Opinion
Best dining options available on campus
April 17, 2019
It’s no secret to anyone that the foods provided by schools, be it high school or college, do not have the best reputation among most people. We constantly see in movies the grey slop that is slapped onto a plastic lunch tray in a cafeteria. Don’t even get me started on the ever so daunting “freshman fifteen” epidemic that’s included in the many joyous adventures of college. If you’re anything like me, good food is the equivalent to good mood, and good mood is vital to good everything else including grades, performance, you name it.
Upon picking my colleges, I was intimidated by the horror stories I heard from friends. Some of them shared being made sick by the food on campus, while others felt their meal plan was a waste of money, considering how often they would avoid the cafeteria and opt for restaurant service instead. Something that was very appealing to me about the River Falls campus was that, despite its smaller size and enrollment numbers, there is an unexpectedly large variety of food selections to choose from. The question I set out to answer was, what is the best place to eat on the River Falls campus?
Let’s start with the most popular location to grab a meal, the classic University Center commons. My freshman year I lived in Johnson Hall, as a result of living on campus I had to have a meal plan. Typically, my group of friends would just stick to the Riverside Commons, until about halfway through the year when I was so sick of it.
I am a junior now living off campus, so I typically cook at home. The UC commons food is much more valuable to me now than it was two years ago (cooking gets old when free time is slim). I now typically grab lunch in the commons every day, and I have to say I don’t know if it’s the crazy hunger I have from skipping breakfast or some other factor, but I absolutely love going into the Riverside Commons now. There are so many different options, from the waffle maker, to the pasta, to the sandwiches and pizza lines, I really have grown to appreciate the variety that is available.
I was never too intrigued by many of the things until I tried the sandwiches at Erbert and Gerbert’s. If you haven’t already tried it, I promise the line is worth waiting in.
The bread is freshly baked and the aroma will be the first to greet you. You can use transfer meals here, so this is especially nice when you’re in a hurry but also need something good to eat. In addition to a variety of sandwiches you can get a variety of soups. Erbert and Gerbert’s is a classic that I’m always in the mood for.
When choosing the best, it’s a tie. It all depends on how much time I have and my mood. Erbert and Gerbert’s is consistently good, and I am a huge fan of soup and sandwiches, while the UC has a wide array of options that rarely disappoint.
Monica Marsh is a student at UW-River Falls.