Speaking from the vast experience of one who is oft described as a person who thinks with their stomach (then again, I am a teenaged male) I can confidently say that the procurement of food is one of the most important and enjoyable past times a uni student can ever experience… err. Pretty much. Anyway, to cut straight to the steak… or point, the purpose of this blog is to share my favourite eateries in and around the university, in terms of value, taste, and most importantly, coffee quality. In addition, since I truly want to cover this in detail, I’ll be releasing this ginormous blog as a two-part special, so if you like, you can think of it as one of those B-grade mini-series they put on free to air every now and again.
‘Mint’ – One of my personal favourites, this café presents a mix of Eastern and Western food that continually impresses me. In addition, it boasts ‘The best coffee in campus’, and to tell you the truth, I haven’t yet found a reason to dispute that. Although it is a bit on the pricier side of things, and not affiliated with the USU (no access card usage) it more than makes up for that with the sheer quality and taste. In addition, any breakfast item earns a coffee for an extra dollar, so it’s not that bad. Between the Big Breakfast – for breakfast – and the laksa – for lunch, I find myself continually coming back, when I probably should be saving my money for a train trip home… I should probably mention that the barista rocks as well.
‘The Kebab place with the Meatbox’ – Ah, the good old ‘Kebab place with the Meatbox’. This shop continues to approach legendary status, and is easily one of the busiest on the south side of Campus every lunchtime. This is not just because of its great tasting kebabs (university student staple food), or even because it is USU supported (subsidies yay!). More than anything, in my opinion, it has gained its reputation from the sale of two products; the immensely popular ‘Chicken and Mushroom Pide’, with an ACCESS price of $4 making it considerably cheaper than most lunchtime options; and the infamous Meatbox. Truly a wonder of modern engineering, and most certainly deserving of the capital letter assigned to it, the name alone of the Meatbox leaves little to the imagination. Widely recognised as the ultimate ‘hunger buster’, an $8 ACCESS price makes this box (half-half filled with kebab meat and chips) the cheapest way to make sure that you’re not even going to want to THINK of eating for the next 12 hours. In fact, young men have been known to attempt to impress young women with their strength and stamina by trying to finish one of these entirely. Believe me, it’s a painful experience.
Manning Bar – WOOT. Good old Manning. As one of the two ‘watering holes’ on campus, Manning is considered an excellent place to meet, eat, drink, or view one of the many regular events held there. As much of an entertainment venue as it is a bar, this place one of ‘the’ places to be (now imagine a cool person enunciating ‘the’). Although I’m not exactly a drinker, the outdoor grill menu rocks my socks off, especially the Chicken Caesar Salad burger. It tastes ridiculously good, while still giving the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with eating supposedly healthy food (hey, it’s got salad in its name, it must be good for me).
And as my typing grinds to a halt, my eyelids drooping as I feel myself falling into undoubtedly food-filled dreams, I feel that I can do naught but cut this particular blog off here, with the sound promise that next week will see a further journey into that thing we call University Cuisine.