There are a few things that must be said about food around campus.
It is almost always better for you and healthier to just cook by yourself. Of course cooking takes a long time and usually cooking isn’t for only one or two people. We will post some recipes that we find are pretty damn good in the future sometime.
Now on to non cooking:
Nussbaum and Wu- I dunno what the big hype is about here. I guess the little cafe-ish setting they have there is kinda neat. You could study there…maybe? The most notable thing about it is if you are meeting up with someone it is a reasonably good place to go. However the food…its ok nothing that great. I would even go so far as to say that their sandwiches are pretty good…all except for one. DO NOT EVER get the Seseme Chicken sandwich. Its not only not good…its GROSS. That is one of the few meals I have had that I haven’t finished. why? Because it smelled like urine and was hard enough that it became an exercise in my jaw muscles to try and chew it. When my teeth failed at the job, my throat took the hit as it slashed my throat all the way down. By far the worst sandwich I have ever gotten…EVER. Maybe it was because it was close to closing, but ever since then I don’t go there. Also don’t get their sushi…overpriced and not any better than anywhere else. Lets review: Nussbaum = pricey, decent, nice cozy place, don’t ever get the seseme chicken, sushi is overpriced.
On the topic of overpriced things:
Pinkberry- This place is pure awesome. And with having pure awesome you have to pay… a lot. Being a poor college kid I measure my purchases in how many sandwiches I could buy with that money. Lets say you get a medium with three toppings ( a desert, because if this is your meal…this blog isn’t for you) that is like at least two slices of koronet (a meal for kings). So pinkberry is really good. If you have the extra cash that you feel like boosting the economy with then feel free. The yogurt is great and the mixtures you can create, while not endless, are pretty plentiful. I do recommend the mochi + whatever else you throw on there. There is also the debate of flavors. I just get plain because its cheaper. Some people really dig the green tea. I personally don’t think its that special. The new pomogranate one isn’t that cool either. But if you want to try it grab a sample. The more you spend the better off everyone else is too.
Milano Market- Of the people I talk to this is a pretty hot spot too. Once again for the hungry and price savy customer this is not one of your best options. Milano, from what I recall is more expensive than nussbaum and though the food is pretty good, I hardly think its worth it. I am a pretty hungry guy and I can eat a lot. Their prepared foods are ridiculously expensive because they are measured in fractions of pounds. 4 of those little containers and I was still hungry…and minus quite a few bucks. I hear that their sandwiches and salads are pretty decent but once again if you get full on a sandwich that small or a salad, you are probably…a girl or you are going to eat again later. So if you eat again later thats just more money. Maybe its the “exotic” atmosphere of MILANO. Don’t get me wrong its higher quality but its just more money. So you should definately try something there and though some people have it every day I personally find better value elsewhere.
Moving on from overpriced:
Bad:
Ollie’s- Now that swish and tomo are gone (really sad as now the asian food choices are limited to ollie’s which you are about to read about, sajji’s which is mad far, and mill which is good but you probably won’t eat there every day) we are left with ollie’s by far the worst asian food around. Don’t get me wrong here, its not terrible. Its just not that great. I know a lot of my friends just get the spicy beef noodles. There are things that you can get and its not that bad. Its just not really all that asian. A lot of it is pretty americanized asian food. The appetizers are again really pricey for not a lot of food. Ollie’s is usually really busy and they can’t wait for you to order eat and leave. They will often be rude to you for these reasons and on top of their food not being that good it makes for a wholly not that great experience. The only good thing I recall about ollies is that they are open later than some other places which is nice and I got a watermelon snapple there. I dunno if they still have them or not, but those are EPIC. (Also Jer got sick from ollie’s food once just f.y.i.)
Morton Williams- Now not really a restaurant or anything but it is a place to get food. Aside from its convenience there is no reason to go here. It doesn’t have as much cool stuff as lets say westside or fairway. But of course sometimes you can’t go to westside and Ive only been to fairway once so its understandable but in general Morton costs more and has less stuff. So logic says…
Good:
Chipotle- This has to be number one. Chipotle is by far one of the best meals you can get around columbia. It is a pretty filling mix of a lot of good stuff. You get to choose what you want in your burritos yourself. The people that work there are curteous and they work really fast. Unless the line is out the door, which it sometimes is, you will probably get your food in a respectable amount of time. I can go there upwards of 3 times a week and I still love it. Tips to remember if you are hungry like me get a Fajita burrito and then ask for black beans after they put peppers and rice in already. This way they think its just going to be fajita and they put the right amount of rice and fajita stuff and then you get extra. If you say it before then the person will balance it out (adding the beans is free). Also cup for water is an epic choice if you are ok with that. I just squeeze a lemon or two in it and its great… and free. Guacamole is really good…but 2.25 extra which is A LOT.
M2M- Another good place. It is also usually pretty fast and I have come to like a lot of their food. Their udon is often too salty however so you may want to watch out for that. Their chicken teriyaki is usually pretty tough because its just micro waved but the others are pretty good. The sushi here is also pretty cheap and good. The sandwich line is what is usually of highest demand. The Spicy Philly Cheesesteak is something that most people should at least try once because its pretty good albeit greasey. The chicken wraps are all pretty good my favorites being the spicy chicken wrap and the fajita chicken wrap. I also enjoy the flounder sandwich and the hot roasted beef. If you like spicey things ask for some hot sauce. The breakfast here is not only cheap but pretty damn good. They have a wonderful drink collection that consists of your standard things and they have asian drinks. Jer and I experiment pretty often and we will report on them eventually. M2M is basically a main part of a budget constrained college student’s diet.
I have to go eat lunch…at M2M Ill finish the post later
-Kevin
