I wish I could say I kid, but I still remember the day when I was on campus from morning to evening, functioning on nothing but seaweed and water because I couldn’t bring myself to spend what few dollars I had in my wallet. ‘Course, I was a young student then, still navigating my way around this new-found college-verse, and of course, I had stupidly signed up for classes with a huge three hour break in-between. Sigh.
Anyway, as a student possessing slightly more wisdom now (and actual lunch money, thanks to a part-time job!), I’ve found it necessary to scope out the best lunch spots in and around campus. It wasn’t until the best friend and I discovered that they were opening a Subways (!), aka, THE lunch spot, a couple blocks from Queens College, that it clicked how many different places the best friend and I have tried over our years of attending QC.
Which is why I present to you now:
Awesome Monkey’s Compilation of Food Havens Around Campus: Where To Drive-By (or Stand-By), Where To Lounge, & Where To Blow Your Money When You’re Simply Too Hungry To Care
(In no particular order)
1) GINO’S
Impossible to miss. It’s right across the street from QC’s front entrance, it’s the go-to lounge area with comfy seats and amazing pizza (always go for the pizza), and home to a dessert called tartufo, an ice-cream-chocolate-drizzle-mess of gooey heaven. The best friend and I used to go here all the time and order our usual of a medium plain pie and a serving of tartufo and we would split everything right down the middle. It’s a tad pricey if you’re not willing to go for double-digit lunch, but the best friend and I always saw Gino’s as a treat. Then again, that might have had something to do with every waiter, cashier, and otherwise male employee working here looking like they just stepped off a magazine (translation: Hot. Hot. Hot). Hehehe. OK, regaining composure and moving on.
2) Halal Stands
Again, they’re smack right there on the same block as the campus. There’s a couple of these stands, one on each end of the block, but the best friend and I tend to prefer the one closest to the main entrance, just because we find the guy who mans this stand to be nicer. He always chats with us, his food tastes better (in our opinion, and we’ve eaten A LOT of halal food), and most importantly, he always remembers to give us two forks and extra napkins. Gotta love personalized service. The biggest plus is that you get a huge, always-filling and delicious meal (with a drink!) for a measly $6. Also, it’s a drive-by!
3) All Those Chinese Restaurants
You’d think I would be a little more lenient? compassionate? *shrugs* towards my fellow Chinese people, but I think it’s because I’m Chinese and therefore taste top-notch Chinese food at home every single day, that all these restaurants and their stuff just don’t do it for me. But if you must, always, always, always, order the General Tso’s Chicken. It’s a white rice dish with chicken cooked in a delicious sauce that is quite frankly one of my and the best friend’s weaknesses. It’ll be decently filling, and definitely more filling than anything else on the menu (for the same price), and I’ve found that no matter what Chinese restaurant I go to, they can’t seem to do any wrong with the General Tso’s Chicken. Oh! And go during lunch hour (which ends around 3 or 3:30pm) and you’ll get soups and all sorts of good stuff for less. The best friend and I always manage to miss the lunch hour by that much. I think our record so far has been showing up 2 minutes after the hour ends. Sigh.
ONE MORE THING: There’s one Chinese restaurant called New Wok’s Kitchen that sells 10 fortune cookies for $1. *wink wink nudge nudge* We don’t know what it is about breaking open a cookie and finding a piece of paper with grammatically incorrect writing on it, but the best friend and I can’t resist a fortune cookie, let alone 10.
4) Dunkin Donuts
Actually not a big favorite of the best friend and I because we find the portions too small for our price range. Plus, we’re not coffee fans (*GAAAAASP* I’m a tea-drinker and the best friend can’t stand the taste of coffee, we’re perfect for each other haha!), however, the donuts are, unfortunately, very addicting. For something a bit more filling, definitely go for the croissant sandwiches (they’ll give you the most bread for your buck), and never order chicken salad. It’s cold…and tastes weird. The turkey sandwich though with bacon and cheese (although we always order without bacon – *GAAAAASP* We’re not coffee drinkers OR bacon lovers?! What planet do we hail from?!), anyway the turkey sandwich is deliciousssss. They add a smokey BBQ sauce to it that tastes amazing, and that’s coming from the best friend who doesn’t like BBQ sauce (there’s a lot the best friend doesn’t like, and she still somehow manages to be a huge food addict, I don’t question it anymore). Also, if you have the money, add in a order of hash browns. It’s never a bad idea to have hash browns.
5) And Of Course, All Food Places On Campus
If you’re truly starving and just want food no matter the price and don’t feel up to a walk out of campus for whatever reason, then by all means, do what you gotta do. QC has decent food actually, only thing is, they’re all insanely overpriced. Still, stop by the Science building or the Cafe in front of the library for sandwiches and eating areas, or the Starbucks in the Student Union for your coffee fix, or a variety of choices in the Agora Cafe (located in SU also) or the Dining Hall (located on complete other side of the campus). Choose wisely. Pros and cons, my friend, pros and cons.
Now that they’re finally opening a Subways a couple blocks down from QC, you can definitely count on that being a new spot for those of us who don’t mind the bit of a walk. Then again, maybe that will work in the favor of the best friend and I, since you can probably count on us claiming it as our new favorite lunch spot, and we’d like to sit while we eat. Maybe we’ll see you there?
