Friday, October 22, 2021

Dormitory Food: A Guest Post By Alice

ALICE WRITES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA:

In August I started my first year at the University of Virginia and I have been reflecting on all of the eats of the past weeks. College has been amazing so far and the food has been especially a high point. At UVA, first years get unlimited access to the three dining halls along with many restaurants on grounds to eat at. 

A Banh Mi Sandwich

O’Hill

I most often eat at the O’Hill dining hall, only a three minute walk from my dorm, and love staying there to study and chat with friends. For breakfast I usually get eggs, sausage, some form of potatoes, and a pastry, pancakes, or french toast. For lunch and dinner, I pick out my meal based on whichever station looks the best or has the shortest line. There is pizza, burgers and fries, the salad bar, sandwiches, and two to three different rotating meals. Additionally, there is a dessert bar that has cookies and sweets at all times of day as well as a self-serve soft serve station. I am still practicing up on my ice cream skills, thus my ice cream still looks a little funny when I get it. 


The main area of the dining hall with all the different stations.


Breakfast at O’Hill




Dinners and Lunches at O’Hill


I study while I eat. 




From the vegan station.





National Guacamole Day.


Yogurt station with fruit and granola.


Restaurants

In addition to the dining halls, my friends and I go out to eat on The Corner almost every weekend. Our favorite restaurants have been Asado’s, Mellow Mushroom, and Got Dumplings. We also go to a smoothie shop, called Juice Laundry, that is inside of the gym.

 

Restaurant Photos





Dome Dinner

Every year each first year residence hall is invited to a fancy dinner in the dome of the Rotunda. Ours was spectacular- strawberry feta spinach salad, rolls, pasta, couscous, flank steak, green beans, and a fruit crisp dessert. 

Dome Dinner Photos


The Rotunda at the University of Virginia. Designed by Thomas Jefferson.

At dinner: wine glasses with sweet iced tea or water.





Questionable Food Experiences

Although the food has been great at UVA, there have been a few dinners that were a bit weird. Most notable were the tofu pasta and the bean sauce on pasta. 


Pasta Photos




The outdoor dining and study area.

Blog post © 2021 mae sander and alice wanner.
All photos by alice wanner.

12 comments:

DVArtist said...

I didn't realize you went to University of Virginia. I have spent sometime there and really like the area. The food and food court look amazing. I think I would have a hard time with the soy pasta too. Have a great day today.

Story Time said...

This makes me want to go to college again! I'm glad you are enjoying the food as well as the classes, Alice.

Alice Swan said...

Thank you!! :) You’re always welcome to come visit! Miss you!!

My name is Erika. said...

College food looks and probably is so much better than I remember it. Thanks Alice for writing a guest post. This was fun! And Yummy too!

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

What an amazing selection and you are lucky to experience all of it.

Anne in the kitchen said...

Wow, Alice! Dorm food has improved by leaps and bounds since I was in school. The only thing you have that stayed the same from my days is the soft serve ice cream (on days the machine actually worked ).
Thanks for the guest post and have a wonderful rest of the school semester/ quarter.

Jeanie said...

What a fun post. It looks like there is much better food available on college campuses than there used to be! Thanks, Alice, for sharing this!

Beth F said...

I remember my dorm room days ...

Divers and Sundry said...

College food has come a looong way since I was at school, but maybe the food there has always been better than the small school I went to. Your choices look tasty.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What a fun look at both college life and food at college today. I'm amazed at the different foods and restaurants you have access to. Far different from some of the slop I've seen on my alma mater campus. Now I am really, really hungry. Thanks for this great look at college food in today's world, Alice.

Marg said...

Thanks for the glimpse into college life!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I have to say that I cringe at all that indestructible styrofoam and other junk moving on to pollute an already over-polluted world. Surely a university of all places could do better.