Most schools in America try to stuff students with cheap food that would probably be rejected by inmates serving life sentences. But some schools do food right, and for that they deserve a shout out. So if you’ve got a hungry tummy and don’t like punishing your body with mass-produced sludge, scroll through TheDC’s official list of colleges with the best quality food.
Adored by students, visiting parents and even hungry professors Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University pumps out some quality grub. One of the most mouthwatering dining halls at Virginia Tech is Hokie Grill & Co. which has Chick-fil-A, Pizza Hut, Carvel and Dunkin Donuts. That’s right, the lucky bastards at VT get to roll out of bed for an 11 a.m. class, grab a cup of Dunkin’ and then munch on God’s gift to every college student: Chick-fil-A nuggets.
Students at the University of Georgia somehow manage to keep off the freshman 15, even though the dining options are nothing short of scrumptious. Serving up meals at each of the school’s five dining halls, the Southern University also has three food courts that dish out everything from vegan salads to tar-black coffee to get students through all nighters.
It’s that time of the year when overeager freshmen get dropped off at college and make the transition from confused dweebs to campus studs. And the University of Missouri in St. Louis has a cafe called Comfort Food to nourish students during nervous nights. Other cafes and restaurants include a few Asian food spots, Subway sandwiches, and campus-wide loved Italian food.
Bowdoin University has an avant-garde style dining hall, chockfull of tasty, quality meals. When students get tired of hoofing it to the mess hall, they have countless choices to keep their stomachs happy. Most notably, Bowdoin’s Jack Magee’s Bar and Grill fries up burgers and sandwiches for hungry (and sometimes probably hungover) students, while Moulton Union has a homey atmosphere and menu.
When students at the University of California Los Angeles get a hankering for apple pie or deep dish brownies, they get to go to their campus bakery. That’s right, UCLA has a bakery. But since it’s California and filled with people who make a point of looking good in bikinis and swim shorts, there are multiple food stations and cafes that serve vegan and vegetarian options that sound surprisingly good.
Massachusetts is crowded with farms and fisherman, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst takes full advantage of eating local. UMass turned a 1782 colonial house into a cozy little dining attraction that dishes out local foods. But if eating in historical houses isn’t your idea of college dining, the university also serves specialty meals at the countless dining stations, including gluten free meals and quality Asian food.
When students are hungover Sunday morning, Purdue University serves brunch at Hillenbrand Court, just so students can carb-out on Belgian waffles and pig-out on bacon. And every Thursday, Hillenbrand serves steak and potatoes. But this is just one dining hall on campus, Purdue boasts a total of five mess halls and 20 restaurants. Yes, Purdue has 20 restaurants on campus, all of which serve quality grub.
California Baptist University makes a point of giving its students family-like dining atmospheres. CBU’s dining hub, Alumni Dining Commons, specially prepares every meal and plate to look like a meal from Bon Apetit magazine. When students roam outside of the main dining hall, they can scarf down food at two cafes that serve Southwestern foods, hoagies, and of course, burgers.
The University of San Diego has an on-campus grocery store. When students get tired of eat award winning, locally grown meals, handcrafted smoothies, or food from USD’s very own food truck, they can pick up fresh and frozen food from the school’s grocery store. And like most colleges — especially in California — USD prepares healthy meals that actually taste good.
(Photo Credits: Youtube Screenshot/Virginia Tech, Youtube: Screenshot/Kavi Vu, Flikr:Creative Commons, Flikr: Creative Commons, Youtube: Screenshot/UCLA, Youtube: Screenshot/UMass Dining,Youtube: Screenshot/Purdue University, Flikr: Creative Commons, Youtube Screenshot:USD Admissions)