Dining @ USC
I’m a total foodie. While it may not have been the most significant factor in deciding where I applied to or attended college, on-campus dining was certainly something I thought about. I still remember the delicious plate of French fries at one of the dining halls at which I ate during a college visit. And I thought it was the coolest thing that they were unlimited to students!
I’m jealous of the options students have today—which are incredible compared to when I attended USC many, many moons ago. I recently toured all of the dining establishments on campus and talked with employees, managers and students. Here’s a bit of what I learned…
Meal Plans
First, let’s talk about meal plans. All first-year students living in USC housing are assigned a Cardinal Meal Plan. It provides unlimited swipes at any of the dining halls, as well as two swipes per week at the Campus Center food court. First-year students can choose to upgrade their plan to the Trojan Plan, which gives them 60 meal swipes per semester and about $3,400 to use at any USC dining establishment. Sophomores, juniors and seniors living in residence halls and suites are also subject to the Cardinal Meal Plan. If they live in an apartment, they have a cheaper Apartment Meal Plan. I should also note that there are “Community” Meal Plans for those who live off campus but would like access to the dining halls.
Dining Halls
Speaking of dining halls… There are three of them—conveniently located on opposite corners of campus. Here’s how I would describe each:
Everybody’s Kitchen a.k.a. EVK
Located on the northeast section of campus by many of the first-year residence halls, EVK is your more “traditional” dining hall. It’s the only dining hall with outdoor dining. EVK is known for its chicken tender bar with different sauces, an action station with made to order items such as Poke bowls, and the ever-popular soft serve machine. It also has a waffle bar that stamps USC on your waffle. They do different themed nights, such as Halloween and a Street Food Extravaganza for which they decorate the space and create a special menu (including cakes).
Parkside Dining Hall
Parkside is located on the southwest corner of campus, by Parkside International and Arts and Humanities housing options. It offers a lot of international options. For example, it’s action station might have a build-your-own Mongolian stir-fry. It also has an Italian station with pizza. Its “Americana” area has unlimited fries. That’s right! And we’re talking different fries on different days—from curly to shoestring to tots. It’s the only dining hall that has an allergen awareness zone. Parkside employees work with a dietician to make sure everything is completely nut free.
USC Village Dining Hall
You might have seen the beautiful interior of the USC Village Dining Hall, which looks like Hogwarts. It’s the newest dining hall and features a wide array of options—which is probably why it’s my favorite. It has a vegan “plant-based” station that has different themes each day—from a mezze bar to an Asian station. It also has a flexitarian station with halal and gluten free options. It’s probably best known for its dessert station, which makes fresh crepes twice a week, churros, French toast sticks, and funnel fries. It also features hand-scooped ice cream sundaes on Sundays and individual made-to-order pizzas on Saturdays.
A couple of fun facts about all of our dining halls: they have reusable to-go containers if you need to grab your food on the go; they also do a midnight breakfast from 12am to 3am the 3 nights prior to finals.
Where To Get Coffee
But first, coffee, right? There are certainly options off campus, such as in the Village. Besides the obligatory Starbucks—which I frequent quite a bit—there’s my favorite spot for a matcha latte: Dulce. You have a lot of on-campus options too, of course. The Annenberg Café is in a great, bright space always buzzing with action. There are tons of different seating options to work on projects with fellow students and a big screen to catch up on the latest happenings. This Café is Italian-themed, with Illy coffee, pastries, paninis, and even European snacks like Nutella sticks. Some of their decadent offerings include the Dark Chocolate Orange Cappuccino and Strawberry Dark Chocolate Tempesta. There’s also Literatea, housed in Doheny Memorial Library. This is a great spot to meet a professor over a cup of tea or joe. The most popular spot is probably Trojan Grounds, which also sells Illy Coffee and is conveniently open late because it’s next to our 24/7 study library. Finally, there’s Coffee Bean at the School of Cinematic Arts in the Steven Spielberg Building. It has a shaded outdoor area with a firepit (as if it ever gets cold to turn on). Inside, there are big, comfy leather chairs. You can also check out the vintage movie posters all around you.
Campus Center Eateries
Two other notable eateries on campus are the food court and Seeds. The food court has just about every type of cuisine. You order at the kiosk when you first walk in and pick up your food at the restaurant. Now that’s convenience. There’s also Seeds Marketplace, which has two make your own stations, including Greens and Grains for salads and grain bowls, as well as Sunny and Sandy, which has awesome breakfast burritos in the morning and sandwiches at lunch. I can’t forget to mention the giant freshly, made cinnamon buns in the mornings. Get one before they run out. And, like just about all on-campus eateries, they have great grab-and-go options, such as Positive Food Company offerings, sushi, fresh fruit, and more.
USC Village
Finally, I’ll mention a few places in the USC Village. These are all independently owned and operated. There’s my always favorite Dulce, where you can get roti, fun donuts, the best breakfast burrito in town (seriously!), and my favorite salad: the mango jicama chicken salad. There’s also an Insomnia Cookies, open into the wee hours for those late-night cravings. Sunlife Organics has great smoothies. There’s also the always popular Cava and probably another dozen options. There’s lots of outdoor seating, so it’s always easy to find a table.
This wraps (pun intended?) up my brief summary of food on campus, including the USC Village—which is like an extension of campus. There’s so much more but not enough time. TTFN.
Written by: Anne Aubert-Santelli, Associate Director, USC Office of Undergraduate Admission