Category Archives: On-Campus Dining

Top Five Places to Eat on Campus

On-Campus Dining

There are many places to eat on campus, whether it be coffee shops, dining halls, or a large food court with multiple chain restaurant brands. The campus has many standalone food establishments, such as Raising Cane’s in Paty Hall, Subway in Alston Hall, Starbucks in the Ferg and the Corner Supe Store, and Dunkin Donuts in the Lakeside Dining building. In addition, many convenience stores, such as such as Julia’s Market, Lakeside Market, Union Market, and the Presidential Village Market/Deli are available for students to pick up small snacks and other dorm room necessities. A recent addition to the campus food market has been lots of food trucks that are set up in various areas of campus.  Here is my list of the top five places to eat on campus.

5: Lakeside Dining Hall

Lakeside Dining is a meal plan location situated in a very convenient location within   walking distance from the various dorms that are spread across the north side of campus between Jack Warner Parkway and the main areas of campus. Lakeside is also the dining hall that is open the longest: it opens at 7am and closes at midnight most days except Friday and Saturdays, where it closes at 8:30pm. Lunch usually starts at around 11am, and dinner has the same menu lineup as lunch. Some of the things unique to Lakeside is the Crimson Fry, which is sometimes offered and serves chicken fingers with toasted bread and French fries. Their breakfast is decent, and the lunch/dinner is average compared to the other dining halls.

 

4: Burke Dining Hall

Burke Dining is another meal plan location that is located on the south side of campus between the Burke West and Burke East residence halls. Burke’s lunch has a different menu setup from dinner. The all-day breakfast area has cereal like Lakeside, but also has waffle makers available daily. They have unique meals every day, especially the Exhibition line where they can serve stuff like pancakes for dinner, chocolate quesadillas, and more! The quality and selection of food is slightly better than Lakeside, but Burke isn’t open as often (and closed on Saturdays).

 

3: Dunkin Donuts

Dunkin Donuts is a nationwide donut/coffee chain that has a location inside the Lakeside Image result for dunkin donuts uadining hall building. They are open late, usually until midnight or even 2am, so it is a great place to go get a quick donut after that late-night exam. There are many tasty donuts to choose from, from plain glazed donuts to decorated cream-filled chocolate glazed donuts, and the donuts do not cost as much. There is coffee available for students to drink and small snacks to eat to go along with their donuts. Dunkin Donuts accepts cash, credit cards, Dining Dollars, and Bama Cash.

2: Fresh Foods

Fresh Foods is the newest of the three regular meal plan locations located across from Rodgers Library, moved to its current location from the Ferguson Center in 2014. In my opinion Fresh Foods is one of the best meal plan locations on the entire campus, with a variety of food options available for students, staff, and visitors. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, with roller garage doors that are open when it’s nice and sunny outside. There is always something different each day, such as home-style meatloaf, fried fish, meat lover’s pizza, and more. The only downside of Fresh Foods is that it’s closed on weekends, and closes at 6pm Monday thru Thursday and closes at 4pm on Fridays.

1: Food Court in the Ferguson Center

The food court at the Ferguson Center tops the list of the top five places to eat on campus. There are multiple food options at the Ferg, including Subway, Panda Express, Chick Fil’ A, Wendy’s, Auntie Anne’s, and Topio’s Pizza. My personal favorite out of the six food options in the food court is Panda Express, which has the popular dish called orange chicken. Orange chicken comprises of fried chicken pieces that are glazed with orange-flavored chili sauce, and served with either rice or fried rice. Another great option in the food court that I recommend is Chick Fil’ A. Chick Fil’ A is open the longest out of the six food options in the food court and also serves breakfast options in the morning. All six food options accept cash, credit cards, dining dollars, and Bama Cash.

 

 

 

Got questions or comments about this list? Post them below in the Comments section.

Making Your Meal Plan Count

On-Campus Dining, , ,

Do you find yourself with 100’s of leftover meal swipes at the end of the year? Most students here at the University of Alabama purchase a meal plan but don’t know how to get the most for their money. The main reason why people end up wasting meal swipes is because they aren’t sure where or when to go to dining halls. We all prefer to eat out at our restaurant of choice, but if we take a closer look, the meal plan provides great options that don’t require extra money.

Dining Halls
No two people have identical daily routines, but there are plenty of dining halls to fit into any and all schedules. Here are a few dining halls with varying hours of operation that students can choose from

• Burke Dining Hall– Burke is an all you can eat dining hall located in Burke Hall. So if you live in Burke, nearby Tutwiler, or find yourself out on the southeast side of campus, Burke’s your place. They stay open from 7am-2pm and then re-open for dinner from 5pm-9:30pm during the week. Burke offers a wide variety of food options, but always bakes their hot, cheesy pizza every day without fail

• The Fresh Food Company– Nestled in the Science and Engineering Complex area is Fresh Foods. Open weekdays from 7am to 6pm, they provide delicious food choices all day long. From gooey grilled cheeses to chocolatey cookie brownies to fresh, salty French fries, the options are endless. Although it’s sure to satisfy any student, this dining hall sits in an ideal location for students in science related majors who are out and about going to classes.


• Lakeside Dining– Obviously, if you live in Presidential dorms or Lakeside dorms this dining hall lies near you. Lakeside Dining is UA’s biggest all you care to eat restaurant. Asian cuisine, home-style meals, burgers, pastas, sandwiches are just a few of the many selections. My personal favorite is the chicken tenders, fries, and Texas toast because it tastes almost identical to Raising Cane’s. Lakeside stays open on the weekends which can be very helpful when trying to budget your money. Also, they remain open later than most dining halls closing at either midnight or 2am.
• Bryant Dining– While this hall serves only the student athletes for dinner, it serves any student during brunch. This hall offers carved meats, salad bar, and made-to-order deli and grill. Located in the Bryant Hall, this dining option stays open from 8:30am-1pm.
On the Go
Not everyone’s schedule allows them to sit down for a meal each day. Sometimes we just need to grab food and go. Bama Dining understands this too well which is why students may purchase reusable to-go boxes. Here’s how they work:
1) Go to any dining hall and purchase a container for only $5
2) Fill up your to-go box with foods of your choice and take it with you
3) Return your box to any dining hall to have it cleaned and receive a new box to repeat the process
The To-Go Box Program helps out busy students by allowing them to capitalize on their meal plan without it subtracting time from their agendas.

Fresh2Go options are also available at Julia’s Market in Tutwiler and Presidential Terrace. These fresh snacks can be purchased by a meal swipe instead of Dining Dollars which helps to knock off extra swipes if needed.

UA offers many food options on campus, and most people only know half of them. For more information on Bama Dining locations and hours of operation, check out their website.

Where to Get Your Caffeine Fix

On-Campus Dining, ,

If you are like me, having your morning coffee is essential to waking up in the morning. Without my daily coffee, I will be off-task, tired, and unfocused. This, combined with finals right around the corner, will guarantee a few visits to local campus coffee shops. Whether it be early in the morning or late at night, here are all of the places on and near campus where you can get your caffeine fix:

Starbucks at the Ferg: Although most students already know, there is a Starbucks located on the first floor of the Fergusen Student Center, directly across from the Supe Store. The line may be long, but nothing beats a reliable Starbucks coffee. The menu is extensive and provides everyone with a beverage they are sure to like!

Dunkin’ Donuts at Lakeside: Lakeside may not have the best food, but at least we are lucky to say there is a Dunkin’ Donuts right upstairs. The line is rarely long, and the employees get your coffee out just in time to get to class. My personal favorite Dunkin’ Donuts beverage is a large Cold Brew coffee with two creams and two sugars. It may not be a healthy option, but it tastes good and wakes me up and gives me the motivation to study.

The Bistro: The Bistro is a small coffee shop located in the C&BA Complex in between Bidgood and Alston next to Subway. They brew Starbucks coffee and provide a quick coffee run on a different side of campus. I personally have never been to the Bistro, but I have heard good things about it. If you are a Freshman and live in Friedman Hall, stop by the Bistro during your swift coffee breaks.

Java City: Java City is a strategically placed coffee shop located on the ground floor of Gorgas Library. They serve a wide variety of cold and hot coffee beverages and are sure to satisfy your coffee cravings. If you are already in the Library, Java City is only a few steps away.

Dining halls: Free coffee is always good coffee. If you are Freshman like me and have unlimited meal swipes, free coffee is right at your fingertips. Lakeside, Fresh Foods, Burke, and Bryant all have free coffee options inside the dining halls. After my meal, I usually grab a cup on the way out.

Whether you need that extra boost for studying or you just aren’t a morning person, each of these locations provides you with the caffeine fix you need.

Eating Seasonally

On-Campus Dining, Staying Healthy

Despite the generally warm and sunny weather Alabama gets from being in the South, is still lucky to receive all four seasons of the calendar year, and with them, the specific blooming and harvesting patterns of various produce. Spring, the season of blooming buds and returning color to the Earth, is highlighted by the sprouting of fresh green vegetables like asparagus and crunchy romaine lettuce. As the transition to summer begins and the sun begins to rise higher for longer, the season of berries and melons takes place. Bright red, juicy, succulent strawberries pop from their vines, deep indigo orbs drop from the stems of the blueberry bushes, and snake green rinds are sliced open to reveal speckled, pale pink watermelon. When the leaves begin to drop and the Earth falls into a world of deep yellows, burgundies, and browns, gorging pumpkins, feathery fennel shoots, crunchy apples, and fluffy green kale are ready to be plucked for favorite autumnal dishes. When the calendar year begins to wind down, and the trees once again go bare in the crisp days of winter, an assortment of juicy citrus fruits can be harvested. Oranges, clementines, lemons, and nectarines are some of Alabama’s most tangy wintertime finds.

It’s often easy to identify which foods are in season based on the featured items served in popular chains, like Bread Co’s Summer Berry Smoothie or, one of my personal favorites, Starbucks’ Fall Pumpkin Spice Bread. Although it’s nice to indulge in these seasonal restaurant favorites, it’s important to eat more raw versions of the produce, too. Choosing to eat fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables during natural harvesting time has a variety of benefits.

Earth’s natural growing cycles often ensure food is at its best. The certain season in which specific fruits and vegetables grow have conditions that are ideal for reaching optimal ripeness. During peak season, produce often contains the largest amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which provide a greater supply of nutrients to us when eaten.

Not only does eating fruits and vegetables in season provide more benefits to human health, it also helps improve the health of our planet. Most often, seasonal produce in grocery stores is coming from a place nearby because the foods are naturally abundant in that area. Since choosing seasonally usually means choosing foods grown locally, fewer resources are needed to harvest and transport foods from areas farther away. This has a tremendous effect on reducing the carbon footprint created from growing, harvesting, and transporting food.

As a college student, it may seem challenging to practice and reap the rewards of seasonal eating due to the restraints of the dining halls and the abundance of cheap chain restaurants like Chik-fil-A and Panda Express, but there are definitely a variety of ways to implement eating ripe fruits and vegetables into our daily diets. Researching the seasonality of different fruits and vegetables is an easy first step. From there, the seasonal eater should look to eat the current season’s foods being served in the dining halls. For example, this coming spring students can focus on the salad bars were the shoots of leafy greens are most likely to be locally produced and recently harvested.

We can also make a change by choosing to go grocery shopping at the local farmer’s markets rather than retail chains. Not only will you be getting some the freshest produce, you’ll also be directly contributing to the community’s local gardeners and farmers, which can help Tuscaloosa maintain a community-based selection of fruits and vegetables.

At UA, there are two farmer’s markets located within close proximity to the campus. TheTuscaloosa River Market, held along the Riverwalk, takes place in the spring every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. and is about a fifteen-minute stroll from most dorms.

At the beginning of the Fall semester each year, students can also partake in theUniversity’s student-led farmer’s market, Homegrown Alabama, where an assortment of produce from late summer months and the beginnings of autumn are featured: tomatoes, berries, pumpkins, melons, and more.

Whether from the dining hall or the farmer’s market, one truly cannot go wrong choosing fresh and choosing seasonal.

 

 

Homemade, Dorm-style, Vegan Pumpkin Spice Bread

 

Ingredients

  • 1 box of Duncan Hine’s Pumpkin Spice Cake Mix
  • 1 c almond milk
  • 2 tbsp dairy-free butter, melted
  • ½ c applesauce
  • Dash of cinnamon for on top

Preparation

  1. Place all ingredients into a blender
  2. Blend until smooth
  3. Grease the inside of a large, covered, microwaveable bowl
  4. Pour cake batter into bowl
  5. Heat for 5 minutes
    • Ensure cake is cooked thoroughly by using a toothpick test
  6. Flip cake onto flat surface and let cool for 10 minutes
  7. Cut into slices and enjoy!