If there is one thing that almost all undergraduates at Duke get fired up about besides basketball and LDOC, it’s food. Food website The Daily Meal has ranked Duke Dining as No. 9 in the “75 Best Colleges for Food in America for 2014,” which may come as a surprise to some students who are limited by the meal plan to stay on campus for food.
While Durham has indeed been named “The South’s Tastiest Town” by Southern Living magazine, the food on Duke’s campus itself has been criticized for its lack of dining options since the closing of West Union in July 2013, a dining hall that served as the former home to The Loop, Alpine Bagels, Subway, and other dining venues. The opening of Penn Pavilion in August 2013 was supposed to compensate for the West Union’s absence, though this new dining hall has been greeted with mixed reviews.
While campus may have fewer options than before, students are still more than content with several menu items at various dining venues across all three campuses. The Chronicle has compiled its top picks for dining on campus.
East Campus
The Marketplace, as the primary dining hall for all freshmen, undeniably has the most options out of all the dining venues currently on campus with its selection of pizzas, pastas, comfort food, burgers, stir-fry, salad and more. The stir-fry and daily specials are quality lunch options for upperclassmen with classes on East Campus and common favorites among freshmen as well.
Central Campus
Grace’s Café, as one of the only restaurants with food from a mix of American and Asian cultures, is well known for its noodle soups and its breakfast croissant. For those in a rush they can grab-and-go from the buffet line while those with a little more time can get fresh food made just for them.
The Nasher Art Museum is a classy, high-end place for brunch on the weekends, with its omelets, eggs benedict, French toast and a wide variety of desserts.
West Campus
The Loop, located downstairs in the Bryan Center, is a popular dining place for large social groups, friend groups and couples, with its wholesome menu of salads, burgers, pizzas, pasta and more. Although a bit on the pricey side in terms of food at Duke, The Loop compensates for its cost through flavor.
These are The Chronicle's top picks for food on-campus but here's what some others had to say:
“Nasher’s eggs benedict is really good.” —sophomore Dennis Xu
“My go-to [Au Bon Pain] choices are the smoked salmon wasabi breakfast bagel with added avocado, the Tuscan grilled cheese with added avocado and the Newport turkey sandwich that comes with avocado. I like avocado.” —sophomore Tanya Thomas
“My favorite thing to order at Grace’s is a small [San Shan] Janpong.” —sophomore Vanessa Wu
“The pulled pork BBQ, collard greens and mac and cheese [at Penn Pavilion] are where it’s at.” —junior Drew Korschun
"Marketplace is Duke's one reliable source of fresh fruit and diverse food, including vegan and gluten free options." —senior Julian Xie
"I like The Loop a lot these days. They can cook pretty much anything. They can make any sandwich or pizza that you want. My favorite thing there was their Loopwich ice cream sandwich." —sophomore Vania Ma
"I love everything about Red Mango, but especially the simple green smoothies. They look ridiculously healthy and green but they are actually the best." —Maggie Locke
"The first time I ate the reuben at Pitchforks, I cried a little." —sophomore Timothy Shu
"I like Blue Express because it feels very North Carolina. I really like the mac and cheese." —sophomore Eeyi Oon
"I enjoy eating at The Loop because there is a lot of variety in food options. I love their black bean burgers. Always tasty and filling. Plus the staff is super friendly which goes a long way." —senior Raven Holbrooks
"I like the gorgonzola walnut salad with grilled salmon at the Loop." —sophomore Vivian Hao
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