Students eating on campus have lots of options, not just with what to eat, but with how to pay for it as well.
The Blue Zone, located on the first floor of Richardson Towers, offers the only all-you-can-eat dining option on campus. The eatery, formerly known at the Richardson Towers Café, adjusts its selection based on the time of day - breakfast yields hash browns, eggs and a cereal dispenser, along with other breakfast fare. Breakfast costs $5.25 and is served from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Lunch starts at 10:30 a.m. and costs $6.50, while dinner starts at 4:30 p.m. and costs $6.75. The Blue Zone also offers nightly specials with different 99 cent offers Monday through Thursday. On Monday, hot wings are two for 99 cents. On Tuesday, it's tacos and on Wednesday it's hamburgers. On Thursdays, slices of pizza are 99 cents. The Blue Zone's all-you-care-to-eat options change daily, and Quizno's and Bene Pizzeria are also offered. The Blue Zone opens at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, but closes at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 3 p.m. on Friday. It's closed on Saturday and Sunday.
The Tiger Den, found in Jones Hall, gives hungry students plenty of options to choose from with several different vendors. Students can customize their submarine sandwiches from Subway or their burritos from Zoca. The Tiger Den also houses Chick Fil A for students wanting waffle fries and chicken biscuits, as well as a Bene Pizzeria, Grille Works and a Home Zone with homestyle meats and vegetables. While the Tiger Den has the most seating, students might find it's not the best place to study during busy hours. The Tiger Den opens at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, closing at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and at 3 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the Tiger Den opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m.
Students studying at the Ned R. McWherter Library are only a few steps from Einstein Bros Bagels, which serves breakfast all day with omelets, bagels and shmear and a variety of coffee, espresso drinks and blended beverages. Students can also get cold or hot sandwiches, as well as a variety of muffins, coffee cakes and pastries, along with soup and salads. Einstein Bros opens at 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, closing at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Einstein Bros is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
The Cyber Café in the FedEx Institute offers coffee, deli sandwiches and salads. Also available at the Cyber Café is a Make Your Own Pasta station. Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., students can choose from three pastas, three sauces and three proteins to make their own pasta dishes. The Cyber Café offers outdoor seating, so students can enjoy the occasional nice weather. The Cyber Café opens Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m., closing at 7:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the Cyber Café is closed.
Edgar Allan Joe's, found in Patterson Hall, and Fred and Ethel's, located in the Theatre and Communication Building, both offer Starbucks coffee and snacks from Chic Fil A, as well as sushi. Edgar Allan Joe's and Fred and Ethel's both open at 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, and both close for the weekend at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Fred and Ethel's closes at 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Edgar Allan Joe's closes at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Students needing for a caffeine fix can find options all over campus. The Tiger Den, Einstein Bros Bagels, the Cyber Café, Edgar Allan Joe's, Fred and Ethel's and the Barnes and Noble Café inside the Tiger Bookstore all offer hot brewed coffee, hot and iced lattes and other specialty drinks. Einstein Bros has its own brand of coffee, but other vendors on campus sell Starbucks brand coffee as part of Starbucks' "Proudly Brewing" program.
Students can pay for their on-campus meals out of pocket, or by signing up for a meal plan or Tiger Funds. Meal Plans are offered in two different levels of buy-in, the 5-meal-a-week plan and the 10-meal-a-week plan, which both come with $200 Declining Balance Dollars. Students living on campus can sign up for a meal plan when registering for their dorm or by visiting the Residence Life office. Meal plans are also offered to commuter students, who can sign up for the plan online. Meal plans for commuters run for around $655. With the meal plan, students can get one $6 meal per meal zone. The Breakfast meal zone is from 7 a.m. To 10:30 p.m. The lunch meal zone is from 10:31 a.m. To 4:30 p.m. The dinner meal zone is from 4:31 to 8 p.m., while the Late Night meal zone runs from 8:01 p.m. To 10 p.m. If you choose to purchase something else during a meal zone that you have already used a meal for, you have to use your DB Dollars.
Chuck Wigington, food service director, said the meal zones were implemented to help students budget their food dollars.
"That's to help spread out the meals because when you get a freshman who's not used to budgeting," he said, "they run through all their meals Monday and Tuesday and don't have meals the rest of the week. It kinds of forces them to budget. If you're just wanting a snack or a cup of coffee, it'd be wise to use those DB Dollars."
Tiger Funds are similar to meal plans in that both use The U of M student ID. According to the Bursar's Office Web site, your student ID basically acts as a credit card once you put a $10 minimum balance on it using cash, check or credit card at the Bursar's Office, through Blackboard Card Management Centers in the McWherter Library, the Law Library, Tiger Copy and Graphics Center, the Learning Resource Center and the Speech and Hearing Center. Students can authorize excess funds from financial aid and scholarships to be deposited to Tiger Funds account by completing an authorization form in the Bursar's Office. TigerFunds can also be used in the bookstore to buy books and other items, as well as to buy food.
The general student complaint about Tiger Dining is price.
"I think most part vastly overpriced," said Davis Fancher, sophomore theater and performance major. "I don't understand why the food has to be overpriced. That's probably my number one complaint. Aside from that, it's a good selection, and its pretty fresh and generally tasty.
Chuck Wigington, food service director, said Tiger Dining is making several efforts to make eating on campus more cost efficient. One part of this effort is offering value cards for coffee drinks.
"You save money on each card by buying them all at one time," Wigington said. "The espresso drinks card is $13.99, and it's good for six espresso drinks."
Wigington also said there will be a new Happy Hour promotion for Zoca in the Tiger Den. Monday through Thursday, a different item will be offered for a dollar. On Monday, it will be tacos. Tuesday, it's chips and cheese dip. Wednesday, mini quesadillas will be offered, and Thursday the dollar item will be mini nachos.
Some students like the idea, but think it may not work out very well.
"It's probably going to be really crowded with people trying to get one dollar tacos," Fancher said. "It's better than nothing. I'm glad they're doing something, but I wish they'd just do more."
Wigington said the old Happy Hour promotion will continue to run Monday through Thursday. With that promotion, students can buy a 16 oz. espresso drink or smoothie for the discounted price of $1.99 between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m. That offer runs at Tiger Den, Einstein Bros and other locations on campus.
Wigington also said Tiger Dining is going to make an effort to offer more healthy choices.
"We're adding a new concept in the Tiger Den right outside the pizza window," he said. "It's going to be called Tigersmart. That's going to be a dual function location. There'll be healthy options all throughout the different locations, but with that one we're going to try to have specifically healthy options. We're going to bring in wheat crust for the pizza. We're going to bring in vegetarian and vegan items. There's going to be other items there, but the majority being offered are going to be healthier type things."
Fancher said she likes the idea, but expressed concern over possible prices.
"I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan, but I have friends who are, and they complain about the lack of selection for them," Fancher said. "One problem, though, is how expensive is it going to be? I know healthier food tends to be more expensive, and junk food is already expensive on campus. But I'm glad they're doing it. It makes me feel better. That way, if I want to eat better, I can."
Wigington said one item planned to be offered at Tigersmart is a reuseable cup for fountain drinks.
"It's kind of a combination value and sustainability project," he said. "We're working with the sustainability department on campus to get people to reuse cups. You can buy a drink cup for $25 and you can get fountain drinks for the whole semester. It can be refilled at Tigersmart, Einstein Bros, Blue Zone and the Tiger Den."
