Purdue has some of the best dining courts, and among the best food, there are foods that just shine a little brighter than the rest. Here's what you have to try on your Purdue "fine" dining tour.
Earhart
Oh, Earhart. Home of the MYO pasta, pizza, grinders, noodles, salad, burgers...you get it. However, the soft-serve ice cream and giant cupcakes pretty much kill the competition. I've only seen the cupcakes once, but they were at least twice the size of an ordinary cupcake. They had orange dreamsicle, M&M, and caramel apple. I have never had my eyes light up like they did when I caught a glimpse of those beauties.
The soft-serve ice cream has one staple flavor, normally chocolate, and one fun flavor. Past fun-flavors: Cake-Batter, Dr. Pepper, fudge brownie, and, my favorite, Twinkie. If the soft-serve doesn't strike your fancy, there is also a selection of hard-dip ice cream, as well.
Windsor
Sometimes referred to as the vegetarian/vegan-friendliest dining court, I was pretty sure I would steer pretty clear of it. I tend to not eat vegetables super often. However, Windsor has a really good burrito bar (which took me three laps to find, but is actually in a super obvious location), and cinnamon rolls like none other. The cinnamon rolls are twice the size of a normal cinnamon roll (sensing a theme here? Me, too.) and come un-iced with cream cheese frosting in a bowl so you can load that thing up with as much frosting as your little heart desires. I've only managed to be there once when they were serving them, but I look forward to my next encounter.
Hillenbrand
Hillyb tends to be a little far away for many people, but for those of us that live even further from campus, Hilleyb (and its glorious take on brunch) is basically a God-send. It was at Hillenbrand that I first tried a Frau brownie (Look it up. Try it. You'll thank me later.). Hillenbrand also has wings (boneless on Saturdays), amazing cookies, and a quesadilla bar that really brings out the "dang quesadilla" lover in all of us.
Hillenbrunch is a whole different world. People will drive from their dorms closer to campus just to get the pancakes, MYO omelettes, biscuit bowls, and all the other comfort foods that you can imagine when thinking of brunch. It's pretty difficult to find a table, and even harder to find a fork.
The Union
This year, four restaurants in the Union created meal deals for those of us stuck on campus after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. My favorite is the Flatbreads Chicken Cordon Bleu flatbread. You also get a cookie and drink, so it's a pretty great.
