<p>Well USC is finally renovating EVK and Cafe 84 is going to be a dining hall restaurant that is now part of the meal plan that freshmans have. I'm pretty excited that EVK and Cafe 84 is renovating when I'm entering USC :) A lot of people have complained about the quality of the food at EVK. Any thoughts??</p>
<p>Parkside Restaurant was superior to EVK in almost every way, the only reason everyone doesn’t go to Parkside is that they have to walk across campus. EVK was definitely edible but there was no point in going when you can just go to Parkside. I think that Cafe 84 was in a good place and I’m not sure how it will turn out post renovation.</p>
<p>You will get bored of dining hall food and unless you eat 3 meals a day every day, you will end up with 10s of meals leftover at the end of the fall and probably even more at the end of spring. Many people end up swiping in just to get a drink or a bagel or something.</p>
<p>The minimum meal plan now has unlimited swipes.</p>
<p>I never ate at EVK after orientation, but my understanding is that EVK has gotten enough better and Parkside has gotten enough worse that they’re pretty much equal now.</p>
<p>Disregard that part then. I honestly don’t like what they did with the meal plans because 10/week + dining dollars was more than enough for the semester as the old base plan.</p>
<p>Secret awesome healthy lunch spot: Galen Dining Hall. I wish I had discovered it my very first semester.</p>
<p>I think Popovich Cafe is also worth a look as a change from dining hall food.</p>
<p>One thing about Galen is that I don’t think they take Dining Dollars, just discresh. Or at least they didn’t take Dining Dollars when I tried to go there in spring 2011.</p>
<p>They don’t take dining dollars, just discresh or cash. But that is where they feed all of the athletes so the food is generally pretty healthy. They also got the best salad/soup bar on campus that is all you can eat. It is a must for anyone who hits the gym or does sports.</p>
<p><em>edit</em> I also love they got all the tv screens with sports games on. I’d often sit and eat lunch while watching soccer matches up on the tv.</p>