<p>Hi, I was recently accepted by Wharton and as a professional foodie,
can someone tell me something about dining plans? I am looking
at AFK, BEN, and BFF which are the 3 options for freshmen.</p>
<p>Generally, how often do Penn students go out to eat? And how is the food at cafes?
What are the good restaurants or cafe near Ware dorm?</p>
<p>Someone who has been on campus please help me, I would appreciate a lot!</p>
<p>As a native Philadelphian, Philadelphia has any cuisine you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Penn’s campus has a lot of food trucks which may seem shady but they have some very good food.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for dining plans but I can say Philadelphia city is one of the best food cities in the country.</p>
<p>My son eats out alot…Left many swipes on his meal plan for the fall. Eating out is a very social thing for Penn students to do.</p>
<p>Thanks! What meal plan is he on right now? Can he use the swipes for the next year?</p>
<p>Meal swipes don’t roll over between semesters or years.</p>
<p>We’ve learned from freshman son that it is best to have a plan with the most dining dollars - at least for him. He often is not near a dining hall or doesn’t have the time to sit and eat and much prefers the dining dollars. In fact he is going to switch his plan second semester. Meal swipes don’t carry over between semesters but I think that dining dollars do carry over.</p>
<p>S was on BEN and just switched to the one with the most dining dollars. I would recommend that one, between eating out and meeting friends at the on campus places that only take dining dollars he feels it is the best option.</p>
<p>I agree that BFF (the one with the most dining dollars) is the best. Dining dollars do roll over between semesters but I found myself without extra dining dollars and with an excess of meal swipes at the end of the semester</p>
<p>Current Penn Freshman here - If you’re a foodie (I am too) go with BFF. Honestly the dinning halls are really terrible, and I have gotten really sick from them several times (I was only eating vegetable dishes and the like, apparently the fried foods don’t make you sick though). Some of the food you can purchase with the dinning dollars isn’t bad though, and it isn’t nearly as bad as the dining halls. The sushi found in houston hall is actually pretty good and so are some of the sandwiches. Also, I heard that a new Mexican dining dollars cafe opened up, but I haven’t tried it yet. </p>
<p>Unfortunately $400 a semester of dining dollars only gets you so far because the food is rather expensive. I make a lot of my own meals in the dorm, because eating out all the time is way to expensive and also pretty unhealthy. Most of the dorms have common kitchens, so that’s nice.</p>
<p>Eating out is a very social thing at UPenn, and lots of my friends regularly go out to various nearby restaurants. That can get kind of expensive though. Wawa is also a campus favorite. If you don’t know about its wonders, it’s a chain of convenience stores that has custom, made-to-order sandwiches that are very inexpensive. The quad (which is where Ware College House is) is also super close to a Wawa, so very convenient. I’m a really big fan of Mekkah Market on 43rd and Walnut Street, which serves amazing halal food at even more amazing prices. There are lots of restaurants along 40th Street and Walnut Streets (which is about 2 to 3 blocks away from the quad) which are frequently visited by students. You can always find plenty of great Cafes too. Also, as was previously mentioned, there are tons of delicious food trucks! And a lot of them are actually right outside of the quad.</p>
<p>As a foodie, while you’re at Penn, don’t be afraid to wander a bit off campus, you’ll find some really amazing food that way. Also make sure to check out other parts of the city and find the great food there (Philly’s Chinatown has always been a favorite of mine).</p>
<p>Sorry if this was a really long post, but I hope it was helpful!</p>
<p>Thank you soooo much! This post is super helpful and I think I will go with BFF for my first year! I would love to try various restaurants off campus, too! Look forward to going to Philly in August!</p>