Eating is very important to college students. According to a
statistic I just made up, 50% of students care more about finding food than
they do about their grades. But be not afraid, for on campus and in Rome there
are many places to find food.
D-Hall – Ah, the classic. Though the
chicken might be a bit tough and a lot of the food tastes pretty similar (i.e.
tasteless), as far as dining halls go it’s actually not that bad. We have a few
different lines of food, with some foods available all the time everyday (pizza
and cookies!). Some of my favorites from D-Hall include: Mac and cheese day
(where you can put on all sorts of toppings), cheesy bread, and grilled cheese
sandwiches (occasionally with bacon) on the panini grill. The best part about
D-Hall is it’s included on most meal plans, which means it’s sort of free!
Vahalla – Upstairs, we have our
flexbucks place, Vahalla. This eatery is a step up from D-Hall, with a Mexican
and burger station, as well as rice bowls, Chick-fil-A, and a very small market
(including chips and ice cream). When I’m in a rush, Chick-fil-A is my food of
choice. But there’s nothing quite like a juicy turkey burger with Swiss and
bacon from the Burger Studio and Coke slushy.
Java City – In addition to yummy
drinks (hello, chai tea Javalanche), Java City also has salads and pastries to
sustain students through late nights. My favorite: The Oreo parfait, a mix of
Oreos, chocolate and whipped cream. Yummmmmm…
Want to get off campus for a meal? Well, Rome has a wide variety of good and
relatively cheap eateries!
Las Palmas – There are several
Mexican restaurants in Rome, but I’m partial to Las Palmas because I am a
creature of habit. There are two branches of the restaurant in Rome—one that’s
a little less nice but generally more quiet, and another that’s what we college
students call “fancy” (it’s not fancy—it’s just a nice restaurant). I
particularly enjoy their queso dip, and have been known to have a full meal of
tea, queso dip, and free chips.
Ru San’s – An Asian restaurant known
for its sushi (and special sushi deals). I’m not a sushi person myself, but I
do like dumplings and other Asian dishes. It’s a good restaurant and cheap for
the quality of the food.
Jandy’s Frozen Yogurt – Yogurt (but
actually ice cream) you pay for by weight, with college discounts? Hello!
Jandy’s has a variety of flavors and toppings, and is a great combo of inexpensive
and not too much (because you control how much you want). The atmosphere is
very chill (ha, pun), too. I’ve spent many an evening just relaxing with my
friends and enjoying an Oreo-vanilla-white-chocolate-birthday-cake mix. (I
really like Oreos.)