The dining halls on campus are more than just places to grab a meal — they’re breeding grounds for friendships, snapshots of campus life and sometimes a true test of endurance. Our dining halls deserve a spot in our hearts, even if they occasionally spark playful banter over questionable food choices.
Every morning students face a crucial decision: get up for breakfast or risk missing those fluffy pancakes at Lakeside Dining Hall or Fresh Food Company. Honestly, at our age, we shouldn’t have to make such serious choices. And let’s not forget the added stress of choosing between Lakeside and Fresh — why do we have to make such decisions right after waking up?
I’m not much of a breakfast aficionado, but my roommates always come through, bringing me breakfast in to-go boxes to save for dinner. Who says you can’t have breakfast for dinner? I may not be in the dining halls in the morning, but I can feel the warm and inviting vibes that fill the environment while walking to the gym. Breakfast time buzzes with energetic students gearing up to tackle the day ahead. If you ask me, I’d happily head to the dining hall just for that breakfast ambience.
Then comes lunchtime, which feels like a sprint. I’m torn between rushing to my second home — the sixth floor of Gorgas — or grabbing something to eat. Fresh is closer to the academic buildings, making it the hotspot during lunch, which means there’s always a line longer than a Monday morning. As a vegetarian, I often miss out on the delicious options my non-veg friends rave about, but their excitement over their favorite meals gives me a little satisfaction. Sharing in their joy makes up for what I might miss on my plate sometimes, but other times, I can’t help but wish that there were more options for vegetarians like me. That reminds me: Fresh provides vegetarian sliders with bean patties sometimes and they are scrumptious — you should give it a try if you haven’t already.
Dinner is a questionable time for me. After going through an entire day, the energy to walk to Lakeside for food just vanishes. I generally whip something up in the dorm, but for the lucky ones living in the Lakeside dorms, the story might be different. From the rare times I have been to dinners, I have gathered that people look less rushed and seem to be hanging out more. It may be a time to unwind for a lot of people. Lakeside is lively during dinner time and Fresh Food finally receives less crowd around 5 p.m..
No matter the time of day, the dining halls are a spectacle. You’ll see people searching for seats, indulging in three helpings of dessert, engaging in lively chats and frantically checking if the online menu matches the actual food. It’s a welcoming space for everyone.
You might bump into someone you know who wishes you luck on that upcoming exam or discover an exciting dish that wasn’t on the menu. Of course, there will be times you walk out feeling disappointed and hungry, but hey, that’s part of the adventure.
Overall, I genuinely love our campus dining halls. They’re lively and cheerful, and their dessert displays always beckon me, no matter how hard I try to resist. When I’m not at Subway or Dunkin’, the dining halls are my go-to spots for food. As someone who needs to recharge after a full day of socializing, I prefer to take my food to go, avoiding the quest for a table like it’s a competitive scavenger hunt. But for the social butterflies out there, those four walls are teeming with opportunities to make new friends.
