Month: February 2020

In this post, I am going to visit another HUB dining staple: Blue Burrito. I would definitely say that Blue Burrito is a version of Chipotle where the ingredients are not as fresh or flavorful, and all of the staff members are depressed college students. Then again, the Chipotle downtown is also staffed by underpaid undergrads, but at least Chipotle always tastes amazing.

I have actually had the opportunity to eat here a few times over the course of my freshman year, the first time being during NSO, when we were allowed to pick pretty much anywhere on campus to eat. Like most students, I decided to head to the HUB because that was the only building on campus that I could identify at the time. When I saw that there was a burrito bowl place, I became ecstatic, but I mellowed out a little bit when I realized the lack of options. Still, back then it was a novelty to be eating college food on an actual college campus, so I dug right in and thought it tasted delicious.

When I came back a few months later, in the middle of my second semester, my taste buds had all but died from the lack of variety in my ramen-filled diet, so I was hoping for something a little flavorful to spice up my palate. When I got in line, I was asked by the extremely unenthusiastic worker what I wanted in my bowl, so I opted for the white rice and black beans with chicken, and threw some lettuce and tomatoes on top. Now, this is generally a very plain burrito bowl compared to what I usually get from Chipotle, so perhaps I was hyping it up too much by trying to compare it to the bowls that I get there.

You see, when I go to Chipotle, I still get the black beans and white rice, but I always get the spicy steak and the corn salsa. Let’s just say that Blue Burrito’s bowl did not live up to my expectations. On top of that, there just was not a good variety of toppings, and far too few people actually working, which made the line extremely long.

Blue Burrito is also located in the very heart of where all of the food is at the HUB, which means that if you go during a regular mealtime, you have to navigate the thousands of hungry students who are grabbing a burger or a sub from the “restaurants” right next to you. I will admit that my favorite place to sit and eat and work in the HUB is the little alcove between the food stations and the main atrium. They are always playing some good music, and there are just enough people that you do not feel isolated, but it is not too loud.

Overall, I think that the only thing that redeemed from absolutely tanking in my rankings was the fact that I got to chill and eat in my favorite spot in the HUB. Beyond that, I give it a generous 6/10 because it was not entirely terrible, but it definitely needs some help.

You guys knew it was coming. West Dining Hall. Well-known for their cookies, but are they actually worth all of the hype? Let’s dive in.

First of all, I am of the strong opinion that West Halls, in general, is the prettiest housing area on the entire campus. They are very classic looking dorms, and the quad is generally very calm and isolated from the craziness of the rest of the campus. I always find myself cutting through there to get to Hepper, and I am always shocked by how chill West seems. So, I decided to head there for lunch one day to see if the dining hall matched the vibe of the rest of the West.

For starters, West Dining definitely has a much cozier atmosphere than South and East combined. There is not as much seating as in East, but there are different seating areas that are cornered off from each other, making it seem like there is actually a lot more room. The food was pretty basic, just like the other foods that I have tried in other dining halls, but the dining hall staff, in general, seemed much more friendly and more patient than the other halls. To be fair, that is probably because I visited in the afternoon instead of the evening when it is much busier.

I think that the actual food stations are closer together than in the other dining halls, which can make it a bit more difficult to maneuver, but most of the students eating there are sophomores and older, so I found that people were less pushy and more relaxed about the whole situation.

As you can see from the picture, West has almost a “Cozi” vibe going on, which also makes for a good atmosphere to get some food and sit and do homework. Now, for the part that everyone is waiting for: the cookies. Are they actually better than the cookies in other dining halls? Short answer, yes.

The longer answer is that while, yes, the cookies do taste better in West than they do in other halls (at least better than South and East), all the dining halls actually serve the same cookies, and the ones in West are just kept in a heater. This means that no matter if the cookies have been sitting there all day, they will still be nice and mushy and taste as though they are fresh out of the oven.

However, I would definitely say that there are other aspects of West Dining that are overlooked in the mad rush to get at the cookies. My personal favorite of these hidden gems is the soft serve machine and toppings bar. Are they as good as Creamery ice cream? No. But a girl needs a little soft serve every now and then, and if you are really craving Creamery ice cream, they have that available for you too.

In the end, I think that West is definitely the dining hall that you do not want to miss. Is it slightly inconvenient for people who do not live in West, sure. But the next time you are heading to Rec for a volleyball game or wrestling match, make sure to stop at West for a warm cookie and soft serve.

Ranking: 9/10

Welcome back to Nittany Eats! We are going to do something a little different today, and talk about an actual on-campus restaurant instead of reviewing a dining hall. Personally, I need the occasional break from dining hall food. As far as college food goes, our dining halls are actually pretty good, but I find them to be repetitive. Recently, dining has been trying to standardize the halls, which means that if I do not like what East is serving, even if I go to Pollock or South, they will be serving the same thing. Which is kind of disappointing, especially considering there always seems to be Jamaican jerk chicken on the menu.

Anyway, I digress. Hibachi-San is located in the HUB, across the main walkway from the Starbucks. Unfortunately, this means that it is generally difficult to find seating in the area, considering everyone goes to the HUB around lunchtime, myself included. However, if you choose to have an earlier dinner, around 4:30 or 5, you will find that there is practically no one in line and you will have no difficulty finding a table.

Unfortunately, I belong in the former category that decided to flood the HUB today when I decided that I wanted some Hibachi-San for lunch. Hibachi-San is a quick-food restaurant that serves Japanese-style meals, including boba drinks, salads, and sushi rolls. However, the majority of customers go to Hibachi-San for their poké bowls, and I am one of those customers.

In general, I prefer a bit of a kick over a plainer-tasting meal, so I was immediately drawn towards the “spicy” and “sriracha” options for the toppings. I bought the medium-sized bowl, which meant that I was allowed to pick three different proteins. The spicy ahi, sriracha tuna, and spicy crab mix were calling my name, and the employee who confirmed that was a good combination had me sold. Although the protein is kept refrigerated before serving, it was placed on top of a couple of scoops of hot sticky rice; a combination that tasted amazing.

There are also a few options for additional, non-animal toppings, including seaweed salad, avocado, and crispy onions. I went with the first two, and although fish and rice and avocado might sound like a weird combination, you definitely need to try it. Finally, the customer has the option of two sauces to top it off: teriyaki and sriracha mayo. I, of course, had to try both, and it ended up being an amazing combination.

Now, for the downsides. To be completely honest, this is nowhere near the best poké bowl I have ever had, but I am not quite sure what I was expecting in central PA. Being from DC, I am typically very close to quality seafood, and the poké places back home are normally run by Japanese families as opposed to the student-run business here. I think that I had my expectations a little too high compared to the other poké bowl restaurants I have been to, but I am still happy that there is even an option for it near to me!

Overall, I am going to give Hibachi-San an 8/10 because the service is great, and the food is yummy, but it is just not up to regular poké bowl standards. Full disclosure, one of my friends works there and I was able to get the employee discount, but I did my best to be completely unbiased in this review!

Welcome back to another Nittany Eats post! Today I am going to be focusing on South Halls dining, which has been my lifeline these past couple of weeks. You see, for some crazy, I decided to put myself through sorority recruitment. This takes place in South, which meant that in between the screaming and running around in painful shoes, I would hop over to the Redifer Commons for some snacks. Lucky for me, I found that South is definitely the place to be.

Sure, there are much fewer seats and tables than in East, but the lack of freshmen is refreshingly noticeable. Yes, I realize that I am a freshman making fun of freshman, but we are very annoying and even sometimes I need a break from us. In fact, the majority of the times I have gone to South, most of the people there are sophomores who are just trying to do some homework while grabbing some food.

The main thing that I am not a huge fan of in South is the fact that their “pay per meal” side is a bit confusing. They have a typical buffet side where you swipe once to get in, and another side that features three or four themed food stations. I ate on that side when I was meeting my friend for breakfast one morning, and the lines for all of the stations combine in the middle confusing everything. On top of that, if you are at a station where the food is prepared to order, there is no set waiting area, so everyone ends up jumbling in the middle of the dining area. And that was just the chaos that was getting breakfast; I would not like to see what it looks like at dinner time.

That being said, South has the best on-campus breakfast that I have had yet. I ended up eating a made-to-order omelet from an omelet bar that had every breakfast topping you could possibly want. I, unfortunately, paid before I realized that I could also add bacon and tater tots to my plate, but a lot of students were getting them and they looked delicious. Even better, South has a pancake station! I also spotted this too late, which was honestly very upsetting because I love chocolate chip pancakes and have not had one in a few months.

However, despite all of the amazing things that I have already mentioned that South offers, there is one thing that sets them apart from the other dining halls that I have been to. South has a Starbucks. And not one of those “we proudly serve Starbucks Coffee” fake Starbucks, no. This Starbucks actually serves the fancy sugary coffees that I love so much that rotate on Starbucks’ menu. You can even order frappuccinos, and, my personal favorite, the white chocolate mocha. When I say that this Starbucks saved me during recruitment, it is not an exaggeration.

So, overall, despite all of the amazing things that South Halls Dining has to offer, I am going to have to give it a 7/10 on the “Nittany Eats Scale of Excellence For On-Campus Dining” (NESECD). Yes, the pancakes and omelets and Starbucks are amazing, but South needs to get its business together and reorganize the lines and food waiting areas!