After the stress and anxiety that came with this past election week I think it’s important to focus on the treasures in life, specifically Cook Out trays. If you are from the North and don’t have Cook Outs, or are from the South and are just oblivious to the wonderful world that is Cook Out, allow me to enlighten you.

Cook Out is a fast food restaurant chain located in certain states in the South. The ambiance provided in this establishment takes you back to your childhood days of camping in the woods with your family. With an interior resembling a wood cabin and smiling employees to greet you as you walk through the door, you’ll feel like you’re in a wilderness lodge that just so happens to serve outstanding food and have a great musical playlist. Serving great food and open until 2 a.m., they are most known for the “Cook Out tray” which is often considered the best deal in the South. For $4.99 you get one entree and two sides. Entrees include: Regular Hamburger, Regular Barbecue, two hot dogs, two quesadillas, Big Double Burger, Chicken sandwich, Spicy Chicken, Cajun Chicken, BBQ Chicken, and Chicken strips. These tasty options are accompanied by your choice of 2 sides. These are no ordinary sides, oh no. You can choose a quesadilla or a bacon wrap or chicken nuggets just to name a few options. After you have eaten your entree and two generous sides, you are guaranteed to be full, satisfied, and perfectly willing to have paid five dollars for the great meal that you just consumed. On the chance that you still have some room for something sweet, you can upgrade the large soft drink/sweet tea that comes with your meal to a Cheerwine float or milkshake for an extra dollar. Cook Out has an extensive menu of 40+ milkshakes that range from generic vanilla to blueberry cheesecake and everything in between. I’m afraid that I don’t give the rest of the Cook Out menu enough credit as it is very extensive and I’m sure extremely appetizing, but I just can’t go to Cook Out without getting a tray. As a broke college student, I can’t pass up a completely satiating, extremely delicious meal for only $4.99. Which brings me to my next point; I believe that Cook Out was created specifically with college kids in mind.

After an exhausting week of homework, exams, jobs, and worrying about your future, as a college kid you feel compelled to either reward yourself for a job well done or compensate for any struggles encountered throughout the week. Either way, the answer is Cook Out. Delicious food that won’t break the bank? No brainer. To give you some insight on how great of a deal this is, let’s consider the following. A meal at UNC’s dining hall is around $11. We multiply that by three meals a day and seven days a week and we are looking at around $231 a week just for food. Now we look at a perfect world where there’s a Cook Out within walking distance which allows us to eat there for three meals a day. That comes to a grand total of about $105 a week. The choice is clear, a Cook Out tray is always the best option. Now I don’t want it to seem like Cook Out is only for college students, for I encourage everyone to go enjoy their excellent food and the wondrous deal that is the Cook Out tray.