Northern Illinois University - Campus Dining

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

As long as you don’t arrive with high expectations, the quality and variety of on-campus dining can be a pleasant surprise. Each dining hall offers a different menu, be it all-you-caneat or a la carte, and the number of options a student has is impressive—American, Italian, and Mexican foods are all well-represented every day. In fact, students might experience too much of a good thing, as freshmen pack on the pounds due to the availability of fried foods. Vegetarian students might be frustrated that mashed potatoes and hot dog buns are among the scant offerings in some of the dining halls, and sometimes salad- and sandwich-bar offerings need to be replaced at a quicker pace for freshness reasons, but overall, the food is generally tasty and well-prepared. It’s disappointing that the University forces students to commit at least $55 a week to a meal plan that might not suit their needs, but that’s a reality on any college campus. It would be nice if meal plans could be used at independent restaurants, but at least Huskie Bucks are a viable (if more expensive) alternative. The inflexibility of the mandatory meal plan is often cited as one of the reasons that students move out of the dorms after freshman year, but what’s odd is how many of those students talk longingly of not having to cook and how much they miss the variety.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

It’s dorm food, after all,... It’s dorm food, after all, so you have to lower your expectations. It’s comparable to what you would find in a good high school cafeteria. Don’t make a habit of eating a ton everyday because you will gain a ton of weight and burn through your meal plan. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The food on campus is hit or miss.... The food on campus is hit or miss. The two best places to go at anytime are Stevenson’s food court, and the Dog Pound Deli in Douglas. Think of it as a Subway that you can buy with your Dining Dollars. Avoid Lincoln late-night at all costs. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The food on campus is quite tasty.... The food on campus is quite tasty. Almost everywhere takes Huskie bucks. I love Subway because it’s Subway. Lukulos is definitely awesome. The best dining hall to go to is Stevenson because of the amount of selection offered. I also love Dog Pound Deli. I didn’t really care for Douglas’s breakfast or Lincoln’s food at all. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The majority of the food is fried,... The majority of the food is fried, and the rest of the stuff, for the most part, will be disgusting. If I were a student coming in and living in the dining halls, I’d be prepared to get acid reflux at some point while living in the dorms. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The food on campus is very good.... The food on campus is very good. Stevenson is great for a wide variety, and Douglas dinner and Neptune lunch are excellent buffet-style. Once I moved out of the dorms, I missed the Dog Pound Deli. There are tons of places now that take Huskie Bucks, and they are mostly all excellent too. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Did You Know?

Unless you are a 300-pound offensive lineman, do not sign up for the Titanium meal plan, because there is no way that you will spend that much on food in a given week, and unused dining dollars don’t rollover and are non-refundable. Make friends with someone who goes home every weekend and get them to load you up with whatever dining dollars they have left before they leave.

If you do choose a meal plan that doesn’t fit your stomach, you may change your meal plan once a year without penalty by filling out forms at Student Housing & Dining Services.

Don’t confuse your meal plan with your Huskie Bucks account. Huskie Bucks are a prepaid debit account that most freshmen sign up for during orientation. Huskie Bucks can be used for copying, laundry in the dorms, and for food on and off campus. A list of nearby restaurants that take Huskie Bucks can be found at: www.niu.edu/OneCard/huskie_bucks/vendor_locations.shtml.

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