By Julia Cheng
julia.cheng658@csuci.edu
Eating on campus is inevitable, especially when school and/or work gets in the way of planning your meals. Thankfully, there are options at CI for everyone to meet their different budgets and tastes.
Read on for suggestions on where to eat based on your budget.
ALL THE MONEY
If you don’t need to worry about pinching pennies, Town Center is the place for you to grab lunch. The following four dining locations are offered in Town Center: Pizza 3.14, Tortillas Grill and Cantina, Town Center Market and Q Dumpling.
Between the two populations of the University Glen neighborhood and the CI students, faculty and staff, the restaurants at Town Center can afford to have higher priced meal options.
Pizza 3.14 offers pizza and other Americanized Italian options. Tortillas Grill and Cantina offers Americanized Mexican foods and is the only restaurant that has a bar.
Town Center Market has a large selection of snacks, some basic toiletries, a self-serve soft serve ice cream area, alcoholic beverages and a deli counter all available to the community. The newest restaurant in Town Center, Q Dumpling, specializes in Americanized Asian foods including steamed dumplings and boba beverages.
MEH MONEY
If you don’t have a lot of money but can still afford to buy a meal out every once in a while, try one of these more moderately priced options: Lighthouse Cafe, the Sea Store, Islands Cafe and Freudian Sip.
The Islands Cafe could also be considered the school’s cafeteria because housing students have meal plans that only apply to this location on campus. The Sea Store, located in the Student Union, offers a variety of snacks, premade sandwiches and salads and basic school supplies, making it a good location if you are in a rush and need to get something quickly.
The Lighthouse Cafe is also located in the Student Union and offers food like cold or hot sandwiches, burgers, soups and more. Freudian Sip is the mini-chain of coffee shops at CI offering coffee drinks, smoothies, pastries and some premade sandwiches and salads with three locations on campus — one next to the Lighthouse Cafe, one on the first floor of the John Spoor Broome Library and one located in the Town Center Market.
BUDGET? I HAVE NO MONEY TO BUDGET, I’M A BROKE COLLEGE STUDENT
If all of your money is going towards school, housing, transportation and other life necessities, then stop by the Dolphin Food Pantry when you’re strapped for cash but need something more nutritional than ramen.
Located in Arroyo Hall 117, the food pantry is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Having personally donated and taken food from the pantry myself, I greatly appreciate having this option available to students on campus. Students are allowed to take up to five food items daily and as many toiletry items as they need.
At CI there is always a delicious meal available that meets your budget. Enjoy!
