1. Oceanview Terrace: 2 out of 5 Sloppy Tortas
There’s a reason your next meal at OVT will be spent trying to figure out where everyone who lives in Marshall eats. The real question is how they think the slightly less terrible food at Cafe V is worth the walk. But then again when your daily meals consist of nachos, soggy noodles, and cold pizza it’s not hard to figure out why this place is almost always empty.
2. Cafe Ventanas: 3 out of 5 Soggy Waffles
At Cafe V, there is actually some pretty good food to be had. Taco Tuesday is a personal favorite of mine, featuring Korean style bulgolgi tacos along with classic Mexican fish tacos. Their pizza is generally bug-free and sandwiches are never a bad option. The standard grill (the one you’ll find in every other dining hall) is one of the best as long as you don’t mind the wait during peak meal times. To be honest on the two days of the year when the ice cream machine worked, I actually did not mind eating here.
3. Pines: 4 out of 5 Hand-Carved Meat Days
Making other dining halls seem like their serving prison food is a distinction that only Pines can claim. I could go on about their lunchtime sushi or hand carved meat but hot food is the one thing that separates this dining hall from the rest of the pack. It’s central location on campus also makes it the perfect location to meet up with friends in different colleges. But unfortunately even Pines suffers from the disease known as Meatless Mondays so plan your meals accordingly.
4. Goody's: 4.5 out of 5 Poorly Rolled Burritos
A lot of people rave about the burritos and bowls you’ll find at Goody’s. And for good reason, I’ve spent hours in the lines that inevitably form here at all hours of the day. Luckily for us, UCSD Dining actually could not find a way to screw up our on-campus Chipotle clone. There’s nothing like a goody’s burrito to give you a lift in the afternoon, in whatever way necessary. And for all you coffee junkies, there’s a Starbucks right next to it so you can get your caffeine fix in at the same time.
5. The Bistro: 6 out of 5 Leftover Sushi Rolls
While everyone else is spending their time cursing at the administration for Meatless Monday’s, the smart students have already made reservations at the bistro. Justifying spending $19 on a steak that even Denny’s would never serve becomes easier when you remember that you didn’t even spend real money (Dining Dollars for the win). One thing most people don’t know is that the Bistro actually does take-out orders before 5 (4:30 is the cut off for sushi to go). A convenient shuttle stop by the village puts the Bistro relatively close to anyone on campus and makes it the best place to get real food on campus.
Special Mention: The old dining hall in Revelle was so bad that UCSD actually tore it down and replaced it with a Kafka-esque food truck. There was a rumor going around that the food truck was going to be good but unfortunately that was confirmed to be a lie. I give it 1 out of 5 for hungry Revelle students because it’s NEVER open.
