Elon Dining Halls Ranked
When I first received my letter of acceptance to Elon University I had a bundle of emotions. I was nervous, excited, and stressed all at the same time. All of this anxiety was built up because I was worried about attending college at a new place. My inner voice was saying, “What if I do not fit in? “And, what if I do not like it there?” The situation became even more stressful because I did not know anyone who attended or currently attends Elon. It also caused me to think worrisome thoughts because I had only visited Elon twice before fully committing to attending the University. I also dwelled on the fact that I did not know where anything was located on the campus. I agonized over the thought of getting lost and having no idea where my classes might be located. The food was the most scary thought that resided in my thoughts because I was going to have to eat it for the next four years of my life. Thinking about the taste of the dining hall food kept me up at night. My inner voice grumbled as I tried to stay asleep, “Is the food going to be disgusting?” Thinking about all of these unknowns definitely filled my soul with a panic.
The five places that I will be ranking at Elon in terms of my most favorite places include Clohan Dining Hall, Mcewen Dining Hall, Lakeside Dining Hall, Qdoba and Einsteins. I will be rating each of these dining halls and on campus restaurants lunches and dinners on six different things: atmosphere, diversity of food, taste of food, customer service, location and price. The reason that I choose this criteria is because it gives a good overall idea of each of the dining facilities and shows the pluses and minuses to each of them. So put your feet up and grab your favorite snack while I discuss each of the dining options at Elon. Let’s start off with my least favorite.
5- Einsteins
Atmosphere: 🥘
Diversity of Food: 🥘🥘
Taste of Food: 🥘🥘
Customer Service: 🥘🥘
Location: 🥘
Price:🥘🥘🥘
Einsteins is one of the most favorite spots for sophomores and people who live in the Colonnades to get a quick bite to eat with either their bagels or bacon egg and cheese sandwiches. One of the main downsides of Einsteins is once you pay the high price of your food you then have nowhere to sit to actually eat it. Another downside would be the food that they are actually selling like bagels you can get for free in any of the dining halls by just swiping your meal card. Einsteins does not have a lot of diversity in food. This is another downside to the on-campus restaurant. All of their menu options center around bagels. In addition, their customer service is not what I would call “top notch”. The servers are slow since they have to cook each individual breakfast sandwich as they are ordered. However, the atmosphere at Einstein’s has a cool, relaxed vibe.
4- Mcewen Dining Hall
Atmosphere: 🥘🥘🥘🥘
Diversity of Food: 🥘🥘🥘
Taste of Food: 🥘
Customer Service: 🥘🥘🥘
Location: 🥘
Price: N/A
Many students at Elon rank Mcewen Dining Hall as their most favorite place to eat. I am not one of them. Mcewen dining hall has overall one of the best atmospheres, but lacks on all other fronts. It is possible that I have just had some very bad luck regarding my food choices at Mcewen, but it feels that every time I try the chicken it is never cooked all the way through and it is always raw. When I look at the pinkish colored chicken on my plate my stomach rumbles and my face becomes flush with a tint of green penetrating from it. To make this worse, Mcewen is located in the absolute worst location.The location is in a terrible space because it is so far from everything around campus and it is a twenty-five minute walk from the East dorm where I live. For students who have meal plans the price is free when eating at Mcewen. The cost is a definite plus for me.
3- Clohan Dining Hall
Atmosphere: 🥘🥘🥘
Diversity of Food: 🥘
Taste of Food: 🥘🥘🥘🥘
Customer Service: 🥘🥘
Location: 🥘🥘🥘🥘
Price: N/A
Clohan Dining hall is one of the most beloved dining halls on campus. At Clohan they serve flavoral, succulent tasting burgers, pizza and sandwiches. The only reason that Clohan is ranked so low is based on the diversity of food choices. Clohan serves the same exact food choices everyday for lunch, and never changes the menu. Clohans dinner options have become a little better over the past few weeks, but there is still very little diversity in food choices. The dinners at Clohan are unappetizing most nights. The food at times is stomach-churning. One example of the food served during Clohan dinner is when they try to change it up with Asian inspired cuisine. Their attempt on what I would consider my favorite food tends to either be undercooked noodles or very chewy chicken. On a positive note, the location of Clohan is one of the best dining options available on campus because it is closest to the East Dorm where I live, and it is right next to the Colonnades. Clohan has a relaxed vibe that makes it a popular place for freshmen to dine, and what makes it even better is that you can use your meal swipes to purchase food.
2- Qdoba
Atmosphere: 🥘
Diversity of Food: 🥘🥘🥘
Taste of Food: 🥘🥘🥘
Customer Service: 🥘🥘
Location: 🥘🥘
Price:🥘🥘🥘🥘
Qdoba is one of the main restaurants on campus that students can use either meal dollars or meal swipes to eat. Qdoba has a substantial menu option list. Students can order anything from a chicken bowl to a quesadilla. The overall taste of the food is great; however, the location is a little bit out of the way for most first year students who live in on campus housing. Qdoba is close to where most of the second year students live so that increases Qdoba’s popularity amongst the undergraduates. The downside of Qdoba would be the overall atmosphere. The reason the atmosphere is not up to par is because once you get your food there is not enough seating for people to enjoy it. As a result, most people who eat Qdoba are forced to take their food to go. The drawback to takeout is that students do not get to socialize with each other and nine out of ten times the food is too cold to eat when you arrive back at your dorm.
1- Lakeside Dining Hall
Atmosphere: 🥘🥘
Diversity of Food: 🥘🥘🥘🥘
Taste of Food: 🥘🥘🥘🥘
Customer Service: 🥘🥘
Location: 🥘🥘🥘🥘
Price: N/A
Lakeside Dining is by far the premier dining hall at Elon. Lakeside always has a variety of food choices so there is never a boring lunch or dinner menu. Lakeside food also tastes delicious. Some of the best tasting food that Lakeside has to offer is their quesadillas and their potatoes. The food at Lakeside Dining Hall is always fresh and healthy. I am also extremely impressed with its cleanliness. The servers are friendly and helpful. The servers seem to take great pride in displaying the food in an appetizing manner. The only downsides to Lakeside is they always seem to be out of ketchup or utensils like knives. Unfortunately at Lakeside they do not always have enough seating in their peak hours of service so we have to either eat outside or bring the food back to our dorm rooms
My overall experience with the Elon dining facilities is a good one. It always feels like there is someplace I can go to get a good meal that I can enjoy. Although sometimes Elon comes short on their dining facilities by not always having certain things available or sometimes not always being convenient to their students. My experience with Elon and their food overall has been very good and it is something that I would recommend to others who are applying to the university.
