University of Missouri-Columbia Top Questions

Compared to most colleges, Mizzou's dining halls have really good food with a lot of options. Everywhere has a grill (hamburgers, etc.), a place to create your own sandwich, and a salad bar. They'll also have daily entrees that are different at each location. The main problem is during peak times they all get extremely busy and it can be hard to find a table. There's also 5 restaurants in the Student Center that offer typical American fast food-style (burgers, chicken tenders), sushi, wraps, BBQ, pizza and pasta, and a coffee/shake place. If none of those are what you want, downtown Columbia has places like Noodles, Chipotle, Which Wich (similar to quizno's/subway), and lots of pizza places. All in all, it's pretty hard to go hungry at Mizzou.

Compared to most colleges, Mizzou's dining halls have really good food with a lot of options. Everywhere has a grill (hamburgers, etc.), a place to create your own sandwich, and a salad bar. They'll also have daily entrees that are different at each location. The main problem is during peak times they all get extremely busy and it can be hard to find a table. There's also 5 restaurants in the Student Center that offer typical American fast food-style (burgers, chicken tenders), sushi, wraps, BBQ, pizza and pasta, and a coffee/shake place. If none of those are what you want, downtown Columbia has places like Noodles, Chipotle, Which Wich (similar to quizno's/subway), and lots of pizza places. All in all, it's pretty hard to go hungry at Mizzou.

Dining on campus is dynamic. There are several different options at any point in the day. There are multiple dining halls that work on a meal point system: at the start of the semester, each student has a set number of meal points. Those meal points are used to pay for meals at the dining halls. Dining halls are buffet style, and offer different types of food, from salads, to sandwiches, to pizza, and dessert. Each dining hall has its specialty, (Dobbs has the best grill, Rollins has pizza, etc.) but all of them serve the basics: bagels, cereal, a deli, a grille. Certain options are always available, while others are available at specific times. There are also specialty dining halls that are more like restaurants, where individual food items can be purchased with meal points. Besides the dining halls, there are many restaurants near and on campus that serve as an alternative.

Easy Charge is genius! It's basically a thing you sign up for so that you can pay for all your meals at any food location on campus with an easy swipe of your ID card. Your MyZou account is charged, meaning that your scholarships and loans can pay for it if not your parents. I easy charged mostly coffee and food almost every day. I ate at the Journalism Cafe a lot, where they have good sized salads and sandwiches as well as breakfast stuff. Their breakfast bagel sandwich is great before a journalism class at 9 in the morning. Similar cafes exist in Memorial Union, Ellis Library, and the Student Center. I think dorm cafeterias work on a point system, and you prepay and use your points to buy meals. I hardly ever ate there but when I did I was surprised at the variety of food they prepared. Not much of it was gourmet, but at least you had some healthy options like salads and vegetable stir-fry to compensate for the burgers and greasy pizza. There used to be a McDonalds, but Campus Dining Services kicked them out so that the University controlled all food places on campus. The only corporate restaurant is Starbucks in Memorial Union, and you can (thankfully!) use easy charge for your lattes.

Easy Charge is genius! It's basically a thing you sign up for so that you can pay for all your meals at any food location on campus with an easy swipe of your ID card. Your MyZou account is charged, meaning that your scholarships and loans can pay for it if not your parents. I easy charged mostly coffee and food almost every day. I ate at the Journalism Cafe a lot, where they have good sized salads and sandwiches as well as breakfast stuff. Their breakfast bagel sandwich is great before a journalism class at 9 in the morning. Similar cafes exist in Memorial Union, Ellis Library, and the Student Center. I think dorm cafeterias work on a point system, and you prepay and use your points to buy meals. I hardly ever ate there but when I did I was surprised at the variety of food they prepared. Not much of it was gourmet, but at least you had some healthy options like salads and vegetable stir-fry to compensate for the burgers and greasy pizza. There used to be a McDonalds, but Campus Dining Services kicked them out so that the University controlled all food places on campus. The only corporate restaurant is Starbucks in Memorial Union, and you can (thankfully!) use easy charge for your lattes.

There is a WIDE variety of food at Mizzou. My favorite place is Plaza 900. They have 3 different entres each night, and all three of them are delicious! They also have a large salad buffet and delicious fresh baked desserts. Also, they have a small store that you can use your meals as points and buy food that you can take home. I normally go there at the end of the week to spend all of my left over points. You can buy cereal, sandwiches, drinks, fruit, frozen meals, and much more. There is also an Asian restaurant called Eva J's. This place is down right yummy! Baja Grill is a Tex Mex dining hall that you use your meals as points. You go up to the couter to order what you want and then they cook it and bring it to you. You can also get your meal to go. I like this place because I think you meal points go further. Each meal is 7 points and the different items (tacos, burritos, etc.) are only 2-3 points each. I stopped buying the meal plan about a year ago and I regret it. So, this semester, I put money on my EZ Charge, which is where you can use your student ID as a debit card at all of the restaurants and shops.

Brady Commons is the most commonly used student building at Mizzou. It houses student activities and a variety of food.