Let’s face it, college campuses are not exactly known for their gourmet food options. When you think of a dining hall, you think of a few different buffet style options that you get bored of after a few weeks. Penn State has tried to change this and has made it so that each part of campus, as well as each dining hall, has a diverse blend of different foods available for its students. Here are the different dining options available to you on the Penn State campus.
East Halls: East Halls is known for being the location on campus far away from everything where most of Penn State’s freshmen reside. It is also home to Findlay Commons, where the buffet style food leaves much to be desired. For meals like lunch and dinner, meals typically seem to stay the same. There is always a pasta option though! Also, it is all you can eat so you do get your money’s worth. While it was never my favorite for the later meals of the day, it does have a great brunch full of French toast sticks (my personal favorite) as well as bagels, a waffle station and more.
In addition to this buffet style-dining hall, Findlay is also home to one of my all time favorites (and a place where people often venture back to in later years) The Big Onion, or better known as the Big O. The Big O has great chicken fingers and an assortment of different pizzas. In addition, Roxy’s is also a good choice with their famous burgers, mac and cheese, and sandwiches. One more place that gets honorable mention is Fresh Express, which is where students can create their own sandwiches.
Pollock: Pollock is home to the best dining hall on campus (in my opinion). With its recent renovation, it feels almost like you are in a comic book, which always leads to a fun dining experience. This dining hall has all the food options you can hope for and more. It has Italian (pizza, pasta, etc.) burgers, a make your own salad bar, and of course an area where the food changes based on the day. With so many options to choose from, it is hard to get sick of Pollock. Of course, I saved the best for last; there is an entire room just full of dessert possibilities. Pollock refers to this room as Swirl, and there is a fresh crepe station as well as ice cream, smoothies, and let’s not forget the cookies!
If you are not in the mood for an entire buffet, or you just want a quick bite, then the Mix is a great place for you. It is the convenience store in Pollock but it has a grill in the back. You can get anything from mozzarella sticks, burgers, chicken fingers, wraps, sandwiches and more! When I lived in Pollock, The Mix was my favorite place to go.
South: The commons that resides in South Halls is known as Redifer. Redifer is different from a lot of the other dining halls on campus in that it features a few different dining stations and only a small buffet area. There is an Italian place where you can get pizza or pasta. There is also a place called In the Pickle where you can choose from either a sandwich or Panini. In addition, there is the Redifer City Grill. Here you can get chicken fingers, grilled cheese, a burger, mac and cheese, or the featured meal of the day. Finally, there is a sushi bar and a Mexican option.
West: West is always a treat to go eat at. For starters, the dining hall has fresh baked cookies that are famous across campus. Many students even take these cookies and put creamery ice cream on them! For lunch the food options typically stay the same, with there always being the option of hot dogs, chicken, pizza, and deli. For dinner, there could be fajitas or different types of chicken. The pizza area stays consistent for every meal.
As a non-buffet option, West also features The West Wing, which features a variety of grill options such as cheese steaks, paninis, wraps and more.
North: North Food District is probably one of the least known dining options on campus. It is nestled in an unknown part of campus and not frequented by many unless you live in North Halls. My freshman year a few of my friends and I decided to give it a try and found it to be adequate. There is a pasta option everyday as well as a few different kinds of pizzas and the main dish will differ each day. There can be anything from fajitas to chicken dishes. If you are one of those people who want to try every dining option on campus, then try the North Food District, however, unless you live in North, this would not be the one dining hall I would rush to try.
As you can see, there are numerous places to use your meal points at. I recommend trying at least each dining option once!
Want to learn more specifics on the menu of each dining option? Then take a look at the Penn State Food Service’s page http://menu.hfs.psu.edu/
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