For this week's Friday Fives edition, the Notre Dame Media Intern Team scoured campus for the decadent, the savory, and the sweet (while also gaining a few pounds in the process). In the end our efforts paid off though, as we present the top five food items on campus!
5. Hagerty Family Café Gelato
We know what they say about eating dessert first, but what meal is complete without a little something sweet? Located in the new Duncan Student Center, Hagerty Family Cafe offers fresh-roasted Intelligentsia coffees, Freshens smoothies and crepes, and a selection of pastries and gelato created by Notre Dame's culinary team. There's something about a small cup of tasty gelato that makes studying eight hours straight for your final exams not so bad.
4. Café de Grasta Chicken Wrap
Taking our number four spot is the Café de Grasta chicken wraps! Cafe de Grasta is located on the first floor of Grace Hall on the northeast side of campus, but that doesn’t stop students from all across campus from making the walk up for their delicious lunch specials. The cafe is open weekdays for breakfast and lunch, offering daily specials as well as soups, salads, a deli bar, and the super popular chicken wraps.
3. Modern Market Pizza
At number three are the delicious Modern Market brick oven pizzas. Located on the first floor of the Duncan Student center and actually founded in Colorado by Notre Dame graduates, Modern Market serves farm fresh, locally sourced pizzas, sandwiches, and salads. Modern Market’s mission is "to serve amazing, healthy food to as many people as possible." Dishes are made from scratch using whole, simple ingredients and are able to satisfy any dietary requirement, from gluten-free to vegan.
2. Smashburger Burger and Fries
At number two is one of the most popular guilty pleasures on campus: a Smashburger burger and fries! Smashburger made its debut in the Lafortune Student Center two years ago and hasn’t stopped receiving raving reviews since. Add one of their hand-spun milkshakes to the meal and you’ve got yourself a one-way trip to your dorm room bed to ride out the food coma.
1. Dining Hall Southwest Salad
Having amassed a cult-like following since it was introduced, the dining halls’ Southwest Salad causes students to line up (often up to 50 people deep) at the salad station every Thursday. While both of the dining halls offer the special on Thursday, I personally prefer North Dining Hall’s version, and I think the student body would concur. Crispy chicken, tortilla strips, a variety of salsas, and southwest chipotle ranch rank this salad supreme in terms of on-campus dining.