Tufts Blogs

Let’s be honest. Food is a huge part of picking a school. I remember junior and senior year of high school when I found a college I liked. I would immediately look into their dining halls and restaurants close to the school. Being away from home it’s natural to crave meals from your day to day life at home and your go to restaurants nearby. Well, at Tufts you will never have a shortage of options and good food. From on campus to off campus options there’s a multitude of cuisines to choose from whether you want an entire meal or just a quick bite to eat!

Let’s start with our absolute gem, Davis Square. Just a short 15 minute walk off campus, and you run into Davis Square filled with every cuisine imaginable for you to try. A few of my favorite places so far is Pokeworks for a custom poke bowl, Anna’s Taqueria for tacos, Boston Burger Company when all you’re craving is a burger and a milkshake, and of course a popular one, Mr. Crepe for either a sweet or savory crepe- whatever you’re feeling!

On campus we have our campus dining halls and various other places to grab a bite! Our on campus dining halls are called Dewick and Carmicheal. Dewick is located downhill and the perfect spot to grab any meal with friends. Swipe in with your meal swipe and you have unlimited options of a vegetarian station, salad bar, the normal hotline, gluten free station, and an INCREDIBLE dessert bar. No matter what you’re in the mood for, there’s plenty of options for you and your friends to eat while enjoying each other’s company. The same can be said for Carmicheal, found on upper campus, however something special is that this dining hall is dedicated to being completely gluten free and nut free. Here you can always find a good variety of options which you can enjoy by the beautiful windows with your friends. My personal favorite place to grab food is Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run, or as we students endearingly call it “Hodg”. This is the perfect place to grab a customizable and fulfilling meal, and although not a designated dining hall, you can use your meal swipes here! Hodg is set up similar to that of a mini food court. The different stations include a Mediterranean Pita stop for a chicken or falafel pita wrap or plate, PanAsia where you can grab a noodle bowl with tofu or chicken topped with anything you desire. Next, a fan favorite among students is Churros, the Mexican station where you can custom design your own burrito or bowl just the way you like it! There is even a salad bowl station where you can build your own salad grain bowl- the perfect lunch between classes. On top of all those options, you can also always find prepared sandwiches, salads, wraps, and even SUSHI here if you need to grab something quickly and there are shelves set up like a filled with chips, drinks, cookies and more! The best part about Hodge is they will have lunch and dinner specials on certain days that can include anything from General Tso’s chicken and broccoli, chicken wings and mac & cheese, and bagels with lox. With Hodg open late, you’ll never go hungry. In the campus center you can find Hotung Cafe, the Commons (or officially known as The Marketplace), and the Sink. At Hotung you can try anything from their avocado toast to bagels, to acai bowls, to their campus-wide famous pizza and they also make Starbucks coffee, bubble tea, and teas. The options are actually endless! Around the corner from Hotung, you can find the Commons which is set up almost like a mini-supermarket. You can find endless options of snacks and necessities on the shelves with a build-your-own salad station in the back and a station that makes warm sandwiches- I highly recommend the Nashville Hot Fried Chicken Sandwich. It is delicious! Right outside the campus center just below the bookstore is Pat et Lox. This is an incredible Kosher Deli place on campus and the best part is they also take meal swipes! Here you can grab any traditional sandwiches from chicken salad to buffalo chicken! Afterwards, you can enjoy it on the patio or walk to Prez Lawn and have an outdoor picnic with a friend. Another place I frequent a lot is Kindlevan Café located in the Science & Engineering Complex. At Kindlevan they sell hot paninis, salads, coffee, tea and smoothies. My personal favorite smoothie is a TropiKale- which I pick up after my Bio lab every week. 

As a freshman, there might be more spots on campus that I have yet to discover but the ones I’ve written about today are where I go the most during the week! In the first few weeks of making friends and finding my way around, it was always nice to meet a friend for lunch at one of our great on campus locations. Every memory I have of grabbing food with friends at any of these locations have all been incredibly fun and it definitely helps when what you’re eating is delicious!