<p>I've looked around on this site and haven't found any threads on the NU Dining Halls... So I'd just like to open this one up for anyone' takes on the food at NU. The quality, price, best dining hall, best dishes, ect.</p>
<p>The quality of the food is really good, in my opinion. That is both a good thing and a bad thing, lol. The selection varies greatly from dining hall to dining hall, though. For example, Hinman doesn’t have a ton of stuff, and it’s generally the same thing day after day. It’s not BAD food, it’s just repetitive. On the other hand, dining halls like Allison and Sargent tend to have more variety from day to day. Overall, you’re sure to find something that suits your tastes.</p>
<p>One complaint I personally have (and I know I’m not alone) is that the dining halls are too accommodating to vegetarians and vegans, to the point where the non-vegetarian students can sometimes have a hard time finding dishes they want. I know that some people complained to ASG about it, though, so I’m hoping they might make some minor changes.</p>
<p>I don’t know what the price of the overall plans are, but I know the prices for the individual meals are outrageously high. (I think one dinner at Hinman costs $12 or something like that.) But there are a bunch of different meal plans you can get, and there’s one for pretty much everyone. It might take a little experimenting to find out which one is best for you, but you’ll find it. Everyone has to have at least the 13-meal-per-week plan. It’s also nice that most (if not all) of the meal plans come with Wildcat Points or munch money that can be used on snacks or at Norris without wasting a whole meal.</p>
<p>I don’t think I could pick a best dish. There are so many that are good, lol! One of my favorite desserts is the 7 layer magic cookie bar. It’s sooooo good. It probably has like 500 calories per bar, but it’s totally worth it. :)</p>
<p>Only one correction- not everyone has to have a 13 a week. Those living on campus and not in greek houses have to have 13 a week. Those in greek houses can go to a lower plan.</p>
<p>Personally, I like Plex West’s dining hall the best; its all made to order and the quality’s the best I’ve seen on campus. The food gets really repetitive, but I don’t really like the food at Allison and I don’t like waiting several minutes for my meals at Willard. I think this entire quarter, save for the first week of classes, I’ve eaten at Plex.</p>
<p>I’d agree with siemprecuriosa that there are way too many vegetarian dishes. Spare me the eggplant, I want some real lasagna!</p>
<p>Ahh this thread makes me so happy :)) because I am a vegetarian and I don’t eat eggs (I do eat dairy) so it sounds like I will have a lot to eat. My parents were concerned about me starving to death this fall, but apparently NU caters to my diet from what you guys say.
So do they have a lot of fresh fruits/vegetables that you can choose from at every meal? Like, if I wanted to get a banana or some grapes would they be available or are there just junky fruit salads? Also, what kind of beverages are served?</p>
<p>Yes, you’d be able to get a banana or grapes, but I wouldn’t qualify the fruit and vegetable selection as robust. It’s sufficient though.</p>
<p>And beverages are the usual: juice from a machine (so from concentrate), soda, coffee, tea, cocoa.</p>
<p>Allison is the best-- cleanest, best salad bar, best ambience, kosher options, lots of vegetarian options as well for those into that. Fruits are almost always available at all of them. Allison always has cantaloupe and bananas, not sure about grapes (never seen grapes at any of the dining halls actually).</p>
<p>Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen grapes at the dining halls, but then again, I haven’t been to all of them yet. As for fruit, there are usually apples, oranges, and/or bananas. And most of the dining halls I’ve been to have pretty much everything you could want in a salad: different kinds of lettuce, hard-boiled egg bits, carrots, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, a gazillion kinds of dressing, etc. And you put together the salads yourself, so you can pick and choose what you want.</p>
<p>For beverages, there’s also milk (chocolate, regular, and skim) at all the dining halls.</p>
<p>Thanks for the correction, arbiter. I wasn’t aware there were exceptions to the 13-meal rule.</p>
<p>I should probably add here that Norris has a lot of good food, too, although it technically isn’t a dining hall. It has pretty good pizza, plus a Starbucks, a Jamba Juice, a crepe place, and a convenience store where you can buy all kinds of food. There might be a few others that I’m missing. Norris is good if you have a weird eating schedule and you miss the dining hall hours, something that has happened to me on more than one occasion.</p>