Campus Dining
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Food@OSU
Food@OSU - This site shows all 28 of the dining options available to students while on campus. Students living in the dorms get a 10% discount at Arnold, Bing's, McNary, and Marketplace West Dining centers.
Hours of Operation
Food@OSU Venue Schedule - This is an excellent page provided by UHDS and the MU. It contains a complete listing of each venues hours of operation.
Dining Plans
- Every OSU student who lives on campus will have a Dining Plan. This means that their OSU ID card will also work as a meal card that is scanned just like a debit card whenever they are getting food or items from the country store or EBGBs. The OSU card money does not apply towards the OSU bookstore or anywhere off of campus. This year (2006-2007) the meal plan includes Dixon Café, Memorial Union, Java II, and e.Cafe as parts of their “unlimited” dining plans. Last year the above places had restrictions of a set amount of money that could be spent, whereas now, the food card will work at any on campus location up to the amount of money placed on the card.
- The dining plans are divided into categories:
- Basic Plan: Has $1,080 to be spent per year.
- Preferred Plan: Has $1,380 to be spent per year.
- Premium Plan: Has $1,980 to be spent per year.
- Ultimate Plan: Has $2,580 to be spent per year.
- All dining plans have the said amount of money broken into 3 terms to figure the cost of food for the term. For example, the Basic plan involves roughly $300 per term in food. Term money rolls over from term to term, so it doesn’t go away until summer when the year has ended. Money cannot be redeemed for unspent money on meal plans, so it is better to aim lower and add money if you run out than to overestimate and lose the balance. All meal plans also have an added on fixed cost of $490 per term to help keep the selection and hours of operation more convenient to better serve their student customers. The dining centers also provide many jobs to work-study students.
- If you aim low and run out of money, but do not wish to add more to your meal plan, you may pay in cash or credit/debit card for anything. However, you will receive a 10% discount by using your student ID card at any of the locations.
West Dining Center
- This is a helpful, first timers' guide to all of the dining options at West Dining Center.
- West is convienent for those students located on the west side of campus (Weatherford, Poling, Buxton, Hawley, Cauthorn, West, and Sackett). They offer burgers, a deli, pizza, chinese, mexican, cut meat, and EBGBs, which is a quick stop convienent store.
- West is by far the best food on campus; they have a very wide selection and offer good quality food. I loved going there all the time for lunch and getting a made to order deli sandwich.
Dining Selection
- Calabaloo’s: Various burgers, chicken strips, fries, and fountain drinks. Also, try the Cookies and Cream milkshake!
Calabaloo's is a very fun little restaurant. While it maintains a vintage surfer theme with oldies always on in the background, it serves very wonderful burgers and chicken strip baskets. Calabaloo's or "Cal's" as the staff calls it is probably most famous for its Hawaiian style “Hula Burger”. It is served with a delicious all meat patty, a big thick piece of juicy pineapple and it is smothered in tasty teriyaki sauce; the combination makes for a lethal hamburger that gets eaten by many hungry dorm residents daily. Cal's also serves wonderful milkshakes and has a friendly staff. I am happy to give Cal's my thumbs up approval.
- Clubhouse Deli: Easy to find since there is a giant tree in the very center. Customize your sandwich for some of the best on campus!
Club house deli provides students with very healthy alternatives for eating on campus. It serves delicious homemade-style cold or hot sandwiches. These sandwiches are made with wonderful meats, cheeses, breads and vegetables that when assembled make for a healthy meal. Also at the Club House Deli there is a wonderful salad bar. It is has very diverse options that allow for a very fresh and unique salad every time you make one. The Club House is open for breakfast as well. For breakfast if you don't feel like eating something heavy, your choices are broadened by the Deli. You can have anything from fruit and yogurt to a bowl of cheerios, perfect for the light breakfast lover.
- Serrano Grill: This place has the best tacos ever! And fresh salsa at the salsa bar every day. It is worth the occasionally long line.
Serrano Grill may be my favorite restaurant at West. They serve delicious and fresh Mexican food. Their famous Burrito Ultimate is stuffed with either grilled steak or seasoned chicken, tasty Spanish rice, grilled vegetables, their home made pico de gallo and topped with sour cream. That is just a sample of the amazing food they serve there. Serrano’s serves excellent quesadillas, taco salads, nachos, and so much more. I would compare it closely to Baja Fresh except for the fact that it costs a fraction of the price and you don’t get to watch them make! I recommend Serrano’s Grill to everyone; it is a perfect place for lunch or dinner.
- Tomasito’s Pizza: The pizza is okay. There are a lot of varieties of pizza, but no matter what they tell you about college- you can’t eat pizza everyday. Especially if it has been under a heat lamp. Always get the fresh pizza.
However, the opinions of others vary, many people think that Tomassito’s serves a mouth-watering Italian spread including different types of pastas, lasagnas, and of course pizzas! There is always a line wrapping around the counter during dinner time because the pizza there is so fantastic! They assemble and oven roast them right in front of your eyes. You can also order a whole pizza to-go if you wish, those are perfect for Super Bowl parties, group study sessions, or just get- togethers with friends. Tomassito’s definitely gets my approval for pizza and pasta!
- Ring of Fire: Has some amazing Chinese food! Watch out for the sauce bar at the end though- if you don’t you may put the super-hot chili sauce on your spring roll thinking that it is sweet n’ sour.
If you feel like taking a trip to the orient, but can’t afford it, here is your next best option! Ring of Fire serves incredible Chinese food that makes your mouth water from miles away! They serve excellent chow mein, pork fried rice, and of course their famous mandarin chicken. In addition to that they dish up a variety of entrees including sweet and sour pork, garlic chicken, broccoli beef and so many more. They also provide all vegetable meals for the vegetarian appetite. As far as good Chinese food goes, I feel that Ring of Fire is at its head of the class.
- Four Corners: Features some more “home cookin’”.
Four Corners is best known for their comfort food. Right around November when the newness of college has worn off, and mid terms are nearing an end, you become home sick. That is where Four Corners comes in, they serve things you would probably have at home like prime rib with seasoned rice, or chicken fried steak and creamy mashed potatoes, it is all tasty, like something Mom would make. However, you will still find a diverse selection of foods here as well; they enjoy trying new things like dishes from other regions and different types of pastas. It is always exciting to see what they are cooking at Four Corners.
They also serve a wonderful breakfast; it includes hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, sausage, and the usual breakfast choices. However, they also dish up appetizing omelets and delightful breakfast burritos, a very popular choice for breakfasts in the mornings.
- EBGB'S:The best spot to grab a quick cup of coffee in a hurry!
EBGB’s where every bean is a good bean! It is the perfect spot to grab a quick cup of coffee before class. They serve gourmet espresso drinks and delicious pastries in the mornings. EBGB’s is also a convenient store for dorm residents. They sell snack foods like chips, cookies sodas, waters and fruit. They also serve delicious hand scooped ice cream too! It is an excellent spot to stop to grab a bite if you are in a hurry! EBGB’s is certainly a convenience for students and staff. Cheap too!
McNary Dining Center
- McNary is convienent for those students who live on the east side of campus (Callahan, McNary, and Wilson). They offer stir fry, baked potatoes, pasta, burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and a little convienent store.
- McNary has really good stir fry, and it tastes good and you can put your own stuff in it. Their smoothies are also very good.
Dining Selection
- Boardwalk Café: The almost always open and ever popular stir fry bar. It is delicious and serves other foods if you are not a fan of amazing stir fry.
- Garden Deli: Features sandwiches and soups that always are very tasty!
- Raintree Café: Now serving Starbucks coffee and their classic (delicious) Panini sanwiches!
- Casa Della Pizza/Pasta: Serves pizza, and a variety of pasta or calzone options.
- The Main Squeeze: Home to the famous McNary smoothies and serving more organic snack foods than ever before. Perfect for someone to be healthy and in a hurry.
Arnold's Bistro
- Arnold's is the smallest of the three dining centers. It is convienent for those living on the south side of campus (Bloss, Finley, and Halsell). They offer sandwiches, pasta, and a salad bar. Their milkshakes are really good too.
Dining Selection
- Arnold Bistro and Deli: Known for milkshakes and cafeteria style serving. While having fewer restaurants than other dining centers, it still draws a large crowd for events and the famous Country Store.
- Country Store: Venue that stays open the latest on campus that has everything from Beaver gear to groceries to hot foods you can eat when you buy!
Memorial Union
- There are a lot of places to eat in the Memorial Union. There is Panda Express, Woodstocks, Carl Junior, Pangea Cafe, Blimpies, Bites Convienence Store, and Java Stop. Java Stop offers the most in terms of drinks and syrup flavors. It is located on the second floor of the Memorial Union, across from the big study area. A wide variety of drinks are offered, either hot, iced, or blended. There are also pastries, and bagels to eat. Java Stop uses Portland Roasting Company as their coffee/espresso provider.
- Java stop has delicious bagels, but be sure to get there earlier in the day or they'll be gone!
Dixon Cafe
- The best smoothies on campus. They also serve wraps which are really good as well.
- Oh my gosh. The wraps at Dixon are so good. By far the best one is the Chicken Caesar and you add cheddar cheese to it. It's so good you will become addicted to them. They do have the best smoothies on campus, however, the Chai one, which I love Chai is not that good.
- They have the healthiest smoothies on campus as well as wraps.
E.Café
- This is one of the newest coffee and sandwich shops on campus located in the Kelley Engineering Center. This works with the standard meal card and offers a variety of other sandwich toppings not offered at other places on campus, including horseradish and guacamole. This is a great new resource for engineers on the go, and offers some nice, comfortable seating for eating!
- Hands down, the best sandwiches on campus!
Java II
- Located in the ground floor of the Valley Library, Java II is an excellent place to grab a cup of joe on the go and maybe a little pastry to go with it. However, don’t take your drink into the library! “Drink Parking” is right outside. They make the best cup of hot chocolate ever! Get the white chocolate version...yum! The lemonade is really good, sandwiches pastries are good too. Try to avoid in the mornings--the line is loooong. Don't think that it'll take a couple minutes right before class...you'll be late.
Bing's Café
- Bing’s Café is awesome because they stay open really late and serve some excellent Starbucks coffee. They also have Carol, who is a lively animated woman who has made Bing’s the environment that it is. In previous years, Bing’s has been the only place on campus to serve Starbucks Coffee, although starting in Fall 2006, many of the other campus dining centers have also brought Starbucks in place of traditional Allann Brothers coffee. Bing’s Café is located convientently in Weatherford Hall, and is probably the most centralized coffee place on campus.
- Carol is really dedicated to creating an atmosphere in which students feel very at home and comfortable. She has also made sure to hire friendly, and efficeint staff that work hard to get orders correct in a timely manner.
- I must say, however, that I am very much disappointed by the fact that Bing's changed where they purchase their pastries from. Last year, they had these delicious chocolate cheesecake muffins that I would get all the time. Now, however, they get their pastries from New Morning Bakery, and it's just not the same. They still have the chocolate cheesecake muffins, but they are now much more expensive and not nearly as delicious.
- In place of their delicious chocolate cheesecake muffins, they started selling a wide variety of fruits, which help get us jump started in the morning for our early classes along with our fantasic coffee. Not only does fruit help with early classes but it's healthy and quick so we can take it to class with us. Bing's Cafe sells fruit that is fresh and at a great price.
- They also had very tasty pizzas last year. Because their oven broke, we can no longer purchase pizzas, only calzinis. The calzinis aren't quite as tasty, they have too much crust and not as much filling.
- Bing’s has also added sandwiches to their menu. When purchased, you also get a choice of fruit or chips for about $2.95. Not a bad deal. The café is very clean. This year it has become even more popular for students. The peak hours are from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm since that is when everyone is ordering their lunch. Bing’s has delicious food and great service, albeit sloooooooow. But the employees are nice, so I don't mind waiting a bit. Just order your calzini and go put your laundry in the washer and come back. Calzinis take 10-20 minutes...
