COM Ambassador Blog

Jason: Best Campus Dining Halls

After experiencing BU for one entire year I figured I’d sit down and write about something practical, something you guys might find useful. So here is my list of the top five residence dining halls at BU.

• West Campus- West gets my vote as the number one because of sheer variety. West campus has the most options by far and although I have never been able to say with certain that it tastes better than the food in warren, having more options allows for a better chance that you’ll find something that’s healthy and tastes good. I’m also pretty sure they always have a make-your-own quesadilla bar, which is awesome. The only downside is that for me the dining hall usually seemed more crowded than others

• Warren Towers- My home base would have gotten the number one vote except for this last month. I think whoever runs the dining in Warren Towers may have checked out a little early because the selection (and quality) of the food over the last month has not been on par with its usual high standard. Regardless, the food here is usually exceptional with plenty of choices. The desserts are so good they’ll probably kill you and the dining hall is much more spacious than West campus.

• Myles Standish Hall- Although the building itself might need some work, the dining hall is in pristine condition. There are two sides to this dining hall (separated by a hallway) One is a more lively, social setting with several flat screen TV’s and the other reserved for more intimate, quiet dining. While smaller than both West and Warren, there are usually enough options and the food is pretty good. There’s nothing really bad about the dining in Myles but I guess there’s nothing that great either. But hey, average isn’t that bad.

• Shelton- It has just about as many options as Myles, the dining hall is pretty nice, and the food was good. I’ve only eaten there once though so I don’t have much to talk about.

• The Towers- Ok, honestly, who decided to build a dining hall in a basement? As much as I love eating next two ceiling high industrial sized fans or radiators, or I don’t even know what they are, some windows would be nice, no? The choices here are fairly limited and I don’t know, I mean its not gonna kill you but there are better options than Towers.

I hope you guys find this useful. I am not endorsed by any of the five residence dining halls so my opinion of each is honest and unbiased. Stay tuned for my next piece on the top five places to eat Late Night.

Tiffany: Visiting Chef Series

This is a shout out to all my fellow foodies out there!

After many conversations with my fellow Terriers and friends that attend other universities, I have come to the conclusion that BU dining halls are arguable on the better half of college dorm food because it actually tastes good and offers a wide selection that include awesome burritos, mac and cheese, and custom sandwiches on a daily basis.

A few times a year the dining hall goes all out and has specialty nights such as soul food night, Chinese New Year night, and lobster night. However, my favorite time in the dining hall is during the guest chef series where dining services brings in chefs from well-known restaurants around Boston to cater all the dining halls on campus. With a simple swipe of a BU ID card, students can experience an array of flavorful foods that would normally put a hole in the broke college student’s pocket. But with the help of dining services, students can experience the delicious foods of Boston with the same ease and for the same price of any ordinary meal in the dining hall, which is already pre-paid for anyway.

In recent years, visiting chefs from Jerry Remy’s Grill in Fenway, Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square, and Maggiano’s Little Italy have provided the dining halls with quality deliciousness and filled the bellies of BU undergrads. They even try and replicate the ambiance of the respective restaurant with white linen table clothes for a nice upscale restaurant like Eastern Standard or with a man throwing out bags of cotton candy and popcorn to replicate the game day feel of Jerry Remy’s Grill. With everything from the décor to the tasty food, dining services really transforms each dining hall into a real restaurant.

Nothing is more awesome than being able to go downstairs to the dining hall in sweatpants and flip-flops and having restaurants food at the tip of your tongue, right?

Richie: A Picnic in Boston

Hey guys!

Everyone on campus has been super excited since Spring finally decided to come to Boston. I walk around campus and see people playing frisbee, tossing a football around, or just laying out on the grass trying to catch a tan (yes there are some areas with grass on the BU Campus). Well, since my girlfriend was visiting for the week I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and plan a little picnic in the Boston Common.

We went to a Whole Foods Market and bought some “picnic” food on Saturday. I’m not to sure of the usual “picnic” food, but we did get cheese and crackers, some all-natural sodas, sandwich materials, vegetables for salad, and some raspberry licorice for dessert. Then on Sunday we prepared everything, put it in a backpack, grabbed a blanket from my dorm, and were off. I have to admit the floor was a little wet from some rain earlier in the morning, but the day was beautiful. The sun was out and we had an awesome meal. I even brought my laptop and put a chill Spring-time playlist on my iTunes to accompany the beautiful day.

The Swan Boats were open in the Boston Commons and my girlfriend and I went on a ride around the little lake. Afterwards, we packed everything back up again and walked down Newbury Street. A lot of the shops had prices that scared my wallet away, but my girlfriend managed to find a bunch of awesome sales at the new Forever 21 store.

It was also the day before the Boston Marathon so we got to walk on Boylston Street and see where the finish line would be. People from all over the world were walking around. We were in a sea of different languages.

The day was basically awesome. It took a while for Winter to end but Spring time in Boston is great. I definitely recommend the picnic idea to anyone who hasn’t tried it yet. The only thing I regret was we were missing the big red and white checkered blanket!

Sarah: Fy-What?

First off, I have to thank everyone who came to open house. Kudos to Admissions for picking you guys! You were well worth getting out of bed at 7am for. Hopefully we’ve helped guide you toward a decision. If you are already sold on BU, take a breath of relief, but also start looking ahead to all BU will offer you.

I recently received some exciting news – I was accepted to be a staff leader for FYSOP22! FYSOP (one of BU’s countless acronyms) is BU’s First Year Student Outreach Project run by the Community Service Center. I think I speak for all involved when I say nothing welcomes you to BU quite like FYSOP.

In a nutshell, FYSOP is a week of community service throughout the Boston area. The week before classes begin, students will volunteer in one of ten issue areas, ranging from environment, to hunger to elders (Choose elders! Maybe I’ll be your staff leader). You’ll work hard, make friends, avoid the move-in rush, get awesome T-shirts, learn more cheers than you will ever remember and create memories that will last for the rest of your time at BU.

But don’t just take my word for it – ask around. FYSOP has become such a popular program that nearly 1 out of every 4 freshman in the class of 2014 participated. While the very name FYSOP might look strange to you, everyone on campus knows about it.

If you are at all interested in serving the community, becoming acquainted with Boston, settling in early and meeting some truly incredible people, consider applying for FYSOP. Yes, this does mean a week less of summer at home, but trust me, by the end of August you’ll be itching to leave the nest.

Check out the website for more FY-info.

http://www.bu.edu/csc/opportunities/community-service-center-programs/fysop/

Joe: BosTones Retreat

Hey everyone! For all of you who went to this past weekend’s Open House, I hope it was a great experience for you and I hope we sold you on coming to COM. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to meet all of you, because I wasn’t in Boston this past weekend.

As I mentioned in my bio, I am part of The Boston University BosTones, one of twelve a cappella groups on campus. We’re a premier co-ed group at BU, and we perform a huge repertoire of different music. We do “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson, “Little Lion Man” by Mumford and Sons, and an amazing Kanye West Medley based off of his new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. They have become my family at BU, and rehearsing with them is one of the highlights of my week. They’re also the reason I missed Open House.

It’s a Bostones tradition to go on retreat every spring. This past weekend, The BosTones went on retreat to Vermont. All 17 of us rented out an AMAZING house in Wilmington, VT. We left Friday morning, and spent almost the entire weekend learning new music and hanging out with each other. It was an awesome experience. Hanging out with all of them for an entire weekend was great because all of them are my best friends. But we also made great progress on our repertoire, especially on our Kanye West medley. All in all, it was an amazing weekend with my best friends, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

For anyone who is even remotely interested in singing here at BU, I strongly encourage you to audition for The BosTones. Check our Facebook page and our website (www.thebostones.com) for more information on auditions in the fall! We’re always looking for new talent, and we’d love to have you be part of the group!

Tom: One Week Away

My spring semester run in BU On Broadway's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is almost coming to an end. We open in one week and I've never seen a process go so fast before. I remember way back in January when I was auditioning for the show and now we're just a week away from our opening night at Tsai Performance Center.

Sweeney Todd is such a hard show to put on, but it's such a fun show to be in the Ensemble of. I have three different wives throughout the show, I get my tooth pulled (you can get a sneakpeak of that scene in my COM Ambassador video!), and I get to play a lunatic (CITY ON FIRE!!!!).
At this point, my life is getting super stressful, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Right now, we are meeting everyday in our rehearsal space right after dinner until 11. Next week, we move into tech week, where I'll pretty much spend every waking moment of my life at Tsai Performance Center until we do our first opening night on Thursday!
Being involved with BU On Broadway's Sweeney Todd was one of the highlights of my semester here at BU. It kept me busy for a three-month rehearsal period and I met so many people in the past three months that I never would have met previously. Plus, what's better than a show about human meat pies? I mean, come on.

Anna: More Music, Please!

More music, please!

Boston may still be looking a little bleak this time of year, but don’t let the snow stop you from warming up with some fantastic music. I recently saw the incredible Joshua Radin at the House of Blues, and made a vow to take advantage of as many upcoming shows as I can….and you should too!

Luckily because prices are always cheaper in the winter and the majority of concerts in Boston are 18+, there are always a ton of amazing and often ignored music options for BU students this time of year. No matter if it’s dubstep, classical, pop, or anything in between, there are a ton of great acts heading this direction in the next couple months.

Here are a few of the shows I’m looking forward to the most, but don’t just take my word for it. Check out some of the venue sites at the bottom of this post and go see your favorite band…or even better someone brand new.

Cut Copy

House of Blues: April 4, 2011

Tickets start at $20.00

A fantastic electro-pop Australian band. Be ready to feel like you’re in the 80’s though…

Iron and Wine

House of Blues: April 19,2011

Tickets start at $25.00

Good folk music and an even better beard. Do you need anything else?

Naked and Famous

Paradise Rock Club: May 2, 2011

Tickets start at $16.50

Awesome New Zealand band who were recently the US iTunes download of the week!

Make sure to check out these links to find a local show you’re into. Summer lineups are even posted now!

House of Blues Boston- www.houseofblues.com/venues/clubvenues/boston/

Paradise Rock Club- www.thedise.com/rockclub

Citi Performing Arts Center- http://www.citicenter.org/events/

The Middle East Restaurant and Night Club- www.mideastclub.com

Boston Symphony Orchestra- www.bso.org

TT the Bear’s Place- www.ttthebears.com