Richard BaganAs a fourth-year student at the University of Alberta, you’re expected to know the best spots to eat, sleep, and study. For example, I highly recommend going to the Rutherford South Library on the fifth floor and watching the sunrise with an iced mocchaccino from the Daily Grind before starting a psychopharmacology written assignment 48 hours before it’s actually due.
But it’s only the fall semester. You still have plenty of time to find your spot that you’ll always find your way back to, bringing your favourite hot and on-the-go meals that will keep up with you and your schedule. And as someone in their final year (fingers crossed!), let me take you under my wing and guide you to your new favourite snack to mid-day meal that won’t break your bank. The best part is, you don’t even have to leave campus!
1. Chipotle bowl with iced tea
I recently started exploring the edges of U of A and found out there’s a Chipotle five minutes from campus! Sitting alongside cafes that are perfect for catching autumn sunrises and hovering over your lecture slides, I take my Chipotle bowl post-workout with brown rice, pinto beans, and chicken with no queso.
Off to the mini salad bar, get your greens with mild salsa, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream. This meal would cost approximately $13. Honestly, I haven’t tried the guacamole, but if you’re willing to pay $2 extra, why shouldn’t you get both antioxidant support and satiety from your meal?
And yes, iced tea is absolutely mandatory.
2. BarBurrito and BesTea
Sometimes, the best meals come greasy and simple. BarBurrito is, hands down, my favourite place to stop after my eight-hour school days, especially since it’s right in the Students’ Union Building (SUB)! Eat it solo, or with a plus one, you can never go wrong with bread and cheese.
When you come up to the counter, order this on-the-go meal as a ground beef quesadilla — for all my lactose intolerants out there, it does comes with cheese — with lettuce and cilantro.
Now, don’t get Mexican soda or any fountain drinks. Our journey doesn’t end here because just nearby is BesTea — SUB’s in-house bubble tea cafe! Steal my go-to order: Strawberry Matcha Latte or (Regular) Coke Float.
3. H-Mart chicken and Korean soda
If you’re willing to go for a bit of a walk across campus, hidden in the College Plaza is H-Mart: home of crispy, golden fried chicken. It does take a bit, so coming in between classes isn’t recommended, but it definitely is worth the wait! While a little more pricey at an estimated $23, nothing tastes better than bringing home those leftovers.
If you’re anything like me and allergic to sesame or peanuts, I highly recommend starting with the honey garlic. It doesn’t end there, though, as H-Mart has an array of flavours from classic fried to Gangnam style. But, in my opinion, it tastes even better with rice.
Hidden in the aisles is your drink of choice, where you can find juice pouches and cups of ice (estimated $3). It’s just like you’re studying abroad from 7/11 in Korea, but without the skyline. My favourite juice pouch is the blue raspberry, it tastes just like a melted popsicle!
4. Edo Japan and Mexican Coca Cola
While we’re far from it at this point in the semester, a fan favourite of mine that never fails me during finals season is my trusted beef teriyaki rice bowl from Edo Japan. Rice for my post-workout, and noodles for takeout.
Found inside HUB Mall or SUB, pick your study spot and chow down on this order: Beef teriyaki (yakisoba, for noodles!) with two scoops of teriyaki sauce. And note, mushrooms have to stay in!
And you can never go wrong with an ice-cold soda with a hot meal, so I reach for the Mexican Coca-Cola found in SubMart! Did you know that you can also get this for free through the Perks App?
But if you’re not a pre-exam stress eater, or just need something on the go, look no further than ordering Edo Japan’s five tempuras (estimated $7)! I chowed on these before my late-day final in the spring semester, and I can say it definitely holds off temporary hunger pangs!
5. Marco’s Famous and Druid’s Dirty Soda
If you’re much like me and don’t like straying too far from campus, let me redirect you back to U of A’s very own Marco’s Famous, located in SUB. And if you need something fast, hot, and filling, I promise you’ll be either going home with it or sharing it with a friend, a sibling, or your situationship.
If you, too, are allergic to sesame seeds, I’d stray far away from the burgers and hotdogs. I’ve only ever heard positive things about them, but that’s not why we’re here. I recommend picking up a quick small original poutine (estimated $9), or chicken tenders with fries (estimated $15). Sometimes, you don’t need something complicated with loads of steps.
The last week or so, our campus was visited by locally-owned mobile business, Druid’s Dirty Soda (estimated $4 to $6), and trust me, if you’re not a soda drinker now, you might become one after them. These drinks are made with syrups added to classic sodas such as Dr. Pepper, Coca Cola, Brisk Lemonade, Mountain Dew, etc.
Hopefully they come back soon so you, too, can try my favourites to get you into the fizzy drinks game: Butta’ Beer (popular for a reason, by the way!) or Baja.
Remember, you don’t have to find your favourites in one day! It’s good to have variety in where you’re spending your money, and a solid frame of reference for where to visit next. And, sometimes, you need to read someone else’s guide to lock-down your own for the next few semesters at the U of A. Just as much as I love finding new places to break out my laptop and somehow cram thirteen weeks of lectures into my brain with a hot meal, sometimes the best snacks taste better free from your faculty advisor’s office.
