<p>Don't get unlimited! No one eats three meals a day in the dinning hall. In fact, I don't think I've eaten three meals at the dinning hall in one day ever! </p>
<p>Personally, I think even 15 meals a week is just too many. I got tired of the dinning hall pretty quickly. I had plus 13 last semester and am on plus 10 now. I've never once tried to get into the dinning hall and not had any meals left.</p>
<p>How many meals you want depends on how likely you think you are to eat in the dining halls. As a first year, I had to take plus 15 and because the dining hall hours did not work with my schedule i would end up buying lunch from either pav, crossroads or some other cafe on grounds + coffee at greenberry so my plus dollars finished real quick and and i ended up not using several of those 15 meals that I could. This semester I'm on 10+ and I have more plus dollars so it is much more convenient for me because I dont really eat in the dining hall. next semester I will be on 50 meals per semester from dining halls.</p>
<p>On the other hand, my friend has plus 17+, eats almost every meal in the dining hall and has so many plus dollars left that she's now buying random stuff just to use it up.</p>
<p>I was going to go with the plus 13 but then I realized that for losing the two meals a week by not having the plus 15 you only get 50 more plus dollars... I'm not sure if that makes much sense considering you can always add on plus dollars, so I'm going to go with the 15 I think.</p>
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by not having the plus 15 you only get 50 more plus dollars...
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<p>The other strange thing I heard is that if you go to the caferteria to say meet a friend but don't intend to eat, or just get a drink, the act of swiping your card is like buying a meal.</p>
<p>Is that true?</p>
<p>Vistany, that's how all-you-can-eat dining halls work. You swipe your card to enter...what you do after that is up to you.</p>
<p>I think if you get the 15 meal per day plan, you wont mind swiping your card for just a drink. . . because there will probably be a day where you roll out of bed, run to two classes, and then <em>boom</em> its lunchtime. Additionally, on the weekends, they have brunch and dinner, and you probably won't want to get brunch twice. </p>
<p>So while yes, the extra 3.80 or so a week probably doesn't pay off, i suspect you'll get better mileage out of the money with the 13. Depends on who you are. I typically skip either breakfast or lunch, or have it in my dorm.</p>
<p>Okay I happen to be a student with extremely tight finances that also happens to have a taste for ethnic foods (because I was born in Singapore) ....</p>
<p>The dining halls seem to have pretty good standard American fare, but I was wondering if there was any way to get <em>affordable</em> ethnic food. Any second year immigrants or international students whose stoves I could borrow?</p>
<p>I think unless I start putting on weight or something, Unlimited seems pretty attractive to me -- you can enter without any guilt that you're wasting a meal. Of course, I have less funds to use for ethnic foods that way.</p>
<p>Himalayan Fusion is indeed amazing! Dean J, I would love to hear some of your personal favorite dishes there. I never fail to order the vegetable samosas and the garlic naan, and I always like their chicken tikka. Don't forget to try their mango-yogurt drink named mango lassi.</p>
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quick question. what's the best indian restaurant in town? (preferably cheap but I'm willing to pay if its good. )
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<p>Some people have told me that Milano on 29 is good but I've heard from visitors from India that it is bad, so...</p>
<p>Suppose that you like cooking, you don't feel like splurging on restaurants, and you find the dining hall menus good but not completely satisfying. (There's hardly anything spicy on those menus!) I'm sure there must be some incoming first years like those? </p>
<p>But from what I've heard, first years generally don't get access to cooking facilities. Maybe it's possible to get work-study in the kitchens and edit the menu a little bit? Haha.</p>
<p>Do not waste a meal for Breakfast during the week. My D has a mini fridge and a microwave in her dorm, so she usually has a bowl of cereal or some oatmeal. She buys milk/orange juice at the little shop in Newcomb Hall.</p>
<p>Brunch on Sat/Sun is so much better. It's longer too.</p>
<p>Beware, brunch at Newcomb usually offers the same food every week. I would recommend going to O-hill instead, or to Bodo's!</p>
<p>milan's food tastes pretty good to non-indians. i like it. could be much worse.</p>
<p>Personally, I would pick Himalayan Fusion over Milan. I would never get bored if I had to eat at Himalayan Fusion every week! They also serve a lunch buffet over the weekend, though I don't know how good it is.</p>
<p>Breakfast is my son's favorite meal at OHill; he really enjoys having breakfast there. FWIW, he considers the food at OHill to be pretty good overall. Not as good as home cooking, but not bad for institutional food. My wife and I have eaten there several times when we visited for football and basketball games, and we've enjoyed it as well.</p>
<p>I think whether or not you choose to purchase enough meals to have breakfast in the Dining Halls depends on your personal preferences and schedule. My son had an unlimited meal plan last year and it worked very well for him. He was able to pop into any of the Dining Halls and grab a drink or get a meal when it was most convenient for him. He generally ate two meals a day (breakfast and dinner), but the times varied depending on his schedule for any given day. He's living at Lambeth next year, and we'll probably choose the same unlimited meal plan that he had this year.</p>
<p>Many of his classes and labs are in Gilmer or the Chem building, which makes the OHill Dining Hall especially convenient.</p>
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Personally, I would pick Himalayan Fusion over Milan. I would never get bored if I had to eat at Himalayan Fusion every week! They also serve a lunch buffet over the weekend, though I don't know how good it is.
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<p>not as good as milan</p>
<p>Hoo'sDad: I suggest that he get the 100/semester. You can still use them whenever, but I doubt he's going to be going as often as he did last year. Lambeth is a hike to dining halls, especially without a car. Everyone I knew in Lambeth with a dining plan had a 50, 75, or 100 per semester plan. He can always upgrade</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion Shoe. We'll consider it when choosing next year's meal plan.</p>
<p>One more thing: Lambeth has a convenience store, C3, on premises. You can use Plus Dollars there to buy all sorts of college-friendly food, such as milk, eggs, bacon, cereal, frozen dinners, bread, lunch meat, cake mix, pasta, sauce, etc etc etc. It's another reason most people get the meals per semester plan, because you get a larger amount of plus dollars that you can spend there. A 2min walk to C3 beats the 15min bus ride and 5min lines ;) Your son will have a small kitchen with a stove/oven/fridge, and I suggest arranging for someone in the apt to bring a microwave and pots/pans/basic kitchen stuff.</p>