The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/eateries/)
Like the average Cornell boba rat, I enjoy a good bubble tea here and there but seldom find the time for a trip to U-Tea or Kung-Fu Tea. Now that it was available in the convenience of my dorm building on campus, I wanted to test how four flavors of the new bubble tea in Toni Morrison Hall’s Crossings Café would size up to the popular classics I order most frequently in Collegetown.
I really thought that Cornell students would have greater control over the way they spend their BRB’s. BRB’s, formally known as “Big Red Bucks” are the currency that lets Cornell students purchase food and drinks from cafes like Libe Cafe, Cafe Jennie, Mac’s Cafe etc., around campus. Spending your BRB’s differs from using a meal swipe, and each meal plan at Cornell differs in the amount of swipes and BRB’s a student is able to use. Time and time again, Cornell students either hoard their bucks or spend them all halfway through the semester. But what is the correct (and best) way to spend your BRB’s?
When you first see Morrison Dining Hall, you may ask yourself, “Am I at Cornell or Hyatt Regency?”
With the expansion of North Campus, some freshmen have had the privilege of enjoying the new gym and dorms. If you’re thinking,“Why is our tuition so expensive?” Now you know. But, before I give you a sneak peek of Morrison Dining Hall (which opens in Spring 2022), I want to offer some good news: you can have a hotel-quality lunch at Morrison every Thursday! So, if you feel like eating at an on-campus Shake Shack or Panera Bread, next Thursday is your chance. Anyways, let’s explore Morrison Dining Hall together! How’s the interior?
Cornell Dining will introduce a new dining hall, two new cafes and accessibility initiatives for a fall semester with fewer COVID restrictions.
Successful modern restaurants are those which evoke pleasure through both their food and atmosphere. The more “instagrammable” the interior and décor, the more business it will attract — especially from millennials and Gen Z-ers. And in Ithaca, which has more restaurants per capita than NYC, the competition is fierce. There are at least a dozen coffee shops, each small, with high-quality beans and different spirits. The newest is Botanist Coffeehouse, a combination café and flower shop in Fall Creek.
In week two of the Dining Hall March Madness Matchups, eight of Cornell’s finest eateries battled for supremacy in the eyes of The Sun’s subjective staff writers and editors. Here were the matchups.
Trillium’s impressive short order lunch options, like ramen and quesadillas, are contesting Terrace’s famous burrito bar and phở station for a position in the Final Four. Risley may have defeated RPCC, but will gluten free, vegetarian and lactose intolerant friendly options be enough to take on Rose’s Sunday brunch specials? Keeton’s famed southern fair comes head-to-head with Cook house’s Indian specialties. Café Jennie shoots for victory by bolstering a large variety of macarons and specialty drinks, like turmeric tea — but will it be enough?
What Thompson and Bleecker has to offer surely goes beyond its creative artisanal pizza. Gazing around this vibrant Ithaca Commons spot on a Thursday evening transports me; I am no longer in Ithaca, but in New York City, almost. Perhaps this feeling is evoked since owners Milly and George named Thompson and Bleecker after the intersection of their first apartment in the city. The candles on each sleek, wooden table twinkle. Milly makes her rounds, ensuring all guests are having a wonderful time, which is an easy feat. Patrons sip on red wine while simultaneously biting into doughy crust and cheesy goodness.
The Northstar Plate, a dish that can satisfy both your sweet and savory breakfast cravings, comes with choice of French toast or pancakes, bacon or sausage and potatoes or grits with two eggs your way. Northstar’s French toast is soaked overnight, giving it a cinnamon-y flavor throughout to its center. Topped with New York maple syrup, this French toast outshines all other French toast options in Ithaca.
As you may or may not know from touring Cornell, Ithaca has more restaurants per capita than any other city in the country (my tour guide actually did inform me of this fun fact when I was touring). This means that there’s pretty much an endless supply of restaurants to choose from for brunch, so I decided to compile a simple guide to some of the brunch places most relevant to Cornell students. The nine restaurants listed below are by no means an exhaustive list of the brunching options in Ithaca, but hopefully they will get you started on your brunching adventures and help you match your mood to the right brunch spot.
While I don’t have the years my family did to develop my own Hal’s traditions, I will still be going for breakfast and lunch every chance I get until the doors permanently close.