AN HONEST REVIEW OF THE FOOD ON CAMPUS

As the semester starts up, you may be struggling to find a place to eat. There are so many options, and if you have not tried the food yet, you may not even know what to get. It is good to start with where you even can eat, before you get into whether they are good. There are many places on campus to eat, including the Pride Cafe, The MacMorland Food Court (which houses Tender, Love & Chicken, Bento Sushi, and The Pride Market), Moe’s, Einstein’s, Uno’s, Starbucks, Freshens, and Good Uncle. The Pride Cafe, The MacMorland Food Court, and Starbucks can be found in the University Center, Moe’s and Einstein’s are both in Harris Hall, Freshens is in Freedom Hall, Uno’s is next to the campus bookstore, and Good Uncle is a food truck/food delivery service through an app all around campus. Speaking from experience, college students love food and getting access to food as soon as they need it. For the most part, Breakfast (Mon - Fri) is from 7:00AM - 10:00AM, Brunch (Sat - Sun) is between 10:00AM - 2:00PM, Lunch (Mon - Fri) is from 11:00AM - 2:00PM, Dinner (Mon - Thu) is between 4:00PM - 8:30PM and (Fri - Sun) is between 4:00PM - 7:00PM. Those hours are common from the Pride Cafe. Freshens is open from 11am-7pm, TLC is open (Mon-Thurs) 11am-12am, (Fri) 11am-1am, (Sat) 4pm-1am, and (Sun) 4pm-12am. Bento Sushi is open (Mon-Fri) 11am-9pm and (Sat/Sun) 4pm-9pm. Starbucks is open (Mon-Fri) 7:30am-4pmand (Sat/Sun) 11am-4pm. Einstein’s is open from 7:30am-2pm Mon-Fri. Finally, Moe’s in open Mon-Fri 11am-8pm.The best thing about these places is that there is a variety of types of food. This year we welcome a couple new places to campus, including a permanent Starbucks, TLC, Bento Sushi, and Freshens. We had previously had a sort of pop-up stand for Starbucks, but now there is a permanent store where you can order all the Starbuck’s specialties, including coffee, sandwiches, and baked goods. There is plenty of seating and good lighting so that you can get your caffeine fix and work on that paper you have been procrastinating. TLC and Bento Sushi are two new restaurants as well, these two have small menus, but great choices that are made at a speedy service. After you order, there are more seating spaces in the lobby area of the building that you can go to. TLC sells chicken, hence the name, and Bento Sushi sells sushi, ramen, and bento boxes. Freshens is the last new location that we welcome on campus, there they serve a good variety of healthy options, including smoothies, salads, and so much more. Widener is so excited to see all these places on campus. How do you decide where to go? Not only have I gone everywhere, but I also talked to students like yourself to get the real opinion on the food. To start, we are going to begin with the Pride Cafe. A lot of students are against the food here, and honestly, it is give and take. Sometimes you can hit the jackpot and get good food, but other times you end up with undercooked, unsatisfying options and a wasted meal swipe. The Pride Cafe has one thing going for them, and that is the variety of food they offer, there are healthier options, made to order, and comfort food. On top of that, there are a variety of dessert and drink options. Overall, I would give this a 5/10, as sometimes it can be perfect, and other times it might be repulsing. Next up is TLC. When I first tried here, I was so excited. I am a very unoriginal person when it comes to food, so the fact that this was a chicken place, I was very hopeful. However, I think the chicken is overhyped, it is sometimes rough to eat. However, the drink selection and the fries make up for it. Plus, the meal exchange program here gives you a decent amount of food for the
swipe. Although I do not think the chicken is as amazing as Chick-fil-a, it is consistent, and because of the fast service, I give TLC a 7/10. Bento Sushi is right next to TLC, I am not a huge fan of Sushi, so I had to lean on others for an unbiased review. Bento Sushi offers a variety of sushi options, most of which are on the meal exchange. The food is consistent and well prepared. It makes you look sophisticated for eating sushi for lunch on a Wednesday, while also properly filling you. For those reasons, it deserves an 8/10. While the Pride Market is not exactly a restaurant on campus, it is right next to TLC and Bento Sushi, so it deserves a quick review. The Pride Market has everything you might need for a quick restocking of food, it has ice cream, microwavable meals, snacks, power drinks, and more. While there could be more variety, it gives the bare minimum for great prices. The Pride Market earns a 9/10 rating because I guarantee you can find something there to eat when you are at a loss. Moving outside of the MacMorland food court, Starbucks is worth mentioning. Starbucks has a fast time (unless you end up right at their rush) with a lot of customizable drinks and food. The baked goods are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth, and the drinks are differently worth every penny. The only reason they score only a 6/10 is the fact that due to shortages, you are not always able to get what you want, and the speed is not as good as it could be at times. Outside of the UC, you will find even more options. Moe’s is up next. If you are like me, Moe’s is your safe place to find food. You can customize everything to exactly your liking, get some great chips on the side, and have a variety of self-service drinks to choose from. While only a few options are on the meal exchange and the service at busy times is extremely slow, Moe’s very much deserves their 8/10 rating. Right next to Moe’s you will find Einstein’s with its large quantity of sandwiches, bagels, and coffee. There are not a lot of options on the meal exchange, and it is an incredibly long wait, the food is a good quality for the quantity, which allows for the accurate rating of 6/10.Freshens’ is one of the newer places on campus and is a great spot for healthy food options, with a vast number of smoothies, salads, flatbreads, and more, you are guaranteed to eat healthy for only one meal swipe. Overall, I give Freshen a 5/10, only because the smoothies are not customizable and depending on when you get them, they taste different every time. I do not discourage you from going though, there are a lot of good options, and it is still a very good healthy alternative. Next up is Uno’s, this is everyone’s favorite group restaurant, and from the start I am giving it a 10/10. There is an amazing atmosphere and a lot of options on the menu for one swipe. You can always find something there and have a good time while doing so. You also most likely will end up taking some home. Finally, there is Good Uncle. Good Uncle is very easy to use and very efficient. There are not a variety of options, but the options that are given are extremely filling, plus, you are able to order different snacks as well. I give Good Uncle a9/10, and if you have yet to try it, do it. While these reviews are subject to my opinion, I did a survey on my personal Instagram to see what other Widener students believed. The results concluded that the majority of people polled preferred Moe’s and disliked TLC or the Cafe. Students recommended getting the Homewrecker, any breakfast sandwich, and burgers from the Cafe. Overall, everyone agrees that you get a decent amount of food for one swipe and that you should check out Uno’s withfriends. Happy Eating!