It’s 6 p.m. on a Monday night. You’ve just finished a long, hard day of trying to decrease the ratio of "New Girl" episodes watched to papers written and all you want is Lenoir mac and cheese with a side of sweet potato fries. As the number of food stations you haven’t seen yet decreases, you begin to have a sinking feeling that There. Is. Nothing. Good. Tonight.
But before you resign yourself to the defeat of getting a PB & J sandwich to go, remember that your resident Dining Hall Hacker has got your back (and your stomach). Here are your go-to options when the dining hall regulars just won’t cut it.
1. Pizza bagels
We all know that late-night delivery pizza is an important part of being a college student (YOCO: You Only College Once). While traditional pizza (the triangle kind) is great, sometimes you just need more forms of pizza in your life, even for breakfast.
Enter the pizza bagel! Go grab a bagel, get it toasted and put marinara sauce from the pasta bar on top. Finish off your bagel with cheese from the salad bar (you can even make two-cheese pizza by using different varieties).
2. Yogurt parfait
This one seems pretty basic, but trust me, it’s an art and a science that took half of freshman year to perfect. This one only works in Lenoir but you will never look at yogurt the same way again.
First, get a bowl. It must be a bowl. Add vanilla yogurt and then head over to the cereal area. Add cereal of your choice — granola for health, Cheerios for childhood, and Fruit Loops for happiness.
Top with berries from the waffle station. Yes, the waffle station always has frozen berries. Always.
Finally — yes, there are a lot of steps, but no one said that perfection would be easy — add fresh-ground peanut butter to the top. You’re welcome.
3. Sausage
You know when you go to all the stations and every single meat looks a teeny bit sketchy? Head to the pasta bar. It’s my secret weapon against scary meats every day.
They always have spicy Italian sausage and since no one knows it exists, it’s high-quality and delicious.
While you’re there, grab some of the roasted veggies so you can justify all the dessert you know you’re going to eat later.
4. Waffle panini
This one’s the ultimate opportunity for your imagination. Make a sweet waffle by sandwiching in peanut butter and jelly and topping it all with a scoop of ice cream.
Create your own spin on chicken and waffles by grabbing chicken from the salad bar. The possibilities are as endless as the time you’ll spend congratulating yourself on a meal well-eaten.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
