Campus Life

I ate dinner while I was there and my host (who was but far the nicest person I've ever met) made it a point to warn me about the food. Apparently it won some of the Worse campus foods or something and they sometimes had thing on the menu that was meant only for the pregnant and starving to the point of obliviousness.

... But I tasted the food and it was fine. Really - it was totally average. And it was also pretty clean. Plus the entire place is covered in awesome student made artwork (but I'm weird so mind me not for that comment...).

There are three dining halls on campus: Ade (which offers all-you-can-eat-buffet style food), Powell (which uses meal swipes), and MidKnight (which opens at 8pm and closes very early in the morning)

The offerings at Ade change every day, but soups, a salad bar, dry cereal, and a sandwich making station (which unfortunately often has a very long line) are always available. The food there tends to be of average quality, but entrees are sometimes prepared very poorly. A multitude of beverages are here as well, from soda, fruit juices, tea, coffee, and an almost unbelievable amount of types of milk (2%, whole, soy, etc.) are available. There is also a dessert bar whose offerings change every day (usually things like cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats, etc.) which are usually fairly good. There is also gelato available every day, but I would strongly recommend against trying it, as it is of terrible quality and is the consistency of a half melted frosty and is absolutely guaranteed to taste nothing like whatever flavor it is supposed to be. Ade is also closed on the weekends.

The offerings at Powell are the same every day. The food is consistently good and features food such as tacos and burritos, salads, wraps, burgers, and fries. There is a variety of food to choose from, whether that be in entrees or sides (which can be anything from fresh fruit, vegetables and dip, fries, or breadsticks).

Fortunately, if you would rather eat at one dining hall than the other it is easy to find a meal plan that fits your needs.

There are a few small restaurants in town which are within walking distance. Most of them have good food and most of them have decent prices. Many of these restaurants (as well as the dining areas on campus as well) are fairly accommodating to any dietary needs/restrictions you may have (whether that be gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, etc.)

There are two dining halls on campus: Ade and Powell. Ade is the best place to go during the week if you have unlimited Ade swipes in your meal plan. I highly recommend that plan for your first year at A.U. Ade is not open on weekends, which can be annoying, but it's not bad. Powell food is the same every day. You can get pizza, soup, salad, chicken wings, tacos, nachos, pasta, fries, and a variety of other foods. It's pretty tasty. A lot of people I know prefer Powell over Ade. Personally, I think Ade is pretty good too. There's something different every day. Occasionally they'll try something weird, like jalepeno in the mashed potatoes, but usually it's good stuff. Also, at lunch and dinner there is a sandwich station, and a dessert station that always has gelato.

Ade dining hall is right next to Barresi (all freshmen) dorm hall, with Midknight express. Midknight express is open from 8pm-2am and it cooks all the greasy fast food that you love. It also has over a dozen flavors of ice cream, lots of different beverages, and salads/yogurts if you don't want the greasy-ness. Ade serves Breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a buffet-style serve-yourself type meal system. There is also a sandwich and soup section if you want a sandwich (someone makes it for you!) Ade also has a dessert bar...the gellato is fabulous!

Ade is awful but powell is awesome. Ade doesn't care if you are a vegetarian and they rarely are serving. Also their dishes are zero percent functional. Powell always has something yummy plus Tuesday is taco day.

Food on campus is provided through AVI Foodsystems, and I'm very satisfied with the service. Between the hours of 7:30AM and 8:30PM, there's a buffet open to students, and from 8PM to 2AM there's a place to get a midnight snack. It's awesome, basically.

There are two locations for dining on campus â?? Ade, which is the traditional dining hall set up and Powell Cafe which is a food court type set up. The on campus food is fine for my tastes and you'll find a good variety of choices between the two locations. The food is mostly made from scratch, and locally grown foods are often featured. I especially enjoy breakfast at Ade and start my day with a made to order omelet, bagel and fresh coffee. The food service is open to constructive criticism and seeks student input which is nice. Vegetarian and vegan options, and a clarity station (for those with food allergies) are available. There are also some good student friendly restaurants in the town of Alfred for eating off campus.