The dining hall (DH), everyone knows it, hates to love it, and let’s be honest, you will find yourself there even if you only use Palapoints at the P-Den. It is a common place for Furman students to hang out, fuel up, and take a break from the stress of other Furman responsibilities. The same food choices and constant crowds can get a little old, so here are some helpful do’s and don’ts for the DH to make your experience that much better.
1. DON’T go at 12:30
Now of course if 12:30 is the only time you can eat lunch, that’s one thing. But, crowds in the DH at 12:30 are a nightmare. When you finally fight your way into the DH itself, just getting food can take almost 30 minutes! And finding a table? Forget about it! Even the DH workers hate the 12:30 lunch hour because of the mobs of hungry students. 12:30 is everyone’s built in lunch hour, but if you can find a different time to go, you might save yourself some time waiting for the newest creation at the Mongolian Grill.
2. DO Mix up Stations
Sometimes when you walk into the DH and make your rounds, you might get a little disappointed with the options. It’s easy to just stick to one line and go with whatever they have, but mixing up different stations that aren’t so obvious can change the game. On days when the grill has fried chicken, go make a waffle and create your own chicken and waffles. Want to spice up a burger from the grill? Head over to the sandwich bar and grab some toppings there! Craving Sully Steamers but can’t make it downtown? Grab a bagel from the breakfast bar, load it up with anything you want from the sandwich station, put it on the panini press, and boom! Your own Sully Steamers themed bagel.
3. DO Grab Food to Go
It’s pretty obvious when you see people walking out of the DH with the coffee cups, they don’t always have coffee in them. Believe it or not, you can stash your favorite cereal, chocolate chips, cookies, and even ice cream in those cups! Running late to you morning classes and can’t make a breakfast? Run by the DH, grab a coffee cup and fill it up with some milk and cereal and get on to class! Craving a sugar fix? Stuff a cookie at the bottom of the cup and top it off with some ice cream and head on back to the library.
4. DO or DON’T TRY The Ultimate Hack
Now, this is something I think I might have personally discovered, (if someone did this before me please come forward so we can be friends) but have you ever had a full plate of food and just could not fit your ketchup, mustard (or any sauce by that matter!) onto your plate without it going all over your food? Well, if you want to avoid that, take a coffee cup lid and dispense your favorite condiment onto the back of the lid and now you have your own mini plate for your sauce and no way of it getting all over your food. Pure Genius.
Take a chance and try out some of these DH hacks. They could change your DH experience for the best. And DON’T forget to share them with friends!