Freshman to freshman: the top 5 places to eat in downtown Kent

Most of us freshmen have been on campus for about a month now and you have probably heard about some of the great food places downtown Kent has to offer, but have you gone out and explored downtown Kent for yourself yet? No worries, because I did all the work for you! Now you don’t have to go out unprepared! Here are my top five food-related places to visit downtown. 

1. Ray’s Place

Ray’s Place is a typical sports bar. You walk in and seat yourself at any seat in the very quaint bar. A TV is in view at just about every seat in the house, so you will never miss the game.

I am pretty simple when it comes to food, so I got the chicken finger basket with rice pilaf. My roommate got the gourmet burger and she said, “This might be the best burger I’ve ever had.”

This casual joint is easy on the wallet too. Some may see it as a little pricey, but the amount of food you get is completely worth it. Two people could comfortably share a small side of french fries, which can only be compared to fair fries!

Find their menu here and visit them on 135 Franklin Ave right off of South Water St. 

2. Mike’s Place

I first visited Mike’s Place with one of my friends who is an upperclassman, and she warned me before we went in that Mike’s has the largest menu I will ever see. She was more than right. Their menu fits right in with the entire aesthetic of the restaurant; just a complete jumble of everything under the sun. They have everything from breakfast, seafood, Italian food and even some good, old-fashioned American classics.  

The entire restaurant looks like your dad’s overly packed garage threw up all over the place. Everywhere you look there is something on the walls and likely a smart comment that goes along with it. Most evident on their menu, Mike’s has a great sense of humor; they know just how extra their entire restaurant is. 

You can read their menu for yourself here

As for the food, it is incredible. You could go with all of your friends and everyone would find something to devour on the menu. I highly recommend their chicken noodle soup; it is literally to die for. Also, Mike’s is very reasonably priced with gracious portions. 

Visit their website here and go see the madness for yourself on 1700 South Water St. 

3. Scribbles Coffee Co. 

If you are a coffee addict or in need of a nice quaint place to study, then Scribbles is the perfect place for you. Scribbles Coffee Co. is a tiny corner coffee joint located on South Water St. and it oozes character in all the best ways. 

Scribbles’ offers more than just coffee, they have a plethora of options and choices to pick from. Even if you cannot stand the bitterness of coffee they will have something for you, and their variety of baked goods goes perfectly with the season.

But the absolute best thing about Scribbles Coffee Co. is that they lay paper over all the tables so that you can actually scribble your heart away. They even provide mason jars full of crayons and pencils to encourage your artistic side. Feel free to use the table as scrap paper for that stubborn homework you have to do.

Find them here and go scribble your heart out on 237 North Water St. 

4. Insomnia Cookies

I am pretty sure everyone has heard of Insomnia Cookies, but I just had to include it on the list. For those who do not know about Insomnia Cookies, it is a cookie shop that is open until 3:00 A.M. every night of the week and, prepare yourself, they deliver. Yes, they deliver cookies to the dorms every night until 3:00 A.M. There is a $6.00 minimum for delivery, but it won’t be that hard to get a few more cookies to satisfy the minimum amount. 

Insomnia offers every cookie you could dream of. They also have brownies, ice cream sandwiches made with cookies and just regular ice cream. It is pretty much a dream come true for anyone with a major sweet tooth. The cookies can be kind of pricey, but as soon as you sink your teeth in i promise you will forget about how much you spent on sweets. 

You can find their menu and hours here and visit them on 295 South Water St. 

5. Peace, Love & Little Donuts

Rounding out my list is Peace, Love & Little Donuts. Right next to Insomnia Cookies, this is the next best place to kick your sweet tooth. If you are not the biggest fan of cookies but are always down for a good donut, this is going to be your place. 

They have three categories of donuts the Groovy donuts which have toppings that are more run of the mill, the Far Out donuts which are stocked full of all different flavors of frosting and lastly there are the Funkadelic donuts which are crazy frosted donuts with some pretty out of this world toppings. Their famous Funkadelic donuts include Maple Bacon, Apple Pie, Raspberry Lemonade and Boston Creme Pie to name a few. 

You can find out their times and more here and pick up some Peace, Love and Little Donuts on 100 East Erie St. 

I hope you will be able to try these places out for yourself! Trust me, you won’t regret it!

• food
• kent
• Kent State