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University of South Carolina - Campus Dining - Campus Dining - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.85

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

Meal Plan Available? Yes
Average Meals/Week 21
Average Meal Plan Cost $2678 per year
Freshman Meal Plan Required? Yes
Student Favorites
  • Colloquium Café
  • Einstein Bros. Bagels
  • Grand Market Place

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Ah, the notorious Chicken Finger Wednesday! Yes, USC students do get excited about a two-pound portion of chicken fingers and curly fries on the menu every Wednesday—plan time for a nap afterwards. Naturally, however, chicken fingers aren’t the only thing served at USC. With 24 different restaurant options, students enjoy a wide range of cuisines. The Russell House University Union houses a majority of these options, offering an authentic Italian restaurant, a gourmet sub shop, a smoothie bar, several fast food restaurants (including Chic-Fil-A, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut), and the Grand Market Place (affectionately called the Gimp). Here students can find a hot food line, salad bar, grill, bakery, and sushi bar. Some of the academic buildings and freshman dormitories, such as Capstone, Patterson, and Bates have their own cafeterias so that students don’t have to go to the Russell House every time they want a bite.

Students generally seem to rate the food on campus anywhere from average to good. The main complaint is that it gets old after a while, which is understandable when you’re eating campus food anywhere from 10 to 21 times a week. Despite this, it seems hard to believe that a student would be unable to find something that he or she likes with all of the options available. USC has a variety of food for all different tastes, from the health buff to the junk food junkie. It may not be your mom’s home-cooking, but for campus food, most students find it pretty tasty, and with 24-hour dining Monday through Thursday in the Gimp, the hours are very student-friendly.
 

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South Carolina Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Dining at University of South Carolina

haleyforte

International Relations and National Security Studies '15

3.1
B-

Pretty OK for Cafeteria Food

You really just have to find your favorite places to eat, and mix it up so it doesn't get boring. The salad bar takes FOREVER and eating from the downstairs grill makes you feel like you've slathered the inside of your stomach with trans fat (which you probably have). The breakfast buffet downstairs is traditional southern, so if you don't like bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits, and gravy (every morning), you'll hate it. There is a bagel place on campus that I'm absolutely addicted to and I usually like making a routine out of going every other day.

May 16, 2012

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Campus Dining at University of South Carolina

chrissyaz

Nursing '15

2.3
C

The Food Plan System

The Campus Dining is not that great. First the food plan is terrible. Almost any meal you get somehow goes over the allotted price of either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Therefore, student have to pay the difference with cash, carolina cash, or bonus bucks. This defeats the purpose of having a meal plan. There are some places that do not even accept the meal plan and solely want cash. In addition, the times of meals are not convenient for students. For example, lunch closes at 3:59 but I have encountered many times where I would go to the Russell House, a dining hall, and there was no food out at 2:00! Lastly, during the week they have the same specials for each day, such as Chicken Finger Wednesday and Barbecue Thursday. The dining options are repetitive, overpriced, and inconvenient.

May 12, 2012

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Campus Dining at University of South Carolina

americanzero5651

Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling '13

3.8
B+

Campus Dining

Campus dining is pretty legit. They have the cafeteria of course. The most popular dining is in Russell House. They have places like Burger King, Chickfila and such. They have some nice upscale places to eat if you are not one that is on the meal plan.

May 10, 2012

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Page 1 of 17
User rating for University of South Carolina - Campus Dining is 3.5 out of 5 based on 49 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus dining on the following topics

Facts

24-Hour Dining None
Did You Know?
  • In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, every campus restaurant has eliminated Styrofoam takeout boxes and plates when serving food.
  • The University will occasionally sponsor music bands, speakers, and street performers to entertain students while they eat on the Russell House University Union outdoor dais.

Dining Halls & Campus RestaurantsWhat's This?

Bates Carolina Diner
Location: Bates House
Food: All-you-can-eat: grill, hot entrees, ice cream, pizza, salads, vegetarian
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m., 5:30 p.m.–12 a.m., Friday 7 a.m.–10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

Burger King
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Fast food
Hours: Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

Café al a Cart
Location: Law School, lobby
Food: Breakfast biscuits, grab 'n go sandwiches, salads, Seattle's Best coffee
Hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Café Verde
Location: West Quad
Food: Convenience items, pasta, pizza, salads, sandwiches, snacks
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m.

Carolina Fast Track
Location: Engineering Building
Food: Beverages, coffee, Chick-fil-A sandwiches, fruit, salads, wraps
Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Chick-fil-A
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Fast food
Hours: Monday–Friday 10:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

Colloquium Café
Location: Between Gambrell Hall and Humanities Building
Food: Desserts, fruit, pastries, salads, sandwiches, soups, Starbucks coffee
Hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Cooper’s Corner
Location: Thomas Cooper Library, first floor
Food: Baked goods, grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, Starbucks coffee
Hours: Monday–Wednesday 8 a.m.–12 a.m., Thursday–Friday 8 a.m.–3 p.m.

Einstein Bros. Bagels
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Bagels, coffee, sandwiches, soup
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

Fast Break
Location: Carolina Coliseum, lower level
Food: Grab-and-go sandwiches
Hours: Monday–Thursday 8 a.m.–3 p.m.

Gibbes Court
Location: Capstone Residence Hall
Food: Deli, pizza station, hot line
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–10 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

Grand Market Place
Location: Russell House, first floor
Food: Baked goods, deli, grill, International, salads, sushi, vegetarian
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.-3 a.m., Friday 7 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.–8 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.–9 p.m.

Hampton Street Café
Location: 1600 Hampton St., first floor
Food: Baked goods, breakfast items, sandwiches, Starbucks coffee
Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Honors Café
Location: Honors Dorm, Blossom Street
Food: Sandwiches, snacks
Hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Honors Starbucks
Location: Honors Dorm, Blossom Street
Food: Coffee
Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-1 a.m., Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m.-1 a.m.

Horseshoe Deli
Location: Russell House, first floor
Food: Sandwiches
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Jazzman’s Café
Location: BA Building, lower level
Food: Baked goods, coffee, grab 'n go items
Hours: Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–2 p.m.

Marble Slab Creamery
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Ice cream
Hours: Monday-Friday 12 p.m.-10 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

Mongolian Grill
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Asian
Hours: Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Pandini’s
Location: Russell House, first floor
Food: Italian, pizza, sandwiches
Hours: Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m.

Patio Café
Location: Patterson Hall, lower level
Food: Deli, dessert, grill, pasta, stir fry
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Pizza Hut
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Pizza
Hours: Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–12 a.m., Friday 11 a.m.–3 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Preston's at Noon
Location: Russell House, second floor ramp
Food: Dessert, entrees, salad, soup
Hours: Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Preston's Dining Hall
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Dessert, entrees, salad, sandwiches, soup
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 5:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m. Friday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Santorini's
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Greek
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.-8 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sunday 5 p.m.-8 p.m.

Sidewalk Café
Location: Between Gambrell and Humanities Building
Food: Baked goods, salads, sandwiches, soups
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–2 p.m.

Soup Man
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Sandwiches, soup
Hours: Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Taco Bell
Location: Russell House, second floor
Food: Fast food/Mexican
Hours: Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–12 a.m., Friday 11 a.m.–3 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m.–10 p.m.

Top of Carolina
Food: Breakfast and lunch buffet, desserts, fruit, omelet station, salad bar, waffle station
Hours: Sunday 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Zia Juice
Location: Russell House, first floor
Food: Smoothies
Hours: Monday–Thursday 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

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Hometown
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Major
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We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
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