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Northern Illinois University
- Campus Dining

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Northern Illinois University - Campus Dining - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.08

Campus Dining

B-
Where does this grade come from?View all Campus Dining rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

Comparable Schools' Campus Dining Grades:

Quick Stats

Average Meal Plan Cost $3520 per year
Freshman Meal Plan Required? Yes
Student Favorites
  • Blackhawk Food Court
  • Douglas Dining and Dog
  • Pound Deli
  • Stevenson Dining

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

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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Northern Illinois Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Dining at Northern Illinois University

Kmart09

'15

Physical Therapy

3.5
B

NIU Dining

The food is good but good luck eating on the weekends. Food sources are limited and sometimes you have to go for a walk if you want to eat before 4:00.

Feb 06, 2012

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Campus Dining at Northern Illinois University

tony133

'13

History

3.5
B

Food

The food is decent depending on which dorm you want to eat in.

Jan 09, 2012

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Campus Dining at Northern Illinois University

stargirl21

'13

Liberal Arts and Humanities

3.5
B

Food

theres food places inside the dorm buildings where meal plans are used, theres one building called dusable hall that has the dugout for getting food during breaks between classes. the holmes student center has a huge cafeteria with many options as well. and last but not least there's many places on campus and off campus to go eat at. for on campus my two most favorite places were panda express and thai pavillion.

Dec 20, 2011

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Page 1 of 10

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus dining on the following topics

Facts

24-Hour Dining Vending machines in Student Center and Residence Halls
Off-Campus Places to Use Flex Money None
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.

Dining Halls & Campus RestaurantsWhat's This?

Blackhawk Food Court
Location: Holmes Student Center
Food: A la carte, breakfast, lunch
Hours: Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–10:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Coffee Corner
Location: Holmes Student Center
Food: Starbucks coffee, pastries
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Douglas Dining
Location: Douglas Hall
Food: Buffet
Hours: Monday–Thursday 4 p.m.–7 p.m.

Douglas Dog Pound Deli
Location: Douglas Hall
Food: Sandwiches, salads, desserts
Hours: Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–3:15 p.m., Friday–Sunday 11 a.m.–6:30 p.m.

Douglas Grab N’ Go
Location: Douglas Hall
Food: Grab ‘n go, breakfast, lunch
Hours: Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–10:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Grant Dining
Location: Grant Towers
Food: Buffet
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–10 a.m., 10:30 a.m.– 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m.–7 p.m.; Friday 7 a.m.–10 a.m., 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Grant’s Chicago Blues Coffee Bar
Location: Grant Towers
Food: Coffee, snacks
Hours: Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–10 a.m.

Grant’s Northern Lights Grill
Location: Grant Towers
Food: A la carte grill
Hours: Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.–6:30 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.–9 p.m.

Lincoln Dining
Location: Lincoln Hall
Food: A la carte meals
Hours: Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–10:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–3:30 p.m., 4 p.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m.–3:30 p.m., 4 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

Lincoln Neon Grill
Location: Lincoln Hall
Food: Short–order grill
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7:30 p.m.–11 p.m., Sunday 7 p.m.–11 p.m.

Neptune Dining
Location: Neptune Central
Food: Buffet, grill
Hours: Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–10:30 a.m., 11 a.m.– 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 10:30 a.m.– 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

Stevenson Dining
Location: Stevenson Towers
Food: Grill, Italian, desserts, deli, coffee, pizza
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–7 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.–6:30 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

Stevenson’s The Corner
Location: Stevenson Towers
Food: Grab ‘n go, snacks
Hours: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.– 11 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 10 a.m.–11 p.m.

Subway
Location: Holmes Student Center
Food: Subs
Hours: Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–10 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Three Sons Café
Location: Barsema Hall
Food: Coffee, sandwiches, salads
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:45 a.m.–6 p.m.

Trident’s Grab ‘N Go
Location: Neptune Central
Food: Grab ‘n go snacks
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–11 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at NIU

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