Welcome to Johns Hopkins University. Known for its med school, gorgeous campus and stellar lacrosse team. Not so much the food.
It's not that the fare is awful, though it was ranked eleventh on Princeton Review's "Is it Food?" list. It's really a two-fold problem. First, it's hard to get used to eating anything that mom didn't make with special love and care. Second, with almost no time to walk from Bloomberg to Hodson, when does a Hopkins student have time to eat? To answer this problem I have compiled a little survival guide to ensure that you get three square meals a day.
In the morning, options are slightly limited, yet there's usually enough to get you up and ready for that 9 a.m. class. At Terrace Court Cafe you can get a decent breakfast, consisting of eggs, pancakes, bacon, bagels, muffins and cereal. There's also the Kosher Korner in Terrace, where you can get Kosher meals if you've signed up for that meal plan. Faster breakfast options, like a muffin and coffee to go, are available with points at Jazzman's in Levering Hall or at Cafe Q in the library.
That should hold you until lunch when you have more options. Terrace is always a good choice, but for something a little different, Cafe Q serves sushi, salads and sandwiches for a lunch on the go. Across the street in Wolman Hall is the other large dining hall on campus, serving almost the exact same menu as Terrace, but with a sandwich bar and a slightly better salad bar. If you're in a hurry but still want to use a block, you can pick up a bagged lunch at either Wolman or Terrace.
Probably the most popular lunchtime dining facility is Levering Food Court. Much like a mall food court, there are four different vendors. There's also Pete's Arena, serving pizza, salads and other Italian dishes. Sky Ranch Grill is the place for burgers, grilled sandwiches and fries. SubConnection provides all sorts of subs and soups. At Salsa Rico, which can be distinguished by it long lines, you can pick up a burrito or quesadilla.
Also open at lunchtime is the Grill at Megabytes, which makes enough greasy food to satisfy every freshman's desires. Megabytes also sells grocery items if you'd prefer to make your own food, or bring a snack back to your room.
Another good lunch place is Silk Road, which makes all sorts of tasty Asian specialties.
Dinner options are more limited. You have your trusty standbys, Terrace and Wolman. Both dining halls have recently added a "healthy" section to their menu, providing meatless meals for you JHU vegetarians. The Grill at Megabytes is still open for dinner as well and is open later than the dining halls.
Then there's the staple in every college student's life: the late night snack. These can be found at the Depot, a mini Megabytes located in Wolman and Megabytes.
So there you have it: the eating options for a Hopkins student. All that's left to say are a few words of warning. It's tempting to have pizza or burgers three, even four times a day. The freshman fifteen happens. It happens because of Mega-sized MegaWraps.
