The downright, no fluff, straight truth about my freshman year dining hall experience. Keep in mind I lived in McNutt and scores are based on food quality and accessibility.
Gresham Food Court (Northwest)Oh Gresh…let it be known that the only thing I ever ate from Gresh past my first experience was the salad bar. That being said, the salad bar is fantastic! I’m not joking around, my roommate and I both miss and crave Gresh salad bar regularly. The rest of Gresh is long forgotten though. There’s a sub kiosk known to give indigestion, a comfort food line which is good, but will probably lead to the freshman 50, a terrible knock-off of Qdoba/Chipotle, an Italian place for basic pasta and pizza, a stir-fry place that never seems to be open and Flamingo Grille for lesser Breakfast Buddies, tater coins, and pre-wrapped sandwiches. Try a Gresh Spec(ial): a creation by my good friend Ben which is a chicken sandwich on top of a cheeseburger (you have to build it yourself). *That was a totally ironic statement, Ben is gross, don’t make yourself ill by eating one. Score: 6/10
This is not a meal.
C-Store at McNutt (Northwest)Only a 2 minute walk from Gresh, but a world of a difference.The C-Store is first and foremost a convenience store with your basic soft drinks, Vitamin waters, chips, ice cream, etc. There’s also a selection of frozen foods which you can grab and take back to your room for Netflix marathons. What makes this C-Store freaking awesome is Presentations and the sub line. Presentations features rotating meals like BLTs, quesadillas, stir fry, and buffalo wings. So delish. In the morning, Presentations also prepares the best Breakfast Buddies (breakfast sandwiches) on campus. The highlight of the C-Store is the holy sub-line. I think it’s better than Subway and Jimmy John’s. Pro tip: get avocado ranch on your sub! You will thank me later. Score: 10/10
Wright Food Court (Central)Wright is like one step above Gresh, but still pretty meh. The only difference is that there’s a good fried chicken place, but you can’t eat there all the time otherwise you’ll feel like pure lard. Score: 7/10
Their breakfast sandwiches and flat-bread pizzas are delicious. I'm sad that I didn’t discover this place until second semester. Don’t make my mistake! They also have smoothies to drink while you’re reading your Wall Street Journal #Kelley. Score: 10/10
Woodlands at Forest (Southeast)Finished in 2014, this dining hall is not only really nice, but they have restaurant quality food. You could probably go on a date here tbh. There’s fancy mac and cheese, premium burgers, sushi, pasta, salad, a better knock-off of Qdoba/Chipotle and you can even get a steak cooked to order! The only downside to Forest is that the food costs considerably more meal points and that it gets really busy during normal meal times. It was also on the opposite side of campus from me which is why it get’s another .5 docked. Score: 8.5/10
So fancy *pinky up*
In summary, the dining hall experience at IU is pretty mediocre with a few shining stars in cuisine. Don’t let that keep you from choosing IU! If you’re choosing a school based on food, you’ll end up at Purdue. And we all know how gross they are. Remember that you’ll be going through the experience with your best friends! It’s part of the freshman experience and what makes college memorable.