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5 Ways to Hack Your Boring Dining Hall Burger

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at TCU chapter.

So often when people think about dining halls, their first thought is unlimited pizza. But where is the love for the moist, juicy, decadent piece of beef between two toasty buns? Don’t bash the burger before you even try to work with it. They can be so fun to be creative with. You can add or omit anything to your pleasing in order to personalize it. 

To give you a head start, use these burger hacks to turn any boring burger into a foodstagram-able piece of art.

1. Add lettuce and tomato

Burger salad pepper
Lynden Orr

It’s as simple as going over to the sandwich bar and grabbing anything from lettuce, tomato, pickles, olives, onions, or whatever else you like to put on your burger. We don’t judge.

2. Make Secret Sauce

Burger
Katie Elliott

You can make animal-style sauce, the classic Good Burger sauce, or your own variation of ketchup/mayonnaise mixes. A plain burger is a boring burger unless you can get creative and find your spirit condiment to put on it.

3. Grilled Cheese Burger

college dinner recipes meat cake
Kylie Kinder

Grilled cheese, meet burger. All you have to do is take a grilled cheese and stick a patty right in the middle. If you’re feeling fancy, take two grilled cheeses and make grilled cheese buns for the ultimate dining experience. Got mac n’ cheese in the dining hall? Add that sucker on, too.

4. Replace the beef with chicken

Burger
Grace Toups

Same food, different day? Switching meals up in the dining hall is key to not getting sick of the same thing offered everyday. Add chicken for when you’re looking for an extra kick of lean protein.

5. Lettuce Bun

Burger lettuce
Grace Toups

This one goes out to all my gluten intolerant homies. I’m so sorry. But you don’t have to miss out on an American favorite due to allergies. This is also a great option if you are trying to cut down on the carbs. Just grab some greens from the salad or sandwich bar and you’re good to go.

The next time you find yourself veering over to the pizza bar, remember these burger hacks. The different combinations of burgers is what helps make the world go ’round and the dining hall seem so much more appealing. 

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