dining hall – COM Ambassador Blog

Kate: Where To Get the Most Important Meal of the Day at BU

You know that saying, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”? Well while it might be true, I’ve never been one to live by this motto. Until recently.

I’ve always been part of the camp that would rather sleep an extra 15 minutes than make a bowl of cereal. But when I started working out with a trainer at the BU Fitness & Recreation Center, she basically told me we would have to stop working together if I didn’t start eating breakfast. So here I am, trying to navigate my first meal options for the first time as senior in college. I know, the most responsible. The one advantage: I can share with you all the best places on campus to grab the most important meal of your day.

Pavement Coffee House. Previously known as Espresso Royale, Pavement owns the bagel sandwich game here on campus. Not only do they have a variety of decently healthy options and extra fresh bagels, they also house a wonderful study space on campus that is frequently packed with students. Go-to order: Sunrise Sandwich with sausage on a multi-grain bagel.

Starbucks. I’m not gonna lie, coffee for breakfast is not uncommon in the college student world. However, with the recent transition of the five (yes, five) on-campus Starbucks to the La Boulange bakery options, there are a variety of favorites that can now be heated up for your enjoyment. Go-to order: Grande iced coffee with whole milk & blueberry scone with butter.

T. Anthony’s. For those students from the tri-state area who are used to greasy diners, T. Anthony’s is the place for you. It is also a favorite of mine for weekend morning feasts. They have all the bases covered for those who enjoy the stacked omelette, the breakfast sandwich, and the syrup-topped specialties. Go-to order: T’s Big Breakfast – french toast, two fried eggs, home fries, bacon, & coffee.

Eastern Standard. ES is a big favorite among students when parent’s come to visit. A little more expensive than the other options on this list, ES is unqiue for having an early morning breakfast option (you can thank their attachment to the Hotel Commonwealth for that) in addition to a brunch menu. Go-to order: Breakfast Breads & Buttermilk Pancackes with Blueberry Syrup

Dining Hall. A very necessary addition to this list, the on-campus dining halls are the mecca of breakfast for the underclassman still on the meal plan diet. With unlimited options like cereal, waffles, omelettes, and pastries, how could you go wrong? As a senior, I am always open to the gift of a guest meal by a lower classman (wink, wink). Go-to order: Waffle with a side of pizza (while you wait in line for the waffle machine more commonly known as line pizza) and bacon.

This is obviously not an exhustive list and I’m sure I’ve missed some crowd favorites (Einstien’s and Brugers to name some honorable mentions) but just a few of my favorites. Keep COM & Eat Breakfast.

Kaitlin: How to Survive as a BU Vegetarian

Hello all! I hope everything has been going swimmingly with the college search. If you’re still reading this blog, it looks like you’re on the right track.

Since the summer of 2006, I’ve been an on and off vegetarian. It started simply as an attempt to be cool, to parallel with my hipster-wannabe phase before 9th grade. Over the years, my vegetarianism has evolved into a serious, purposeful habit in an attempt to make a difference while improving my health.

So, when I first came to Boston University, I was so excited to be in the big city of Boston, because cities are usually more vegetarian-friendly than small towns like the one I’m from.

Sadly, I faced some disappointment.

Finding vegetarian places to eat was a lot harder than I thought it would be. But luckily BU offers TONS of options for ALL people, whether they be meat eaters, vegetarians, or vegans. Here’s a quick guide to pinpointing the perfect meals for your meat free and healthy lifestyle.

I always walk around the dining hall to see my choices, and tend to start at the Vegan Delight section. The dishes here are obviously always vegetarian, but you just have to be careful- a lot of the time, the food is fried in someway, which takes it off the healthy list. If this is case, I’ll move on.

The sandwich station is always a great place to stop. Sargent’s Choice offers it’s picks for healthy eating, including whole wheat breads and fat free cheese. Add some fresh, crunchy veggies, and you have a solid meal!

I never automatically rule out the dishes that are presented with meat, because a lot of the time they’ll serve it vegetarian style. This especially goes for pasta dishes. Just ask for your whole wheat penne without chicken and you’re good to go!

Breakfast for breakfast, lunch or dinner is always the easiest to eat for. Check out the healthy, whole grain hot and cold cereals, fat free yogurts, and delicious fruit salad that are available all day!

So, although people may think you’re strange for not eating greasy, fat bacon or constantly question your decision to cut fried chicken from your diet, your choices are just as plentiful as theirs (and a lot of the time, just a bit more healthy). Bon appetite! 🙂

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?