Eating Carleton: a Guide

Food. It’s inevitably the prompt that springs question after question from every prospective Carleton student’s brain. Where do I get it? Is it any good? Can I really eat waffles for every single meal? (Answer at the end).

This post will hopefully serve as simple guide to dining on campus, as well as shedding light on some of the popular local spots in downtown Northfield.

The Dining Halls

Carleton has two dining halls: Burton and the Language and Dining Center (LDC). These are your classic, all-you-can-eat cafeterias: think the high-school lunch line (though hopefully they’re better than yours was!)

Burton is my go-to. I don’t know if I’m allowed to show favoritism here, but number one: it’s right next to my dorm, so no long walk to lunch! And number two: I think the food is just better. The meals range from pork japchae noodles to beef picadillo, and there’s always an interesting dessert waiting for you at the end of dinner. That’s not to say Burton is objectively superior—my roommate and I have conflicting opinions about the issue ourselves—but in terms of ease and quality, for me Burton takes the cake.

LDC is larger and in the center of campus, right next to the mini bald spot. It also has a wide variety of dishes available, but it’s just too darn far for me to make the walk from my dorm every day! (This is just me being lazy. It’s maybe 5 minutes at most.) I eat here when I have a class in the nearby Anderson hall, or when my friends drag me over because of their incorrect assessment that the food is better than Burton’s.

Cafés

Carleton also has three cafés where you can get coffee, special hot meals like taco bowls and curry plates, or pre-packaged food for when you need to eat on the go. Schulze, Weitz, and Sayles are dotted around campus: in Anderson Hall, the Weitz Center for Creativity, and the Sayles Campus Center. My favorite item so far is the ahi tuna poke bowl with crispy onions, but I’ve yet to try the salmon sushi that’s been calling my name for a while. I guess I have dinner plans now.

Off-Campus

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, sometimes I need something that a cafeteria can’t scratch. Like a plate of Indian food with naan, or a big bowl of pho and sticky mango rice. In downtown Northfield lies the satisfaction of these desires. Desi Diner is a particular favorite of mine, as well as Coco’s place for great Mexican food. There are lots of cafés, too, like the Goodbye Blue Monday Coffeehouse, where you can buy a latte and a bagel or just sit and feel productive typing on your computer. Like I’m doing now.

And for breakfast, I have a particular routine. Although the dining halls open at 7:30 AM on the weekdays, I’m an early bird, and I just can’t wait half an hour to get some food in. That’s why the multiple grocery stores in town, like the Family Fare Supermarket and the Just Food Coop, are my go-to stops for buying cereal and milk to keep in my dorm room. It has the added benefit of making me feel like a real chef, too. I can’t wait for my Michelin Star.

Now back to the real question. What everyone wants to know the answer to.

Q: Can you really eat waffles for every meal?

A: Yes. They are available all day in LDC. But I’m more of a pancake man myself.

Inigo (he/him/his) is trying very hard to turn interests in subjects like film, English, and psychology into a manageable course load. Originally from Somerville, Massachusetts, he can often be found running in the Cowling Arboretum (and getting passed by everyone on the cross-country team) or rock climbing at the bouldering cave in the evening. He loves Carleton’s walkability: it didn’t even matter that he forgot to bring his bike to campus. He considers bad horror movies to be the ultimate form of entertainment.