Whether you’re a Mesa Court resident or just visiting the Anteatery, you’ll want to know these tips on how to have the best meal a swipe can buy you.
1. Go at the right times!
Monday through Friday, the Anteatery serves certain meals only at these certain times. Here’s when you should to go for the specific meals you’re craving.
For breakfast – It’s technically from 7:15am to 11:00 am. But go before 10:00am if you want to get things like eggs, sausages and pancakes. Go later and they’ve probably run out. And if you want *FRESHLY SQUEEZED OJ*, aka the best drink you can consume in the morning, go by 9:00am. These precious OJ cups get snatched up fast, y’all.
For lunch – This goes from 11:00am to 4:30pm. There isn’t much food out as it gets closer to 4:30pm so you’ll want to go earlier in the afternoon.
For dinner – It is 4:30pm to 8pm. Make sure to go after 4:30pm, not even 4:00pm. Avoid going around 6:00 to 7:00pm unless you want to stand in a crazy-long line for a dish that you could get for practically no wait-time at 5:00 or 8:00pm.
For late night – This is from 8:00pm to 12:00am. The food usually hits hard (pot stickers, chicken nuggets and egg rolls, oh my!) and you don’t want to miss out on this. This isn’t the best time to go if you’re looking for a real filling and balanced dinner, but it’s perfect for a big night-time snack. If you’re lucky and come around closing time with your to-go box, the server might give you a lot of the left-over food. I saw someone get a full box of just egg rolls since they were about to toss them out otherwise.
2. Upgrade your waffles
Did you know that in the little fridge under the waffle station, whip cream and chocolate syrup is hiding?? My mind was also blown when I learned this. Add these to your waffles to make everyone at the Eatery jealous. You could also top them with strawberry jam and cream cheese from the bread station or honey from the tea area.
3. Find the milk substitutes!
If you don’t want to or cannot drink the whole or 2% milk the Anteratery has, look in the fridge under the milk machine. There, you’ll find cartons of soy and almond milk to enjoy with your coffee and cereal.
4. Stock up on fruit and toppings
There are crates of fruits at the salad and fruit bar. Pick up a couple on your way out to have an easy and healthy snack in your dorm. If you like to have your fruits with some peanut butter, grab a packet near the bread toaster.
5. Enjoy some tea!
Hot water comes out of the red nozzle on the top left corner of the coffee machines. You can use this to make a comforting cup of tea in a bunch of flavors, like chai, green tea, and earl grey. There is tea by the waffle station and by the touch-screen drinks dispenser so if the flavor you like isn’t at one station you can check the other. You can also add milk and sugar or honey to make milk tea!
6. Stock up on Taza tickets
You can ask for a Taza ticket, which you need to order a drink at the Taza within the Eatery, when you swipe in. But to be extra and save yourself the hassle of having to remember to get a ticket or going back to the register to grab one, you can do what my roommate does and hoard a bunch of them. Then, when you realize you want hot cocoa after eating, you can just walk over to Taza.
7. Get a patty melt
Photo courtesy of Zotmeme.jpg
This may make you Zotmeme.jpg material, but a patty melt (a grilled cheese sandwich with a burger patty inside) is truly a glorious late-night food to have. Though it’s not on the menu above the burger station, you can still ask for it. You can also ask for a veggie burger if you don’t want meat inside.
8. Upgrade your water
When you want water but you’re feeling a little boujee, head over to the salad and fruit bar. There will be a few big containers of fruit or herb infused waters. For example, you could get water infused with watermelon, citrus and cucumbers, or hibiscus tea.
9. Get creative with food combos
You can go wild with some food combinations to spice up a meal. Here are some you could try out next time:
– Add cinnamon and honey to yogurt.
– Put dressing (like Thousand Island or ranch) on a burger.
– Make iced coffee with coffee, ice, and some milk of your choice.
– Top waffles with ice cream.
– Make an ice cream sandwich with cookies and a scoop of ice cream.
These next two are for those who live on-campus and have to-go boxes!
10. Gather ingredients for cooking in your to-go box
Say you’re in the dorms over the weekend and you or your roommates don’t have a meal plan that’ll give you access to the Anteatery. If you want to cook something, you could get whoever has access to the Eatery to fill their to-go box with things like veggies from the salad bar or some kind of meat from the regular meal station. In my dorm room, I am the only person who can get into the Anteatery on weekends, so I fill my box with stir-fry ingredients like carrots, broccoli, and onions for meals my roommates plan to make. When we needed oil, I also realized that I could use a soup cup to carry some olive oil from the salad bar.
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Get a Raincheck card
If you have a used to-go box and you don’t want to hold onto it in your room, you can exchange it at the register for a Raincheck card. You can later exchange this card for a new, clean box when you’re ready to dine out again. (Just make sure not to lose the card, or the box for that matter! Or else, you’ll have to pay to replace them.)
Happy eating, Anteaters!
All photos by the author unless otherwise noted.