A pledges nightmare

The heading “fast food restaurants” usually refers to any restaurant which bases its sales on the desires of those people who are in a hurry. One of the unique characteristics of fast food establishments, compared to more formal sit down styled eateries, is the convenience of a drive through window. For those people who are hungry and in a rush to get somewhere, or a drive through fast food restaurant is the best bet. Here in Clemson, there is a plethora of fast food restaurants, most of which have drive through windows. Some of the more popular fast food restaurants within a mile or two of campus include Sonic, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Chik-fil-A, Zaxbys, Arbys, Bojangles’, and Wendys. The benefit of having a drive through window is by far most noticeable late at night when nowhere else is open. Fast food restaurants are the only option for those people who wish to eat during the hours after midnight. In Clemson, this is very beneficial to people who have been hanging out downtown all night and then suddenly have the urge to buy a double Big-Mac with cheese. The only people who do not benefit from this aspect of fast food restaurants are pledge drivers, who spend countless hours driving people to and from the drive through windows.

Arbys image:

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2009/12/2/1182603/a-trip-to-arbys

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Cheesin

Unknown too many students and people from the Clemson area in general, tiger town is home to one of the nation’s finest amenities. Clemson dining services, in coordination with ARAMARK (Clemson’s food service provider) has been making homemade blue cheese since 1941. This past year at the 15th biennial United States Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Clemson’s blue cheese placed as the fourteenth best blue cheese in the nation. Clemson’s cheese improved 19 places from its previous ranking as the thirty-third best blue cheese in the nation in 2007. This special homemade cheese, that many people have never heard about, is available from local vendors or online through Clemson University. “‘Both ARAMARK and Clemson Dining Services are very excited and proud of our blue cheese team,” said ARAMARK food service director Susan Clee. “They are a very special group of people who are dedicated to preserving the integrity and the history of Clemson Blue Cheese.’” South Carolina’s finest blue cheese is available in a few different forms including blue cheese dressing, blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese wedges, and blue cheese wheels, which can weigh up to one and quarter pounds.

To purchase any of these items you can use the following link that will take you to Clemson University’s Dining Services website:

http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSSE/Clemson/products.aspx?CatalogNavigationBreadCrumbs=ClemsonVirtualCatalog;Gift%20Baskets(ClemsonBaseCatalog)&ShowTop=true

Cheese image:

http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/departments/foodscience/images/blue_cheese.jpg

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Subway - Eat Fresh

One of Clemson University’s most popular places to eat is the Subway at the intersection of Old Greenville Highway and College Avenue, at the corner of downtown. Subway is a regular for many of the students who live on the north side of campus in Johnstone or in the Quad. One of Subways most popular characteristics is the fact that they make their own bread, and it is always fresh. When asked, one Clemson student said that their favorite thing about going there “is the smell of it. It’s extraordinary. It invites you in when you are walking by.” Besides being a favorite at Clemson, the Subway located downtown is also recognized as having the highest sales of any Subway restaurant in the nation. This is not only due to the fact that it is located thirty feet from campus, but also it is open until 2 a.m., which makes it an excellent choice for students craving a late night snack. Subway also offers special deals for a handful of sandwich combos, by offering select “five dollar foot longs.” This is a healthy, delicious, economical choice for many students who are on a tight budget. All of these factors lead to Subway being on of Clemson University’s favorite off campus dining options.

Subway Picture:
http://www.tmore.org/s/767/index.aspx?sid=767&gid=1&pgid=252&cid=1503&ecid=1503&crid=0&calpgid=296&calcid=1257

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Library Break

One of the most noteworthy café’s at Clemson can be found in the most studious spot: Cooper Library. On the fifth floor of cooper library is Java City, one of the most important study tools for Clemson University students. For those who are looking to take a study break, socialize, or are hungry, Java City is the place to go. Java City offers an array of food and drink items and caters to those people who like to spend many hours in the library studying or completing schoolwork. Java City offers breakfast foods such as bagels, sausage egg and cheese biscuits, and fresh fruit. They also have a wide selection of drinks and coffees ranging from the Mint Javalanche, to the classic Eye Opener, which is a popular choice for those students who are trying to pull all nighters during exam weeks. The fact that Java City is located within the library, and that it stays open until 1 a.m. makes it the best choice for students trying to combat the oncoming of sleep. When prompted, one student praised Java City stating, “their products are scrumdiddlyumptios, but they should be open later.” This seems to be a common insight among students, as another person also stated, “I wish they were open all night.” However, the fact remains: Java City is the place to get a library snack.

Java City image:

http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/FloridaInternationalUniv/Locations/MMCCampus-CollegeofBusiness/MMCCampus-CollegeofBusiness/JavaCity.htm

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¿Habla inglés?

One very popular cuisine around the Clemson area for college students is Mexican cuisine. At any night of the week you can see many Clemson students posted up any one of the Mexican food restaurants sipping margaritas and munching down chips and other scrumptious Mexican treats. It’s a common festivity to enjoy in each others company at a Mexican restaurant, share laughs, reminisce, and enjoy live. The three most popular Mexican restaurants in the Clemson area are: Monterey’s, El Churro, and El Jimador. While they all pretty much serve the same stuff, El Jimador trumps the other two, as it possesses the most amazing sauce known to this earth to dip chips in. This sauce is commonly referred to simply as…”the white sauce.” Upon touching the palette, aboard a crispy tortilla chip, this sauce evokes a sensual experience unlike anything else your mouth has experienced. Other than the white sauce all these restaurants are awfully similar. Mexican cuisine is pretty standard and leaves students usually very satisfied, especially after a couple drinks. Eating at a Mexican restaurant is not just about the food; it’s about the atmosphere. As soon as you step through the door, you might have well just crossed the Rio Grande because once you have entered the Mexican realm it’s a whole new world full of joy and festivities! Bottom line, we at Clemson have some pretty dank Mexican food restaurants that never fail to leave their customers with a positive smirk on their face.

Sombrero picture:

http://www.guestbookme.com/images/misc/

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Tigerstripe

TigerStripe… a glorious option available to Clemson students, gives us the ability to use our handy dandy id’s to purchase food on the reg. at various different eateries. While cash is not always in abundant supply in the pockets of many college students, and not everyone has a debit or credit card, TigerStripe is a great option that many can use to purchase food. Its very common for students to forget their wallet in the morning, or afternoon, rush to get to class, but one thing students usually always have on them, is their student id. Just by having your student id students are able to purchase food with the use of TigerStripe. TigerStripe can be used at: Bi-Low, Arbies, Dominoes, Papa Johns, Moes, Firehouse Subs, Jersey Mike’s, Mellow Mushroom, Main Street Deli and Coffeehouse, Panera, Pizza Hut, Taddaros, Wendy’s, Subway, Zaxby’s, and TD’s. Also when using TigerStripe there is no food tax, so you save those extra couple cents that sometimes cheat you out of a meal. TigerStripe gives us student’s easy access to a variety of food and beverages with just the swipe of a card. One of the most underrated privileges of TigerStripe, raves one student, is the ability to use it at TD’s. While your parents put money into your account thinking they are just providing you with your daily food, you can instead just blow it on drinks! “This is soo college” says my interviewee. Thus, with the glorious invention that is TigerStripe, students are able to feed themselves and get drunk, very college.

Bi-Lo image:

http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/03/2-free-usc-or-clemson-baseball-tickets-at-bi-lo/

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Pizza

As many college student know, but sometimes fail to admit… pizza is a regularity of our diet. It provides us with that amazing “late-night-nourishment” that many of us crave after a long night of extracurricular activities. From my own knowledge as well as asking other fellow “late-night” munchers, I came to conclude that the most popular pizza deliveries that satisfied our needs were: Dominoes, Papa Johns, and Todarros. Other than pizza, the cheesy bread that both Dominoes and Papa Johns offer is one of ever night owls favorite. Although Dominoes was my favorite of the two rivals, I cannot attest so much to the new crust, plus the garlic sauce that Papa John’s has is the ultimate dipper sauce making my switch an easy one. As the previous two were chains, Taddaros is Clemson’s own. Taddaros has delicious New York style slices that no one else can match around the area. It is easily Clemson’s most popular pizza place, especially around 2am when all the bars close downtown as it becomes the mecca of “late-night” munchers. Tadarros has that greasy goodness all on one large slice of pizza that others around the area just can’t match. It also delivers late for those who are unable to make it dt, so all can enjoy in the goodness. Another attractive feature that Taddaros has is dollar slice night. All in all Papa Johns, Dominoes, and Tadarros provide the Clemson University proudly with delicious easily manageable food.

Tadaros image:

http://www.clemsonpages.com/

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On Campus Quickies

There are several options on campus to eat at other than Harcombe or Schilletter; such as: Fernow Street Café, the Canteen, and East Side Food Court. For many students food choice is merely a geographical issue, as many of us are extremely lazy. These options are frequented by students not on the mean plan, or those who just hate the dinning halls. Being a resident of the Johnstone community, I happen to be conveniently located next to the Canteen. While the Canteen offers a good variety of food choices the main attraction there is Chick-fil-A. The Canteen recently opened this past semester and if you go at the right time of day, you may have to wait awhile in line to get your tasty chicken. When it first opened I quickly became a Chick-fil-A addict, but this was soon to die off. Fernow Street Café offers some of the same things as the Canteen but its most popular attractions are the Deli and Pizza Hut. While the Pizza Hut has its standard Go-To’s the Deli offers a variety of bread choices and wraps as well as specials of the day. On sunny days, you can see a plethora of students dinning out in the sun on the outdoor tables at Fernow. The East Side Food Court is more popular among students living in the horseshoe area, and offers the largest food selection of the three. The fast food icon here is Burger King, but students complain that it’s rarely open. Sandwiches are standard, but the other options like the Mexican and Chinese food are somewhat iffy…

harcombe image: www.clemson.edu

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Meal Plans. Are they worth it?

From a financial perspective meal plans are great. The unlimited meal plan is $1,321 and if you ate 3 meals a day 7 days a week at stander prices you would pay $2470.44. However the other meal plans are a bit more of a question mark, the 10 meal plan saves you over 100 dollar and the 15 plan save you over 400 dollars as compared to normal price.

However, there is an inherent risk involved. The theory behind a meal plan is that you will actually eat at the place you purchase it, and every time you don’t you lose money. With the unlimited plan if you don’t for every one of the 21 meals in a week you don’t eat in the dining hall you lose $3.70. For the 15 meal plan you lose a $4.80 for any of the 15 meals you don’t eat in a dining hall. Then for the 10 meal plan u lose $6.54 per meal that you don’t use. With the commuter 75 meal plan you would lose $6.33 per meal you didn’t use.

So from a purely financial stand point the meal plans are a good deal, if you use them. So if you, like most people, can’t eat the same bland boring food 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, for a 17 week semester you should carefully review your options before you start paying for food you’ll never use.

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Unknown Eateries

While everyone at Clemson loves to brag about the fact that we have the nation’s highest grossing Subway in the nation, there are also many lesser known places around Clemson a grab a bite to eat.

Just More Barbeque is hidden outside of Clemson in Pendleton. The home style BBQ buffet is located at 1410 Cherry Street in Pendleton. (http://www.justbarbecue.com/) Just More is only open Friday and Saturday nights from 5 to 9. They also provide a live band ever night to make you South Carolina cookout experience complete. With an unlimited supply of some the best BBQ around for just 10 buck Just More is hard to beat.

Paul’s Dinner is another well keep Clemson secret. It located on 123 just outside of downtown Clemson. Even though it isn’t far from Clemson many people overlook it because it is outside of the clusters of restaurants and shops. But at Paul’s you can get a oversized helping of your favorite southern cooking.

A new emerging eatery in Clemson won’t stay unknown for long. Geezer Pop’s, Down Town above Todaro’s, offers what quickly may become the best sandwich in town, with fresh baked bread and fresh sliced meat and cheese piled high. Their “Dank Dip” is quickly gaining notoriety around down along with their other great sides and the Mike’s Pies they serve.

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What Clemson wishes we had

South Carolina is home to some amazing southern style home cooking, but around Clemson there are many more nationwide eateries that the diverse student population craves from home.

One of the things most craved by Clemson student is Chipotle. The “Petition to bring Chipotle to Clemson” on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/karlen.senn#!/group.php?gid=310818295672) now boast over 945 members and is still growing. On this page students offer numerous please to bring Chipotle, say how excited they are to get Chipotle when they get home, and tell how much better Chipotle is than Moe’s.

As college students we our food, but if there is one thing makes it even better, when it is delivered right to us. This is obviously necessary because we are all very busy studying late into the nights. Many restaurants have realized this and offer delivery late, some as late as 2am. There is one type of deliver missing, Chinese Delivery. There are a couple Asian food restaurants in Clemson but none deliver. If someone were to open a Chinese food restaurant that delivered late they would quickly make a killing. Think about how good it would be have some fried rice and orange at about 2 in the morning, while you’re up late studying of course.

Chipotle Image:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/03/12/good_mexican_food_fast_not_fast_food/

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Campus vs Off Campus, where are the deals?

Many students like to complain about the high prices of food on campus, but that stems the question where are the deals? Well you’ll be hard press to find a “deal” on campus as good as you can find just right outside campus. With the price of a dinner at Harcombe, Schilletter, or Clemson House looming around eight dollar it makes it had to consider that a deal with the amount of food you could get other places in Clemson for a comparable price.

The first thing most people think of when they think value, regardless of whether or not they are college students, is fast food value menus. Since McDonalds first introduced their Dollar Menu the rest of the fast food world has slowly but surely followed suit. With the thought of getting seven or eight items of your choice from your favorite fast food restaurant it’s hard to take the chance that for the same price the dining hall will have something of the same quality. There are many other dining options on campus but they seem to have been able to hold off the value menu trend. For instance, the Burger King in the East Side Food Court sadly does not have the normal Burger King value menu. This maybe just because they have a smaller work space then the normal store, or maybe it’s just because they can lure in poor college students by letting them pay with Paw Point that they can’t use anywhere else.