The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/dining/page/2/)
An explosion of aromas rattle your senses upon arrival at the Ithaca Farmers Market. If you’re on a limited lunch budget, it’s hard to choose the perfect stand. However, hidden amongst a jungle of ranging delicacies are not only some of the best dishes in Ithaca, but the best deals.
Noor Jehan Ahmad ’26, an international student from Pakistan, shared her family recipes with the Cornell community through Morrison Dining’s Pakistan Night.
TripAdvisor has Kelly’s ranked #130 out of 138 restaurants listed in Ithaca, ranking #64 out of 65 for American restaurants. Immediately, I thought this was a hot take. I have made the occasional visit to Kelly’s for brunch and have always enjoyed it. What was I missing? I realized that the disconnect may not lie in the restaurant, but in the meal itself — I have only ever experienced Kelly’s brunch. I never got a chance to see what else they had to offer. So, on a warm, sunny evening in March, two friends and I set out Kelly’s Dockside to review their dinner.
I was thumbing through The Cornell Daily Sun’s print edition the other week and landed on The Yellow Deli: A Cornell Sun Review. Never have I been so startled by a food review. Many Cornellians who oppose bigotry know by now to avoid the Yellow Deli, a local eatery owned and operated by the Twelve Tribes — an alleged white supremacist religious cult — but apparently one food critic at our newspaper does not. To him, The Yellow Deli serves such remarkable fare that he had to go there twice and pen two columns about the restaurant (the second of which is the subject of this op-ed).
It’s clear that the Yellow Deli wants Ithacans and Cornellians to give them a chance. The Twelve Tribes market their deli as a safe space for anyone, and they try their best to create a warm and welcoming environment.
Take something simple from basic materials and elevate it to the next level. You can learn so much about what you can do. You can build nutritional awareness by eating Ramen and supplementing it with an egg. You can also eat Ramen with pork or a rotisserie chicken you bought from the grocery store and make sure it is well seasoned for a delicious meal.
Walking in for a casual, Friday afternoon lunch, on Nov. 4, we were pleasantly surprised to see the establishment was quite busy. We were greeted and sat down at one of the few rows of wooden tables. We were then handed menus, much of which were in Mandarin. We noticed the waiters spoke Mandarin, the background music was in Mandarin and many of the students seated also seemed to speak Mandarin. It was an authentic environment, to say the least, but we could see how it could be overwhelming for someone’s first time.
The trees slowly change from green to red, yellow and orange. The temperatures drop and the sweaters come out. Fall is here! Out come the pumpkin decorations and the pumpkin spice latte orders from people celebrating the season. However, I argue that in order to truly celebrate fall, we must not give all our attention to the pumpkin spice latte, but should instead prioritize other pumpkin products that truly make you feel cozy during the fall weather.
It’s no secret that the Ithaca McDonald’s is busy. I can comfortably say that I have consistently waited for over 20 minutes in the drive-through line most times I’ve gone (excluding the midnight snack runs). In fact, the Ithaca McDonald’s drive-through is regarded by locals as one of the busiest drive-throughs in the state. As a frequent patron of the Ithaca McDonald’s drive-through myself, I needed to find out a bit more about what makes our McDonald’s drive-through different. Before proceeding further, it is important to note that Ithaca has two McDonald’s locations.
As first-year students across campus have spent the first half of their first semester forming friendships, first-year student athletes are also building relationships with their teammates, often by eating together. Winter Wallace ’26, a member of the men’s ice hockey team, explained that the team finished practice at 5:30 p.m. two days per week and at 6 p.m. two days per week, but smoothies, stretching, saunas and ice baths after practice mean that he arrives at North Campus dining halls around 8 p.m.
Because many team practices run as late as 8 p.m., Cornell Dining provides dining options and spaces for these team meals to occur, even after practice is over. Evan Nesmith ’26, a member of the football team, said that although there are options on campus that ensure teams can eat, he still wishes for longer dining hall hours. Most dining halls close between 7-9 p.m., sending student athletes to late night eateries like Bear Necessities instead.
Caleb Straayer ’26, a member of the men’s track team, agreed with Nesmith, but acknowledged that there are challenges with keeping the dining hall open later. He is optimistic about a potential solution. “It’d be great if they could be open ‘til later although I am aware, of course, of the staffing issues, so somehow finding a way around that problem would definitely be beneficial for student athletes,” Straayer said.