Photo by Sophie Warrick; The Piper Grill opened for the night.
If you consistently use your meal plan to get dinner, chances are you’ve never experienced the Piper Grill. The Grill is a great option for those students who have night classes because it’s open until midnight. It’s located on the second floor of Anderson by the normal food court area. There are many options to choose from, but not all are considered equal. Here’s a breakdown of what to get.
Get: Pasta Bakes
Photo by Sophie Warrick; The baked pasta ready to be devoured.
Pasta bakes are one of the few consistently good dishes you can get. There are so many toppings to choose from, and it’s baked to cheesy perfection every time. Plus the amount you get is definitely worth your money, so you might as well add on some cheese breadsticks.
Get: Grilled Cheese
No joke, last week I pulled apart a grilled cheese sandwich and the string of cheese stretched 10 feet wide before breaking. If that’s not a marker of a good cheese, then I don’t know what is.
Get: Veggie Burger
If the garden burgers at the cafeteria make you sad because they’ve been sitting on a plate for three hours, the Piper Grill garden burgers are sure to taste like pure gold. They’re warm, flavorful and served on a toasted bun.
Get: Fries
This is by far the most popular item among my friends; the fries at Hamline never cease to please. There’s also a variety of dipping sauces—such as ketchup, ranch, barbeque sauce and mustard—to accompany their lightly-seasoned crispiness.
Maybe Get: Chicken Tenders
These are in no way the best chicken tenders out there, but if you’re craving them, they’ll hit the spot.
Maybe Get: Cheese Curds
The cheese curds are good, but if beer-battered cheese curds are your thing, these are not for you. They’re tasty, but nothing like the State Fair cheese curds.
Don’t Get: Mozzarella Sticks
Many people have complained to me about the low quality of their mozzarella sticks, but I didn’t make that conclusion until I finally experienced it for myself. I was only half-way through a stick when a translucent liquid started leaking out. Let’s just say I didn’t finish it.
Don’t Get: A Drink
If you have to, they have drinks that you are able to purchase. But the drink selection is weird and really unsatisfying. There’s Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and root beer, but there’s also unsweetened tea and lemon-lime Gatorade. More non-carbonated beverages besides Gatorade would be nice.
The moral of the story is that the Piper Grill is just a quick service place for fried food. No one’s expecting grandma’s cooking, so it’s easy to be pleased with how good it is. Food services is always asking for input too, so feel free to make suggestions or comment on the Grill.