New York is known for its amazing food. Wherever you are, and however much money you’re willing to spend, this thriving city will have something amazing for you to munch on. New Yorkers know and live by this philosophy, but what happens when we pack up our bags and go out of state for college? Here are some of the foods that just aren’t the same on campus.
1. Bagels
Photo courtesy of @foodforthoughtny on Instagram
This is the one that hurts the most. I don’t care who you are or where you live, but there’s no better place for bagels than a deli in NYC. From capers and lox, to a bacon egg and cheese, your morning commute is defined by the sesame bagels hot off the presses.
2. Pizza
Photo courtesy of @indulgenteats on Instagram
Since I go to school in Chicago, I have to keep my love for New York pizza on the down-low. For those who go to school in much smaller cities or towns, finding pizza that’s worth eating, or at least not from Pizza Hut, can be impossible. Plus, the fact that you can’t buy a greasy $1 slice of pizza and cover it in red pepper flakes anymore is devastating.
3. Sushi
Photo courtesy of @oishibaynyc on Instagram
Sushi is something that just can’t be packaged and left in a dining hall for hours on end, but it’s a reality all college students know too well. If we’re desperate and too lazy to cook, it’ll be what we, hesitantly, grab for. But you’ll just wish you were at any of the great sushi joints the city has to offer, and probably get food poisoning.
4. Water
Photo by Cody Corrall
This seems like a weird one, but New York has some of the nicest tap water. It’s something you don’t realize when it’s all you know, but the minute you drink water from any other state, it could not be more different.
5. Chopped Salads
Photo courtesy of @justsalad on Instagram
Dining hall salads are tragic. If you went to school in Manhattan, getting an $11 bowl of salad for lunch was a daily routine. Needless to say, these two just don’t compare. New Yorkers have perfected the make-your-own-salad bar that makes the day old spinach at the dining hall pale in comparison.
6. Dim Sum
Photo courtesy of @hungrynyc on Instagram
New York is home to the largest Chinatown, and local Chinese restaurants as common as Starbucks. If you go to college in a city, your odds of having a Chinatown are pretty good, but a town in upstate New York isn’t gonna have as many options. So whenever a New Yorker goes home for break, ordering a little white box from a corner Chinese restaurant is gonna be a priority.
7. Street Meat
Photo courtesy of @abcellucci on Instagram
From hot dogs to halal, New Yorkers have had their fair share of street meat. Most of the time, it’s a bad situation for your stomach, but when it’s good, it’s so good. There may be places with the same fare scattered through whichever city your commute to, but it just doesn’t taste as good as it does when it comes from a cart.