Not being a freshman anymore has lots of advantages. However, it does take away the convenience of having a ridiculous amount of awesome on campus places to eat being right by you (and on your meal plan). Luckily, USC is surrounded by an abundance of eateries (almost all concentrated on Figueroa St, which runs right by campus), an advantage that should not be overlooked in making a college decision (everyone needs to eat). The amount of food places around USC is actually one of my favorite things about the school. Food was something I didn’t think about much in the college search process but now that I’m in college, I realized it’s one of the more important things to consider.
I’ll divide these places up into several categories: great and open late. This mainly covers the places I go which is only a fraction of the food places around USC (yeah we really have that many).
Great:
5 Guys: As a burger aficionado and craftsman back home, my expectations were low for mainland burgers. And I was right. I can’t say that I would call 5 Guys great if there was any actual competition for making a good burger outside of Hawaii but from what there is around here, yeah it’s pretty good.
Fatburger: I don’t really go here much but I have to mention it because it’s really good. Actually, I don’t know why I don’t go here more.
Chick-fil-a: Awesome food. Sadly, rumors that they were going to stop funding anti-gay marriage organizations were just rumors. Eat at your own political discretion.
Chipotle: It’s Chipotle. The competition for Mexican food around here is fierce but Chipotle holds up well.
Manas: It’s an Indian restaurant. I like Indian food. Thumbs up.
Subway: Now this one falls into both categories. It’s my favorite fast food and also happens to be open 24 hours. And did I mention that there are four of them at USC? Yeah. We have four Subways. All open 24 hours.
Spudnuts: I love a good donut. And they know how to make a good donut. This one is also open all night.
Late:
Panda Express: I can’t say it’s my favorite food in the world, but hey open to 3 AM is open to 3 AM.
Chanos: This is the quintessential USC Mexican food place. Open late and delicious in its own strange way. Impossible to explain. Must try.
Freebirds: Like Subway but with burritos. Not as good as Chipotle but open way later.
Places I Don’t Really Ever Go To:
Pasta Roma (Italian), Viztango (Italian), McDonalds, Carls Jr., Jack in the Box, Quiznos, Dominos, Brooklyn Water Bagels, Yoshinoya, Trio Cafe (Thai), Yogurtland, Soy (sushi), La Taquiza, KFC, Popeyes and a bunch of other places I just can’t think of right now because we have so many places to choose from.
In essence, everyone wants to eat in college. Probably a lot. And probably pretty frequently late at night. And USC has the students covered.
