speaks volumes. They have no flavor and just taste so bad. The only reason that they are rated slightly higher than the two previous choices is because they have some decent sides (namely the hummus and chips).
Both agree that falafel is bad with only hummus and sides redeeming the dish.
27th Place: Cheese and Lettuce Sandwich
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Legendary
K: I have no idea what Tyson is talking about. I think he got a fluke sandwich that accidentally had no turkey in it but maybe I'm wrong who really knows. He’s the expert here. ???/10
T: I have had this one time, and it was like 2 weeks ago. I don’t really know what’s going on, but this is just the standard double turkey-cheese-lettuce sandwich in wheat bread in that plastic container. Instead, I grabbed one that had no turkey in either sandwich. It’s funny to look back on, but I remember taking that first bite and feeling utter disappointment thinking I had an actually decent item (which will be covered later). This anecdote is highly confusing and I am curious to know if I genuinely just got unlucky that day or if this is a real item that I have never grabbed before. Either way, it’s just a straight up downgrade from a pretty solid dish, and if it’s actually real and not just a figment of my imagination, it’s the worst primarily offered dish at our school.
Tyson’s word is bond here.
26th Place: Fiesta Vegan Burrito: 3/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Super Rare
K: Honestly, I don't think I've ever picked this up. I’ve steered clear because it's a vegan “fiesta” burrito which means it’s in the same family as that god forsaken taco salad. Once again, Tyson is the expert.
T: This burrito is offered in green styled tin foil (perhaps to indicate that it’s a vegan option), but I didn’t know this when I tried it for the first time. So, I grabbed it thinking it was a California or pork carnitas burrito, and my disappointment was immeasurable. It’s a burrito with no meat in it. It has an overwhelming “this is missing something really important” flavor (because it is) and it’s super bland. I can assure you I will probably never get one of them again, especially because it’s really rare.
Tyson’s word is bond (again).
25th Place: Fruit Salad with Cottage Cheese: 4/10
Category: Backup Item
Rarity: Rare
K: Never had this. Its green and green means bad. Also I don't like cottage cheese.
T: The fruit salad has some very tasty offerings, namely the grapes and cantaloupe. I don’t personally like cottage cheese, but I understand its appeal and appreciate its presence here. Additionally, they started adding those Educational Snacks animal cracker bags in, and those are lowkey really good. However, this item is still really flawed because it lacks anything of actual volume/substance, so I am literally never full after eating it. It’s basically just a selection of good supplementary items trying to be a full course, and that doesn’t work.
For the third time in a row, Tyson’s word is bond. This is why you get a partner to rate things.
24th Place: Spicy Chicken Sandwich: 6/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Common
K: Spicy chicken is an interesting case. The sandwich by itself is not great. It’s very bland and the spice doesn’t help much. It’d be a 4/10 if we were basing it just off of that. However, we’ve found that with condiments, it actually tastes pretty decent. It gives flavor to the bland, processed chicken patty which is desperately needed. The condiments bump it up to a 6/10. Still not the best though (very dry).
T: There is a hefty increase in food quality from this point onwards. The spicy chicken sandwich is the first item that I am actually content with seeing on the shelves. On its own, it’s pretty bad since it’s bland and dry, especially because it’s spicy, but this is sorta made up for by the addition of ketchup, which remedies both problems. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize the need for ketchup (2.5 years), but at least I did. The benefit of this offering is that it actually has substance and protein in the chicken, so as long as you have liquids to drink or you have spice tolerance then it’s not an awful choice. This meal makes me wish that they would just serve a regular chicken sandwich with a better patty.
The sandwich on its own is dry and bland (4/10) but with condiments it adds flavor and makes it not as dry.
23rd Place: Bean and Cheese Burrito: 6/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Uncommon
K: The bean and cheese burrito is pretty good. It had refried beans which are honestly the best type of beans. I’m not the biggest fan of cheese but it’s tolerable in this burrito. However, it's just okay. There’s nothing really special about it. It’s also very small and if you eat too much some of the bean and cheese mixture drops down. I think I stained my shirt once with the beans.
T: This is a solid item. It is difficult to go wrong with a bean and cheese burrito, a staple dish for sure. The beans are of good quality, but I do wish there was more cheese in it. Overall, it tastes pretty good and I am usually content with grabbing myself one, since it’s decently filling. Just be careful not to spill it on yourself.
The beans are pretty good but other than that it’s just okay. Very drippy beans though so be careful.
22nd Place: Turkey, Cheese, and Lettuce: 6/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Uncommon
K: This is just a sandwich (although it has whole wheat bread). It comes in a cool perfectly fitting sandwich box though. It tastes pretty good although that’s just because it's a standard sandwich. I can’t think of anything else to say. It's just a factory cut sandwich.
T: This is like the most standard offering on the entire menu. Two whole wheat sandwiches with the works. It’s boring, but it gets the job done with a decent flavor profile. I do think that the cheese to lettuce ratio is kinda bad (not enough cheese), but this will keep you full. 6/10.
Standard, boring, but good.
21st Place: Cheeseburger with Onion Rings: 6/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Common
K: Cheeseburger is boring. It’s alright but the patty honestly isn’t that good. It can be saved though as it often comes with lettuce and pickle (I love pickle). It has recently come with onion rings which people say aren’t that good but honestly I’m okay with them. They are pretty much just onions with crumble covering but they work well with ketchup and the onion is cooked so it’s alright on its own.
T: Here we have another very standard offering. A simple meat patty with cheese on two buns with a side of onion rings. Fun fact, they only added the onion rings kind of recently. For a while a few years ago it was just the burger. However, this basically doesn’t change anything since the onion rings are really bad. They have absolutely zero salt on them and are glorified straight onions. Back to the burger, the patty is mid but the bun is okay and cheese is cheese. My personal burger standard involves excess cheese, so I do wish there was more, but that would be largely unpopular I’m sure. These are okay, and when supplemented with ketchup can taste alright enough. Plus, it’s decently filling.
Burger patty is not great but overall the meal is alright. Quite filling.
20nd Place: Peach Yogurt Parfait: 7/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Rare
K: I’ve had this once or twice. It’s a bigger version of the one they serve during nutrition break. But not by much because by bigger I just mean they add more granola and peaches and a little more yogurt. It’s good though but just for the reasons that it’s good for nutrition. Yogurt tastes good and so do the peaches and granola but I don't want to be eating yogurt for lunch honestly.
T: This is a really strange case, because these are also offered at select nutrition breaks (albeit in a smaller size). It’s a plastic cup containing a bunch of vanilla yogurt with granola and peach slices. Now- I personally love yogurt and granola- but this is just the wrong time of day to eat it as your main source of calories. So while this parfait tastes really good, it doesn’t successfully do the trick of keeping me full… like at all.
Bigger version of the one in nutrition break. Tastes good but honestly not that filling.
19th Place: Pretzel with Cheese: 7/10
Category: Backup Dish
Rarity: Vaulted
K: The pretzel with cheese dip was good when it was here. It was a backup dish with a chewy pretzel and that HEAVILY processed cheese (and sunflower seeds but those are less important). The pretzel was sort of rubbery and kinda felt like it was pretzel flavored if that makes sense. The cheese with the pretzel was good though. Overall I think it was pretty good for its time, hopefully they bring it back. 7/10.
T: This item is a crazy throwback. I don’t think this has been available since my sophomore or maybe even freshman year. It’s a weird case for me because I didn’t love the pretzel, because it was super bland on its own, but the cheese was the same one that currently gets offered with the nachos (stay tuned), and I genuinely love that cheese so much. For me it carries this ranking, but I know the pretzel was definitely popular for some people. Overall, it was a good offering and may it rest in peace.
With the cheese, the pretzel was good (Tyson is a processed cheese fiend).
18th Place: Pork Carnitas Burrito: 7/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Uncommon
K: Don’t get me wrong, the pork carnitas burrito is good. I loved it so much I even ate 2 once. Bad idea. I had cross country practice later and my stomach was KILLING me. Overall the burrito is good, it has real meat (I think) and more flavor than many of the other things on this list. Just don't eat multiple in one sitting. 7/10
T: I personally really like this burrito. It’s much better than the bean and cheese one since it just has more flavors in it and is stronger and more filling, in large part thanks to the pork which is really good. It isn’t the best burrito they offer, but I am more than pleased to walk into the lines and see this.
It has a strong, filling flavor due to the pork and is overall a strong lunch option.
17th Place: Bosco's Breadsticks with Marinara: 7/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Rare
K: Tyson is weird for this ranking. Personally, I think the Bosco sticks are trash. They are SO bland with the little powders of cheese on the outside. The cheese on the inside is also just okay (but I also just don’t like cheese). For me, it's 3/10. However, it comes with this marinara sauce sometimes (if you’re lucky and it doesn’t run out before you get there). The marinara sauce bumps it up to a 6/10 for me because it works well with the bread and cheese. However me and Tyson decided to meet in the middle for a 7/10.
T: I have a very fond opinion of these, since it’s been a reliable classic ever since I got to high school. I don’t know what they put in these things, but they are genuinely addicting. I love the texture and the cheese is simply excellent. They are surprisingly filling and I wanted to rank them higher on this list but the only reason we didn’t is because Kalani doesn’t like them for some reason. As a side note, I don’t get to have them much because these things fly off the shelves at the cafeteria at record pace. I literally have not seen an item in all my years that goes out of stock faster. A true shame.
Tyson loves them for the cheese and bread and Kalani hates them because it’s bland.
16th Place: Uncrustables: 7.5/10
Category: Absolute Last Backup Item
Rarity: Legendary
K: I’ve only gotten these once for lunch and I think it was when we were very late to get to the lunch lines. One was okay but two of them fill you up pretty nicely. It’s just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with no crust in white bread. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. 7.5/10.
T: This is just funny. In my four years, this has been offered two times, and both of these instances were in the same week like a month ago. It seems that the cafeteria had absolutely nothing left in stock to offer; we went to the lines super late, and I guess they ran out of all the normal backup items or something, and this is the genuine LAST resort they have in supply. The first time they did this they only gave out one sandwich to each student, which was just not enough sustenance at all. They seemingly realized this, and a few days later they must’ve ran out of everything again, but this time they gave everyone two of the sandwiches. Now that is great. These aren’t healthy or anything and pose an allergen risk but they taste so good that I couldn’t be upset about two of them for free. I really don’t know if or when we will ever see these again, but it is a funny story for sure.
Two of them fill you up pretty nicely and they are just a PB&J sandwich.
15th Place: Corn Dog: 7.5/10
Category: Primary Offering
Rarity: Vaulted
K: Corn dog oh corn dog, come back to me. The corn dog was pretty good. I think it was like a small corn dog wrapped foil. It had okay proportions from what I remember; not too much bread, not too much dog. Good with ketchup. 7.5/10.
T: This is a true shame. I’m pretty sure that during my freshman and sophomore years these were offered pretty regularly, and I really don’t understand why they stopped. Corn dogs are so good and you basically can’t mess them up. These just tasted like an average corn dog and I hope they bring them back (even though I know they probably won’t).
Average corn dog so it was pretty good.
This is the end of part 1 of our rankings. The real good stuff comes in part 2. We hope you’ll read that when it comes out to find out what is actually the best food item.
SOURCES:
there is SO MUCH LOVE put into this article. this is the LOVECHILD of Tyson and Kalani. i can't believe HOW MUCH LOVE was used between the two authors. i would REALLY LOVE to receive uncrustables at lunch. ts unfortunate, because i wouldn't USUALLY LOVE all the other options.
i enjoy