As a brand new transfer student to USD last fall, I was very nervous about the food situation on campus. A typical college student would fear the ominous "freshman fifteen," - or, to stay loyal to the alliteration, "transfer twenty" - as a result of the high availability of all-you-can-eat dinners, late night chow-downs and lack of required P.E. classes.
The situation can be further complicated by a restricted diet. I was facing a gluten-free, dairy-free, no red meat, organic-only culinary road block. To put it another way, if I was stranded on a desert island with only McDonald's to sustain me, the only things I could eat would be the water and the napkins. And I would die.
Thankfully, the food options at USD are far from representative of this desert island scenario - in fact, if one were to live on nothing but USD food for the rest of their life they would fare quite well. To illustrate this point look no further than some of the most impressive all-star snacks and health-conscious menu items around campus.
First and foremost is USD's custom created market, Tu Mercado. Located on the second floor of the Student Life Pavilion (SLP), Tu Mercado can be considered a Henry's, Subway and Starbucks fusion all rolled into one easily acessible on-campus option. The section at the back, a kind of mini-supermarket, is a food-allergy person's goldmine. They have all kinds of gluten-free prepared meals, dairy-free beverages and fresh fruits and salads. At the coffee bar, you can opt for a large Red Rooster tea latte with soy milk or a strawberry-mango smoothie to go. Tu Mercado accepts dining dollars and CampusCash and it's open until 11 p.m. every night, so it's a great place to stop in anytime.
Directly below Tu Mercado is the fabulous SLP dining hall. As many of you may have already discovered, it has five main stations which feature different styles of cuisine from around the world. The Tapenade serves gluten-free pasta upon request and for vegetarians, Lemon Grass offers tofu curry and tofu pho soup. There are always large pots of brown rice out next to Maiz, and the salad bar has everything from spinach to cantaloupe to banana chips.
During brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, Tapenade features made-to-order omelets with a choice of regular yolk or egg whites, and a generous selection of meats and veggies.
Located in the Valley, Missions Café is a great spot to grab snacks after a workout at the Missions Fitness Center. The café is most popular for its selections of frozen yogurt and they usually have at least one flavor a week that is dairy-free. Open until 11 p.m. every night, Missions Café is also a fun place to go and hang out.
On the other end of campus, attached to the Institute for Peace and Justic (IPJ), is the great little lunch eatery known as La Paloma. The only down side to this dining option is that it's closed on weekends. La Paloma has a delicious selection of made-to-order sandwiches, including a vegetarian option called ‘The Olympian.' They also have gluten-free tortilla wraps as a substitute for bread in the sandwiches and you can request to add avocado as a dressing substitute. For sides they offer fresh fruit, low-fat potato chips and occasionally quinoa salad.
Also on the west end of campus is Bert's Bistro, located in the back of Mother Rosalie Hill Hall (SOLES). While their menu is a bit scatter-brained, you can still find some good selections like the Teriyaki rice bowl or the chicken tacos.
The one eatery on campus I have yet to explore closely is La Gran Terraza. Perhaps I will spare a portion of my meager amount of dining dollars and report back to you. Even if I do have the trifecta of food allergies, I will always accept a mission when there's food involved.
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