My Commons Life

News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here

Food

Dining Daries: Rating All the Meals I Ate at Commons for a Week

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Over the course of a week in September, I ate six lunches and dinners at the Commons Center dining hall. I have rated the meals in various categories. They are listed in the order in which I ate them.

Tex Mex Bowl

Taste: ★★☆☆☆ 

Chipotle dupe? Yeah 100% but it’s really not bad. The tex mex rice is one of the better rices they serve, the beans are well cooked and flavorful, and adding in your own toppings like salsa and corn elevates the dish. The two point deduction was because the day I ate this, the pork was so so salty. Usually it’s never that salty. I don’t know what was going on. 

Visuals: ★★★★☆

This picture was taken after I mixed it up because I forgot to take one before. It was much prettier when all the ingredients were separate. The corn and tomatoes add a nice pop of color. 

Health: ★★★☆☆

There’s no way that much sodium is good for you. Make sure you’re drinking water guys. 

Turkey Cheddar Wrap

Taste: ★★★★☆

A little skimpy on the turkey but overall pretty good. The cucumbers always hit and the basil pesto sauce is so good. The tortilla was nice and crispy, so crispy that it was literally crumbling in my hands as I ate. That slice of pizza kinda sucked though. Should’ve known when I saw the artichokes on it (sorry to my artichoke lovers).

Visuals: ★★★★★

That green tortilla is doing a lot. Also great artistic choice by me to hold up half the wrap to take the shot. 

Health: ★★★★★

I have no clue what they put in that basil sauce (probably straight mayo), but otherwise everything in this is quite healthy. 

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

Taste: ★★★★☆

My family is Italian, so I have very high standards for pasta. That being said, this was quite decent for dining hall food. The pasta was well cooked but not mushy, the broccoli tasted fresh, and the chicken was neither dry nor flavorless (shocking, I know). The alfredo sauce did not taste quite like real cheese, but what was I expecting? This is about as close as I can get to my dad’s home-cooked Italian food on campus (literally not close at all but I’m desperate).

Visuals: ★★★★☆

As I said, green really does a lot for visuals. That broccoli is carrying an otherwise plain, colorless meal. But you know what, sometimes plain food tastes good if you smother it in enough cheese sauce, which seems to be what we’re going for when it comes to dining hall cuisine. 

Health: ★☆☆☆☆

I think alfredo may be the least healthy invention of all time. 

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Taste: ★★★★★

I may in fact have a sweet tooth because I’m pretty sure this sauce was just straight sugar, but I ate that stuff up. The rice was pretty good and the veggies were well cooked. And those fried vegetable wontons are so freaking tasty. What do they put in them? Also, I have a medium-level spice tolerance, but can we talk about how they always say “spicy pork” and sometimes that means no spice at all (like this dish), but sometimes it will literally burn your tongue off? And there’s no way of knowing which of the two you’re getting. 

Visuals: ★★★★☆

The red and green is such a nice color combo. And you can see the crispiness of the wonton through the photo.

Health: ★★★☆☆

Once again, most of the foods they serve in Commons are healthy enough… until you put the sauce on. Unfortunately, a few of the only ways to make a sauce tasty when you’re not a Michelin Star restaurant are butter, mayonnaise, and sugar, which are not exactly the staples of the balanced diet. Also I’ve seen the Commons deep friers. Those things are scary.

Orange Chicken

Taste: ★★☆☆☆ 

Commons wishes it could be Panda Express. Although this orange chicken initially tasted decent (the sauce was straight sugar), by the time I got four bites in I was over it. The texture of the chicken was rather nasty. Chewy, uncrispy, and way too much batter to chicken ratio. I was fighting for my life trying to find any real chicken in that chicken. The rice was not bad but those unseasoned vegetables get tiring day after day. Also, these wantons were the meat ones (don’t ask me which meat), not the veggie ones, and they are not nearly as good. In fact, I would go so far as to say they are bad. The pizza was better this time though, which is the only reason it’s rated a two instead of one. 

Visuals: ★★★★☆ 

The shine on the chicken and the color from the veggies make this meal look much more appetizing than it really was.


Health: ★★☆☆☆
Most of this is actually decent health-wise, except for the fried stuff. However, is rice really all that healthy if you’re eating it for every meal?

BBQ Chicken, Brocolli, Baked Potato, and Tomato Soup

Taste: ★★☆☆☆ 

The only part of this meal with any flavor was the chicken. The potato? Unseasoned. The broccoli? Unseasoned. The “tomato basil soup?” It was straight-up marinara sauce, like from a jar. And not even the good kind either. The barbeque chicken, however, was scrumptious, juicy, and the only thing keeping me from rage-quitting the dining hall after that meal. 

Visuals: ★☆☆☆☆ 

You can tell just from the picture that there’s no seasoning on this food. And why was there so much broccoli on that plate?


Health: ★★★★★

Usually baked potatoes are slathered in butter, however, since this one lacked any flavor, it remains healthy. 

MCL Top Five: Snacks to Keep in Your Dorm

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Let’s be real, some of us can’t be bothered to make it to the dining hall when we’re working and a bit hungry. Luckily, the Munchie Mart and CVS provides plenty of snacks for those of us who are both busy and lazy.

5. (Instant) Oatmeal

Ok, I was skeptical too, but the instant oatmeal you can get at the Munchie Mart (two count as an entrée) is decent. It’s even better if you add a little bit of peanut butter and a fruit of your choice. It’s low on the list because it does require about a minute and thirty seconds of work, but it’s really filling.

4. Popcorn

Popcorn is great whether you’ve got a microwave or not. If you do, or if you’re willing to use your house’s kitchen, I’d definitely buy bags of microwave popcorn- it’s typically cheaper than pre-popped bags, like SmartPop.

3. Mixed Nuts

What’s great about nut mixes is that they’re usually high in protein and often full of nutrients like vitamin E and magnesium. Of course, it depends on what brand you buy, which nuts are in the mix, etc. Anything with almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, or walnuts are a great choice. If you’re looking to eat healthier, be wary of flavors or additives- they’re not as bad as processed foods, but are often packed with a lot of sodium. If you’re less concerned, then don’t worry, and enjoy those wasabi-flavoured almonds.

Note: if you’re allergic to tree nuts, jerky, roasted chickpeas, edamame, and pumpkin seeds also contain a lot of protein.

2. Yogurt (+ Granola)

Yogurt is great because no matter your dietary preferences, you can find a yogurt that matches them. Lowfat, no sugar, vegan- anything you want, you can find. Whenever I can, I add fruit and granola for the extra flavour and nutrients. Of course, if you don’t have a fridge, you can always use the communal one in your kitchen- just be sure to label it!

1. Fruit

Yes, my number one pick is just fruit. If you haven’t noticed, I like to add fruits to other snacks to improve them. Apples and bananas go great with peanut butter, berries go great with chocolate, and almost everything goes well with honey. Even if you don’t add fruit to anything else, it’s great on its own. The best fruits to get are bananas, apples, or oranges, since they are some of the cheaper fruits and also have the longest shelf life. Of course, the real best fruit is your favourite (I’m partial to apples, peaches, and pineapples). Additionally, dried fruits are even more shelf-stable.

Honorable mentions:

  • Hummus & vegetables
  • Granola bars
  • Applesauce
  • Scrambled eggs (you can make them in a mug!)

MCL Top 5: Meals I Ate During Spring Break

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Remember the list I made two weeks ago of food to eat over spring break? Well, I’m happy to announce that I managed to check off every single item! I’m already missing it all, even though it’s only been a few days since we’ve been back. In honor of all the great food I had over break, here are my top five favorites from the week.

5. Naengmyeon + Pork Galbi

Naengmyeon, a Korean cold noodle dish, is usually something I want when the weather is warmer. I haven’t got much to say about it, but despite the oddly freezing temperatures recently, I really enjoyed this meal!

4. Jjajangmyeon + Jjamppong

Jjajangmyeon is a Chinese-Korean noodle dish topped with a black bean sauce usually containing vegetables and meat, and it’s something I’ve loved eating since I was but a wee child. Jjamppong (a Chinese-Korean noodle dish served with spicy broth and seafood), on the other hand, is something I’ve had to learn to appreciate, as I wasn’t the best at handling my spice when I was younger. I’m glad to say that I can now enjoy jjamppong without any issues, as I think these two dishes go wonderfully together. I think this meal would be a lot higher on my list if not for the fact that I was feeling oddly full the day I ate it, but it was still very good.

3. Sundubu Kalguksu

Oh man, my noodle obsession is showing. Sundubu jjigae is a Korean stew that’s made with soft tofu, and it’s usually served with rice and an egg to top it off (which is what my friend ordered). However, this restaurant I go to offers the option of getting kalguksu instead, which are thick, knife-cut wheat noodles. This is something I always crave when I’m back at Vanderbilt, and it was just as excellent as I remembered.

4. Kimbap

This was the last meal I had before I returned to school, and boy was it a great way to end off the week! As much as I love going out to eat, nothing beats home-cooked food. Kimbap (or gimbap) is a Korean dish usually consisting of rice, vegetables, and meats, all rolled up in dried seaweed. I’m actually not the biggest fan of kimbap unless my mom makes it, but that just goes to show how excellent it really is.

1. Donkatsu

Last but 100% not the least, donkatsu (i.e. fried pork cutlet)! This was the first real meal I had after getting back home, and yet it’s definitely got to be my favorite of the week. I actually texted my mom before break telling her that I really wanted her donkatsu, and she delivered! It’s a pretty plain-looking photo compared to the rest, but it was so incredibly good. (Please ignore the the weird sauce stains; I tried to do a drizzle and failed miserably, as you can see.) No joke, this meal made me do a little happy dance when I ate it. Chef’s kiss.

Those were my top five meals from the spring break! I had a bit of a hard time choosing only five meals, but I think I’m satisfied with my choices here. Eating so well at home has inspired me to try and do the same here, so perhaps I’ll get back on the restaurant reviews soon. Make sure to keep an eye out for that! ;D

MCL Top 5: Restaurants I’ve Been to in Nashville

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What joy is a college student to (legally) find in life except eating good food? Kidding. But in all seriousness, I quite enjoy going out to find yummy things to eat, and I’m sure you do too! (At least, I’d assume so since you’re reading this feature.) To celebrate this commonality, I’ve compiled a list of my top 5 favorite restaurants in town so that you can also enjoy some great meals!

Note: I did my best to make sure that all of these restaurants would be accessible to most people. Some of the places are a bit far, but they’re all either bus-able or walkable locations. Additionally, in case you’re concerned that you might’ve searched the wrong place, I’ve linked the Google Maps URLs to the headings. No need to worry about any transportation expenses or location mix-ups!

Now without further ado, here are the top five restaurants I’ve been to around Nashville!

5. Black Dynasty Secret Ramen House

They were not lying about it being a secret ramen house. I actually ran into another group of people who were looking for the place in the middle of my search. Turns out the big secret is that it’s located inside the Bearded Iris brewery—now that you know, you hopefully won’t suffer in the cold as I did! Once I finally got inside, though, I had a pretty good experience. I got the miso tonkatsu ramen, which you can see pictured above. The broth was flavorful, albeit a bit salty for my taste (nothing a cup of hot water can’t fix), and the noodles had a pleasantly chewy texture to them. As for the miso caramel banana pudding, it reminded me a bit of crème brûlée! No funky miso flavor. On top of all that, the interior is really interesting, and has a nice ambience. My only gripe with the restaurant is that everything is definitely on the pricier side, but it’s a great place to visit occasionally when you’re craving a good bowl of ramen. (Advice for easing the burden on your wallet: 20% gratuity is automatically included when you order, so don’t feel pressured to tip again!)

4. Meet Noodles

Can you tell I really like noodles? Well, I do. I promise the rest of this list won’t just be noodle restaurants, though. Meet Noodles was my go-to comfort restaurant last semester, meaning I probably spent half of my meal money there. The combination of a sub-10 minute walking distance + warm Asian food is dangerous(ly enticing). They offer a great selection of Chinese noodle dishes, and I’ve never once been disappointed by anything I’ve ordered. For the indecisive folks out there, my usual order is the Shanxi sliced noodles (pictured above). I won’t go into detail about the dishes since I’ve realized that food descriptions are not my strong suit, but I’ll say this much: it’s good stuff!

3. Sitar Indian Cuisine

Something tells me that a lot of people already know about this restaurant (and the previous one for that matter), but here it is anyways! Due to my overwhelming love for rice and shrimp, I’ll admit that I haven’t tried as many things from Sitar as I have at some other places on this list. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve eaten, though! I unfortunately can’t comment on the dine-in experience, as I’ve always gotten my food to-go (sat down at a table just to get the photo lol); however, I can at least attest to the fact that they have some pretty speedy service. Overall, I’ve had a great experience, and I’ll definitely be back once I start craving shrimp biryani again.

2. OSH Restaurant & Grill

No, the duplicate photos are not a glitch. It was just the best way I could think to make sure that the image wouldn’t show up huge on everybody’s screens (so please bear with me).

I don’t think I’d ever been to an Uzbek restaurant before OSH, but boy did it set the bar high. To start off, the dinnerware is so pretty. Perhaps I’m just used to food being served on plain plates, but the matching plates, cups, and teapots felt fun and fancy to me. As for the food, all the dishes I tried over the course of my two visits were so good that writing about it is making my mouth water. I particularly enjoyed the lagman (oops that’s another noodle dish) and lamb kebab. The latter especially surprised me with how tender it was. But seriously, wow. I’m going to stop typing now so that I can think of other things that won’t make me unbearably hungry.

1. The Boba Bar

Last but not least is The Boba Bar! For everybody thinking, Wait, but that’s not a restaurant!, I’d have to agree. That being said, I really love the place (the I’ve-been-three-times-in-this-past-week-and-the-staff-remember-my-face-and-I-dream-of-their-boba-when-I-go-back-home-for-break kind of love), so I don’t care! The decor, the music, the drinks—it’s all just *chef’s kiss*. I’ve made it about a quarter of the way through the menu so far, and my favorite definitely has to be the brown sugar boba. Honorable mentions go to the peach yakult and the korean strawberry milk. Everything I’ve had has been really good, so I’m very excited to try more of their drinks.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but if you’ve got any suggestions for more restaurants I can visit, email them to [email protected]! I’d love to explore some new places (provided they aren’t too expensive). Happy eating everybody!

The Newest “Biscuit Love(r)”

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My Egg Plate and Emilio’s East Nasty *peep the hot sauce; always a must!*

I have found the most amazing breakfast place. Well, I didn’t find it, and loads of people already know about it, but it has become my newest obsession. It also has transformed me from a “Breakfast Hater” to a “Breakfast Lover.” Biscuit Love in Hillsboro Village on Belcourt Avenue is my new favorite food spot. It serves mouth-watering breakfast foods with a southern twist. Of course, they are known for their biscuits, since it’s literally right in their name, but they also serve some amazing fried chicken to tie the meal together. But, I haven’t even gotten to the best part! Biscuit Love is on the Commodore Card! Hoorah for our college-student wallets!

I must say my journey to become a Biscuit Love fanatic was not smooth. I have never really been a fan of breakfast food. I would eat the occasional pancake or waffle, but I never really had a huge affinity to the stereotypical foods eaten in the morning. The first time I went to Biscuit Love was actually with my Dad when I first moved into college in the fall of 2020. We went on a Sunday morning before he left to return to my home in Maryland, so I may be biased when it comes to this place because it was the beginning of my Vanderbilt experience. Yet, the food alone supports why this place is a must for any freshman looking for a cozy and chill breakfast spot.

My Dad ordered the S.E.C., which is a warm buttery biscuit topped with sausage, a scrambled egg, and a gooey slice of cheddar cheese. I was overwhelmed at first by the options and slightly scared because I wasn’t a huge breakfast food fan. Eggs are an enigma to me: sometimes they taste good, other times they taste like eggs. I also hadn’t eaten the traditional southern meal of biscuits and fried chicken. So, I went the safe route and got the Egg Plate, which had scrambled eggs, a biscuit and jam, cheese grits, and bacon. We were seated in the back, which is a really cool quasi-patio. The windows have a slight reflection, so the place looks bigger than it actually is. The food came out quickly and the service was amazing.

We dug in, and the food was divine. The biscuit melted in my mouth, the eggs had a savory buttery flavor that did not disappoint, and the bacon was sooooooo crispy. I don’t think my dad and I talked for the first 10 minutes as we devoured our first Biscuit Love meal. I was surprised at how much I had enjoyed my first southern breakfast. I had been to iHop and some small-town breakfast spots, but none of them quite hit the mark. I began to have a new appreciation for breakfast food, and subsequently, I ventured into uncharted territory within this food realm. I tried dishes called East Nasty, the Bonuts, and the Southern Benny. Side note, aren’t the food names so stinkin’ cute???

Ever since my first Biscuit Love experience with my Dad, I have brought everyone I care about to this cute spot. I brought my friend Emilio to celebrate his arrival to America to study at Vanderbilt, since he was remote in the fall in Portugal. I went with some of my girlfriends to celebrate Valentine’s day. I also frequently go on easy Saturday mornings with my friends to just chill out and catch up. It’s a special place with an unmatched energy. The staff is lovely and they really care about their community. I have seen them helping people without homes with their warm meals and warm hearts. I know that it is late in our freshman year, so you may have already heard about this place. But, I urge you to go to Biscuit Love, try the East Nasty with scrambled egg, and make a new friend over some amazing breakfast food.

Walker Tries to Feed a Venus Flytrap?! (or We Visit Bicentennial State Park)

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It’s officially the last Nashville Wanderer’s post of the year! We’ve explored a lot of places throughout our first year at Vanderbilt, making great memories along the way, and hopefully, through these posts, we’ve inspired you to travel off campus as well. This week Walker and I decided to pack a lot into one post, so we went and visited one of our favorite places in Nashville: the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. Not to be confused with Centennial Park, Bicentennial is located right down the hill past the Tennessee State Capitol. It’s a bit of a hike if you decide to walk — about 45 minutes (which I still highly recommend) — but only a short eight-minute ride if you decide to Uber. Since the 19-acre park is so beautiful and has a multitude of attractions, I made a list to cover as many of the features as I could. Bicentennial has got:

  • The Greek-inspired Tennessee Amphitheatre
  • The Nashville Farmers’ Market
  • The Court of Three Stars (the center has an echo spot like Upper Quad) surrounded by a Carillon of 50 Greek-styled bell towers
  • Rivers of Tennessee Splash Fountains
  • A 200-foot-wide Granite Map of Tennessee
  • A World War II Memorial with an 18,000-ton moving granite globe
  • The Tennessee State Museum right across from the Court of Three Stars

For our trip, Walker and I spent our time exploring the Tennessee State Museum, the Court of Three Stars and bell towers, and the Nashville Farmers’ Market. We started at the museum, which is free to the public, and were immediately blown away by the structure and detail of the exhibits. Music, racial movements, the Civil War, sports, clothing through the decades, paintings, and even quilting (I still don’t know why quilting was involved) were covered in the wonderfully arranged displays of Tennessee’s origins and past. The museum had plenty of interactive screens and videos that covered each exhibit and also had plenty of photo-worthy architecture as well (the place is so huge that I honestly lost Walker for a solid ten minutes).

Before we left the museum, we hit up the children’s area (you should not be surprised by this point) and it honestly had some of the coolest art from the entire place. While the general exhibits had lots of history, the children’s area had all of the bright murals one would look for. The floor was covered by a giant map of Tennessee and the walls had multiple colorful pieces on them; one of them even included the Batman Building, but Walker failed at getting my photo next to it (rip).

After chilling at the museum for a while, we headed over to the park itself to check out the WWII memorial. As mentioned above, the WWII memorial has a giant, heavy black granite globe in the center of it, showing the places around the world that Tennessee troops went to during the war. The memorial is surrounded by cherry blossom trees and leads the way to the Court of Three Stars.

This area is so cool to experience because one direction you’ve got a beautiful lawn leading up to the State Capitol hill, and the other way you have 50 Greek-inspired columns that encircle a humongous granite version of the Tennessee Tristar. The lawn was undergoing construction when we visited this time (hence the lack of photos), but from past visits, I can assure you that it is a sight you will want to see while at Vanderbilt.

For our last stop, we hopped into the Nashville Farmers’ Market to check out some of the cool printing shops and local businesses inside. We had grabbed food at Commons before we left (gotta get that swipe), but the market also has bubble tea, crepes, Mexican, coffee, Jamaican, Korean, BBQ, a deli/grill, Jeni’s ice cream, and more. Since we weren’t eating anything there, we shopped, took some artsy photos with a magazine (check below), and then headed to the outside market and garden center.

The outside market hosts a lot of events throughout the year, and although there was no specific event the day we were there, they had some food trucks and neighborhood vendors selling their art (I got a bag of scrap fabric for only $5). The garden center, Gardens of Babylon, has actually been rated one of the most environmentally friendly businesses in Nashville. It was so fun to see all of the different kinds of plants (some were the same ones from Stevenson’s greenhouse) and shop around for flowers and succulents. Walker and I also spent a shameful seven minutes trying to get a mini Venus flytrap to eat a leaf (it did not work). But all jokes aside, I will definitely be hitting this place up for some affordable house plants for next year and recommend the same for anyone else.

Bicentennial State Park is a jam-packed experience that makes you want to come back time and time again. It is seriously one of the most beautiful places I’ve found in Nashville and I hope that you take the time to see it for yourself. Whether you’re looking for some good food, a scenic place to study, a chance to get to know Tennessee’s rich history, or a new succulent, Bicentennial has got it all and is only a walk away.

Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park Info: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/bicentennial-mall

Tennessee State Museum Hours and Info: https://tnmuseum.org/

Nashville Farmers’ Market Hours and Info: https://www.nashvillefarmersmarket.org/