A lot of students think that campus and College Station have limited options when it comes to eateries. However, with the extensive growth of Texas A&M’s campus and the Bryan/College Station area, new restaurants are springing up almost every week. Here are a few of my favorite on-campus options for a quick pick-me-up, meal or study session snack:
Sick of Starbucks at Zachry? Go to Einstein Bros. Bagels
I love bagels and Einstein Bros. is the best place to get bagels in College Station. It’s conveniently located behind Sbisa and it’s a 10-minute walk from Zachry. Unfortunately (or fortunately), other Aggies share the same love for Einstein’s, so the lines get pretty long during lunch time. I typically grab a table at 7:15 a.m. to have breakfast, finish up homework or have quiet time. It closes at 3 p.m., so I would advise getting there either before noon or around 2 p.m. to beat the lunch rush. You get free refills on coffee if you dine in! I don’t drink coffee, so I can’t tell you if it’s good, but college students on a budget can’t be choosers.
Want a taste of the world without leaving North Side? Food trucks!
This is slightly embarrassing, but I have the food truck schedule memorized. Every day, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., they are parked in the space between the Dwight Look Engineering building and the Zachry building (right next to the Olafur Mixed Media sculpture).
There are three to four food trucks: Chef Tai, Gig’ Em and Go!, Taz Indian Cuisine and Abu Omar Halal. You can search “Zachry Food Truck schedule” online to get the exact days each one is there. My go-to meal at Chef Tai is the Chicken Teriyaki Bowl. Abu Omar Halal serves Mediterranean food. Their chicken shawarma is a classic and is probably the most ordered entree, but they also serve tacos, kabobs, falafel and gyros (pronounced yee-ros).
Need a “hole-in-the-wall” place to eat and study? Try Azimuth
This is my favorite café on campus. If you’re not an architecture student or happen to have class in Langford, then you most likely won’t hear about it. It’s hidden in the back on the lower level of Langford A. You can get artisan sandwiches, pastries, specialty drinks, teas, coffee and some grab-n-go options from the fridge.
Another “hole-in-the-wall” place but not nearly as quiet as Azimuth is “The Grill”
Not only does it have the sweetest servers, it has some of the best burgers and cinnamon rolls on campus. It’s really well known by those who spend time on Central Campus, but I’ve found that a lot of engineers don’t know about it. It’s located in the Pavilion Building, which is right next to the Annex and adjacent to Evans Library and the Glasscock Building
Craving Tex-Mex? Cabo Mexican Grill is pretty good!
As a freshman, I spent a lot of time in the Memorial Student Center (MSC). Most of my classes were either in Heldenfels Hall or Harrington Education Center. It gave me the opportunity to try out every dining option in the MSC. My best friend and I became regulars at Cabo. We got there every day right at 11 a.m.. Their food is classified as Tex-Mex. It’s located in the MSC cafeteria right next to the Flag Room. They’re open from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Want an “All You Can Eat” dining experience? Go to Sbisa!
If you haven’t heard, we’ve all been pronouncing Sbisa wrong this whole time. It’s actually not pronounced “suh-bee-suh,” but closer to “speez-uh.” Sbisa has six different stations: The Nook, Bok Choy, Deli, Kitchen, Homestyle and a Salad Bar. Bok Choy, my to-go station for lunch, is a “build-your-own” stir-fry station. A cool thing about Sbisa that many people don’t know is that you can actually play a song of your choice in the dining hall! You download an app called “Rockbot,” put in your location and add your favorite song to the queue. They also host “Late Night Breakfast” toward the end of every semester. I went my freshman and sophomore year and it’s a really fun time with friends.
Texas A&M University offers a wide variety of on-campus dining options. Search meal plans and dining services to find the perfect fit for you.
