collegehopeful78

Discuss which dining halls to go to, what dishes to avoid there, what is good

are there lectures/events with free food and what type

and how much should you expect to spend on food outside of the dining halls assuming you are a male with a hearty appetite

sciencenerd

Thanks for making this thread!
Also how much would you spend on a normal meal ie lunch outside of the UVa campus?

I'm debating getting the Plus 15 or Unlimited because I don't know if I want to pay for more meals with the Plus 15.

shoebox10

Ohill: I think has the best food, overall. The stir fry is good, as are the sandwiches, pizza, and salad bars. The other stuff varies and is usually good to okay, but the stuff above is offered all the time so you'll never not find something to eat.

Runk: is apparently good, but I've never been.

Newcomb: is good too for lunch, they have the basic pasta, pizza, salads, sandwiches, and the others vary (hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, chicken, etc). Don't really do dinner there unless I'm in Clemons/Alderman, but I mostly study in Brown/Clark so I'm near Ohill. The best thing about Newcomb is that it's close to everything in Central Grounds, and is good enough to go there when I don't want to go anywhere else.

The various places that you can use PlusDollars at are all good. Below Ohill is Crossroads, where there's a really good sandwich place and Sabarro. In Newcomb at the Pav there's Pizza Hut, Chick Fila, sushie, and good sandwiches. The Range Cafe is really good too.

As for free food events, they're everywhere. It's just whether you really want to sit for an hour or so in some meeting/lecture just for food. A lot of interest meetings in the fall have free pizza or sandwiches or something, so it's worth going to see if the activity is cool, and if not, you got food.

As for outside spending, I wouldn't say more than $20 a week, max. Since you don't have a car, you're kind of limited to the Corner. Most places there you can spend $5-20, but around $10 for a decent meal. To get to Barracks, where there is Chipotle, Panara, etc, you need to either bus it or walk, both of which take awhile. So I'd say, for the Corner, $10/time.

collegehopeful78

I've heard many good things about that dumpling place. True or not?
How much would a steakhouse average?

Do you recommend switching to the plus 10 2nd semseter?
How early is breakfast?

shoebox10

The dumpling place is down on Downtown Mall. That's definitely a walk, or you have to take the trolley, either way it's a hike.
Steakhouses will be $20, easily.
And I know most people do Plus-15 first semester, plus-10 the next. Current first years would have more info on this...
And most dining info (times, locations, etc) can be found by googling "UVA dining"

sciencenerd

Do most people eat 3 meals a day? If you do the Plus 15 you can only average 3 meals a day on the weekdays, but you have to buy stuff on the weekends. Would the the Unlimited be the most economical?

collegehopeful78

Any items that actually taaste really good at the dining hall and if so which ones and where?

Dean J

The admission office gives the sushi stand in The Pav (Newcomb Hall, downstairs) a lot of business. It's darn good sushi for a dining hall and the folks who work that area are so nice that I've often toyed with writing an entire blog entry about them. If someone mentions a place in this town, it's going to be good. There's little room for bad restaurants on the Downtown Mall. Rents are too high and word travels too quickly.

db123

quick question. what's the best indian restaurant in town? (preferably cheap but I'm willing to pay if its good. )

collegehopeful78

The admission office gives the sushi stand in The Pav (Newcomb Hall, downstairs) a lot of business. It's darn good sushi for a dining hall and the folks who work that area are so nice that I've often toyed with writing an entire blog entry about them.

I assume this is not part of the dining plan, correct?

Dean J

DB, I absolutely love Himalayan Fusion. The food is described as a mix of Tibetan, Nepalese, and Indian. I've never ordered anything that wasn't fantastic. The owner is from Darjeeling. Writing that makes me want their veggie korma.

Lots of people like Milan, too, but that's up on Rt. 29.
Students use their cards in The Pav all the time, but just remember that The Pav isn't an "all-you-can-eat" dining all. The meal plan website should give you info about using your card in "a la carte" places like The Pav and the convenience stores.

collegehopeful78

All i got from the meal plan website is that the sushi is used through plus dollars? How big/expensive are servings?

Dean J

The sushi packs look like the ones you see at the grocery store (well, grocery stores with sushi counters). The veggie packs have about 20 rolls in them, but the bigger rolls and sushi have different amounts in them.

I can't believe I just wrote about the number of rolls of sushi in a pack.

collegehopeful78

I'm sure you've seen weirder things being around college students.

db123

collegehopeful, I think Dean J meant that in a light hearted way. (like haha I can't believe I'm writing about sushi rolls) I assumed the at the end was a dead give away.

and Dean J, is Himalayan Fusion the one near Downtown Mall? I went to one near there and I can't remember the name (all I remember is the food and it was good lol.)