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atwalborn
Rice University '13
Majoring in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering
Member since 12/5/2011
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Residential College Dining
Since life at Rice is defined by the residential college system, dining is no different.
If you live on campus, you are required to purchase the all-inclusive meal plan, which covers every meal except for Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast (serveries are closed then).
There are four serveries that serve multiple colleges (North, South, West, and East). Sid Rich and Baker have their own serveries. Your meal plan allows you to eat at any of the serveries whenever you wish, although most people choose to eat at their own colleges with their friends. That makes dining a very social experience, I always looked forward to dinners when I knew I was going to see all my friends. Food is only available in the serveries during very restricted times, which means everyone goes to lunch at 12:00 and dinner at 5:30 or 6:00 (and there really aren't classes during those times).
There really aren't many food options other than the serveries. Coffeehouse is great, but it is more for snacks than actual food. There are a few other options, and they all take Tetra, but since you already have the meal plan, they are more for off campus students or if you miss a meal than a substitute for the servery. The system really encourages you to eat in your colleges (which may sound odd, but when you understand residential college life, it makes more sense)
The servery food is pretty good, except for on the weekends.
Dec 05, 2011
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Food in Houston
Rice students all have to go off campus for food on Saturday night.
If you don't have a car (and most underclassmen don't) you end up going to the Rice Village area every weekend. This is close walking distance from campus, and has a lot of great little restaurants. These are all non-chain, very friendly to large groups of students who all want separate checks, and really good. As a bonus, many offer discounts to Rice students.
If you have a car, then all of Houston is open to you (if you've never been there, Houston is really a driving-oriented city, not a walking-oriented city). You can find almost anything you want within about a 10-15 minute drive of campus, and Houston has some great restaurants.
Dec 05, 2011
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No Public Transit
Rice runs buses around campus all day, but the campus is not particularly big, so it is often better just to walk. The run buses to the Village area on Friday/Saturday nights (again, usually not worth waiting for the bus), and to Target on Saturdays (necessary, but slow and inconvenient). There is a night escort service, which is fabulous.
The public transit system in Houston itself is really inadequate. They have the light rail, which Rice is right next to and Rice students can ride for free. However, it only runs a few places. You can go to the museum (which is basically walking distance from campus anyway) or to Reliant Stadium, but that is about it.
Dec 05, 2011
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