After a highly anticipated wait, the Memorial Union finally reopened. Along with the comfortable new seating and an even better view of Lake Mendota, came 5 delicious new places to get your grub on.
From a twist on Italian cuisine to salty fries dipped in ketchup, the updated Union has everything a hungry college student could desire. Some places do more justice than others but overall, it's hard to say anything negative about the recent additions to campus.
Strada
Imagine putting everything that is good and pure about Italian food into a pasta or salad bowl, on a pizza or a piadina. No one is quite sure what a piadina is but there's nothing not to love.
Essentially, a piadina is an Italian flatbread filled with meat, cheese and veggies. A popular choice is the Chicken Pesto piadina, which includes chicken, angel hair pasta, grilled peppers, mozzarella and basil pesto.
Der Rathskeller
Aside from being a place for music, watching sports, and socializing, Der Rathskeller has incredible food. If you're lucky enough to get there before 11 for breakfast, you may enjoy omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, or french toast.
If you're not much of a morning person, the Rath appetizers (cheese curds, of course), beer, burgers and gourmet grilled cheeses are all essential to try.
Carte
Salads at Carte are made with fresh greens grown at Clean Fresh Food, a farm just a few miles away from campus. Play it safe by ordering one of their signature salads or switch it up and build your own.
Choose a protein, up to 5 toppings, dressing, and a garnish if you're feeling adventurous. This grab and go spot also offers delicious paninis. A favorite is the Mona Lisa- melted mozzarella, basil, tomato, balsamic and pesto sandwiched between two slices of sourdough bread. How could you resist?
Peet's Coffee
If you're like many of the other students who go to Wisco, you'll find yourself studying at Memorial Union... and nothing goes better with studying than caffeine. For one of the best cups of coffee, go to Peet's.
When you're feeling carbs, go for one of their bagels. Pro tip: they are from Gotham's so you can get the goodness of a New York bagel without having to walk all the way to the Capitol.
Daily Scoop
Do you even go to University of Wisconsin if you haven't tried ice cream from the Daily Scoop? Probably not. It's almost impossible to go to the Union without getting a scoop of the famous Babcock ice cream. If you decide you want to treat yo self, dive into a banana split or their brownie sundae. A crowd pleaser is Blue Moon, which is rumored to taste like Froot Loops.
Since it is #TerraceSzn all summer long, get out to Memorial Union and adventure to any one of these unique spots. Clearly, you can't go wrong with your variety of choices ranging all the way from salads to wraps to ice cream.