As an out-of-state student, I occasionally get homesick. Sometimes- actually, most of the time, I miss my family. Maybe every now and then I wish there was a nearby beach I could drive to. However, something that I really miss is food from back home. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chipotle and all the restaurants on Mass Street, but nothing beats some food from back home. Thinking that I couldn’t be the only one who felt this way, I decided to ask other out-of-state students if there were any foods or restaurants from back home that they miss and wished were in Lawrence.
Restaurants
In-N-Out, Whataburger, Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles… whether it’s a chain or a local restaurant, there are some really great restaurants that simply aren’t in Lawrence.
One place that practically all the Californians I interviewed (plus myself) missed was In-N-Out. A burger chain that’s synonymous with California, it’s not hard to see why. Analaura Cortez (@anaco51), a freshman from San Diego, California, said that she really loved the milkshakes and that In-N-Out’s menu was unique. Rachel Bawk, another freshman from San Diego, talked about how much she loved the burgers. However, In-N-Out wasn’t the only restaurant that out-of-staters missed.
Anna Sidor, a sophomore from Denver, Colorado, talked about how much she missed Biker Jim’s, a hot dog restaurant in Denver. According to her, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill hot dog stand. She said she really missed the wild and out-there hot dogs (i.e. elk, pheasant, reindeer).
Molly Speckman, a junior from Elburn, Illinois (just outside of Chicago), raved about Portillo’s, a restaurant chain based in Chicago. In particular, she talked about how much she loved their hot dogs and the chocolate cake shake.
Food
Lawrence (and Kansas in general) does have some great food, I’ll admit. However, there are some food and cuisines that aren’t found here; whether that’s sushi made with fish that’s actually not shipped in or Filipino food (seriously, I freaking miss this), here’s some of the food that out-of-state kids are missing.
In addition to Portillo’s, Molly said that she really misses deep-dish pizza, a dish that Chicago is famous for.
Erica Mathews (@QueenErica_), a freshman that moved from Inglewood, California to Kansas City, Missouri, said that she really missed real Mexican food. In particular, she talked about how she missed freshly-made tortillas and some dishes that aren’t found in Mexican restaurants around here.
Yu Wei Chen, a sophomore from Johor, Malaysia, said that she really missed Malaysian food, something that’s unfortunately missing here in Lawrence. In particular, she misses really spicy food. Yu Wei also really misses vegetarian food; although she’s not a vegetarian, Yu Wei isn’t a huge fan of meat, and her dining hall doesn’t really have many vegetarian options.
Megan Chun, a freshman from Temecula, California, says she really misses Korean food, especially her mom’s homemade food.
Although there’s O Cafe, which serves Korean food, she says it’s good, but it isn’t the same.