When you are abroad from Elon, you are immersed in a completely new culture and want to experience as much as you can. You spend most of your time and money thinking about where to travel next and how to budget your money best because you keep spending it on groceries, café, and drinks.
After a few weeks of enjoying delicious wines, chocolates, baguettes, beer, pasta, and coffee, you start to feel like something is missing. You long for the familiarity of the food at home. You long for Elon.
1. Acorn Cookies
There is nothing quite like a warm M&M cookie to make your day.
2. Irazú
If you’re not starting your morning with Irazu coffee then you’re doing it wrong. While you are abroad you quickly find out that everyone but the United States doesn’t believe in iced coffee!
3. Boar’s Head
The lines, half toasted sandwiches, getting the “1738 ticket” makes the Boar’s Head what it is— and you surprisingly miss it.
4. Nades Breakfast
Enough said.
5. Pelicans
Flavored ice that Elon students can’t get enough of! When scrolling though Facebook and seeing that there will be free Pelicans on campus, you wish that one of your friends will generously ship your favorite flavor combination to you.
6. Late Night Cookout Run
Sure there is gelato abroad and other satisficing desserts abroad, but there is nothing like a Peanut Butter fudge brownie milkshake at 1:30am.
7. Smitty’s
Europe certainly knows how to make perfect Nutella gelato, but there is nothing quite like brown sugar oatmeal ice cream.
8. One Dollar Slice at Pandora’s
This is the deal of the week that every Elon student waits for! Can’t decide between the buffalo pizza or the Crèche one? Why not have both. Get creative! It’s the best and cheapest meal you’ll have all week!
9. Sunday Brunch at West End and Grill Works
The iconic hangover cure to dine to with all of your friends while you discuss the previous nights events and regretful decisions.
10. Fish Bowl Friday
Have one to yourself or share with friends, fish bowls at West End are a great start to the weekend.
11. Trivia Tuesday
Grab a group of friends and head to Fat Froggs! It’s all fun in games and beer. There is nothing quite like drinking beer with your friends and trying to recall random trivia. The closest thing you’ll get to this in Europe is a karaoke bar.
12. Late Night’s Tater Tots
When abroad, there is no one back at your flat ready to make you a snack after you have been out all night. I appreciate and love Elon so much for feeding the late night partiers. There is nothing better than a to-go box full of tater tots at 2 am.
13. Mac and Cheese and Fried Chicken Thursdays
Southern cooking can put a smile on anyone’s face. There is no comfort food quite like it, making this typical Thursday meal one of the best you can have on campus, especially before going out that night.
14. Chicken and Waffle Tacos from Tangent
What happens when a taco trend comes to the south? You get the beloved chicken and waffle taco! (You will not find this abroad any where… I’ve tried).
15. Truffle Fries from The Root
Elon students dream and fantasize about these magical fries. The first meal I planned to have when I got back to Elon was a plate of truffle fries.
16. Dominos Delivering to the Library
Late night studying can make you hungry but you don’t want to walk to the Freshii area to grab a snack. Having a pizza be delivered to Club Belk might be one of the best ideas I have ever had in college.
17. The Amazing Elon Dining Crew
They are the friendliest people on campus and truly want to know how your day is. There is nothing like Miss Julie wishing you good luck on your upcoming test or Miss Judy brightening up your day!
Being abroad is an amazing experience, and you’re never going to do anything quite like it again. But it’s also okay to miss a bit of home as well. Enjoy your time overseas (ESPECIALLY THE FOOD)! It will be over before you know it, and then you will be saying you wish you were back abroad instead of at home.