There was a La Bamba on State Street in Madison when I was at UW. It was my favorite spot for late-night food.
That place was hopping. And back then you could get one as big as your head for like $5, and the one bigger than your head (Super Burrito) was $6.50. I’ll never forget my go-to order:
Super Combo (pork and steak) with sour cream. I must have eaten 50-100 of them.
We must have been there at the same time - opened when I was there too! My husband lived in the apartments above their first location so it was a common late-night stop for us. We have stopped by a couple of times when driving through the area over the years.
I miss the cheese fries at Doc J’s!
My kid liked UIUC’s campus and surrounding area as well. He did not like Purdue (felt there wasn’t enough green space) and really didn’t like Wisconsin (too much traffic).
Flyin’ Illini, baby!
I am sad about Zorba’s. First the fire when they lost some of the decor, including the old newspaper headlines. The food was still good when they came back, but the place was just not quite the same. And now gone forever, but glad to get my fix while my oldest was on campus.
OP- sorry to hijack. Hoping your son is now an Illini and enjoying the food in CU!
I attended the Purdue School of Engineering long ago (class of 1985). Thirty miles from home, my father (class of 1955), my brother (Mechanical Engineering Tech 1989), and sister (Restaurant Management for Pre Med) never ever had to work very hard to get a job.
U of I or any Big Ten school opens doors for a career.
All buildings on Purdue campus are the same color of red brick. They are located in a highly packed campus. But … You can get anywhere in 5 minutes of walking (engineers love efficiency).
Both Illinois and Purdue are great “Land Grant” schools built on wonderful Glacier ripped flatland.
Any Big Ten school is fantastic. If you can in-state at U of I do it.
Purdue is #7 engineering school. U of I is #7 Aeronautic School.
Both Urbana/Champaign and West Lafayette are gritty midwest towns of the same size.
U of I invented the Super Computer and the World Wide Web (first browser).
Purdue came within days of getting the patent on the transistor (my mom worked for the professor). Both schools were pioneers of the internet.
A friend of mine went to work for Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) in St Louis with his Purdue Aerospace degree. I remember hearing him say how much fun the Monday “flight test pizza lunch” was. The team would watch test plane performance from Edwards AFB or somewhere.
“Boy I did a spit take when the pilot went for an afterburner take off (hitting the gas and going straight up). Problem was the wings didn’t go up with the fuselage. We discussed why and ate pizza”
Aerospace major is close to a mechanical Engineer. Same curriculum first 18 months. Then mostly the same until senior year. There will never ever be a glut of mechanical engineers. You can switch anytime.