If there's any one thing that brings college students together, it's food. At the University of Bridgeport, it's no different. If food is involved, we're there especially if the food is FREE. If food is the topic of conversation, it's a hot one. Whether it's good or bad, food always seems to be the thing to unite us all at UB. Here are 10 food facts you'll only understand if you go to University of Bridgeport.
1. Dining Dollars are your best friend and your worst enemy
You get an allotted amount of dining dollars for the entire semester and it's so easy to spend them all in a span of 3 weeks (not even joking), even with the $400 dining dollar meal plan. The key is to come up with a budget and stick to it. But with $2 french fries and yummy mozzarella sticks for $4.75 at your disposal, it's easy to fall into temptation.
#SpoonTip: UB has quickly learned the key to our participation is raffle prizes in the form of more dining dollars so when on campus always look out for these amazing rare prizes.
2. Marina Dining Hall: Hit or Miss
Marina is our sole dining hall. You either love what they have or you hate it and there's no in between. But no matter what they're serving, we all know that by midterms the vast majority of the student population will be out of dining dollars and using up all their meal swipes at Marina. Good luck finding a table during lunch rush. Thankfully the new meal swipes in The Hub and Fresh Tossed may prevent overcrowding.
3. Omelette Wednesdays
A blessing and a curse. Every Wednesday is Omelette Night, and if you're lucky enough to get to Marina before the line us unbearably long, dinner's all set. But if you're not an omelette fan or you're impatient, you're out of luck because all other food options are pretty lackluster on Wednesday nights.
#SpoonTip: Get to Marina early if not your going to end up waiting close to 30+ minutes.
4. School Tours are the worst
Whenever you see a high school tour before noon, just know they're about to invade Marina's lunch hours. Better make a mad dash to grab your plate before high schoolers make long lines and take all the french fries, pizza, and dessert. It's even worse when you're on a time crunch. But nothing is worse than a tour on chicken nugget day. Nuggets are a crowd favorite at UB, so not only will it be crowded, but the nugget supply may run low as well.
5. No need to break the bank on Valentine's Day
Every year in the week of Valentine's Day, Marina hosts a special Valentine's Day dinner. Students can make reservations for groups of 2-4 for a 3-course meal consisting of appetizers, a main course, and dessert. You're seated in a sectioned off area of the cafeteria and serviced as if you were in an actual restaurant. It only costs a meal swipe plus 10 dining dollars (Prices may vary). It's cute, fun, and the food is pretty good. I go every year with my girlfriends, it's tradition.
6. Chicken Tender Basket Combo Please
Outside of Marina is the Hub, our on-campus retail dining area. The Grille is the go-to spot for "fast food." Burgers, onion rings, fries, and more. It gets pretty packed, and if you wanna get out of there in a jiffy, chicken tenders are the way to go. You can't go wrong with a simple order either, $2 gets you a paper bag filled halfway with french fries!
7. Smoothies from Fresh Tossed are addictive
Fresh Tossed is the campus "healthy" eating spot. Located in the student center, it attracts all kinds of students and faculty alike. The most popular menu item by far is the smoothie, completely customizable to your heart's content, so it really fits anyone's diet and it's $5. Another thing to blow your dining dollar budget out the window.
#SpoonTip: Lookout for Sodexo surveys, they sometimes hand out free smoothing/coffee card as a reward for your participation.
8. Going to The Scribe is part of your daily routine
Oh, The Scribe. Our on-campus cafe, and one of my favorite spots. I can hardly go a day without stopping here for a latte. It's not a full-blown Starbucks, but they brew Starbucks brand coffee and even have seasonal beverages so you can have a Pumpkin Spice Latte or Peppermint Mocha. They also have yummy pastries that are all around $2. I love the cheese danishes and chocolate croissants most.
#SpoonTip: Around 8:00PM-8:30PM you get a free pastry with any drink or pastry you buy.
9. Poke Bowls are totally a thing
So this one is actually not completely known around campus, but The Scribe started selling poke bowls for $7 last semester. Poke bowls are raw fish salads, which may sound weird, but is basically like sushi deconstructed and in a bowl. I personally love this investment and get poke bowls once a week. My favorite is the poke salmon bowl which seem to be pretty popular too, they're always gone by the end of the day.
10. Pizza is a way of life
There's just something about pizza that brings college crowds together, and it's no different at UB. From Papa John's UB50 code that gets us 50% off a pie, to Domino's numerous coupons, a night doesn't go by without a pizza box in the trash can. Even the success of RA events rides on pizza. I know I bribe my residents with a party-size pie from Panarro's Pizza if I want a decent turn out.
There are honestly so many things at UB that revolve around food. No event, great or small, is complete without something to munch on. Food, especially free food, is just the native tongue of our campus. It's pretty amazing how it can unite us all, even for the briefest moments.
Share your favorite UB food related tips with us at @spoon_bridgeport!