Ordering ahead:

Ordering ahead allows food to be ready quicker and saves you some time during lunch.

• Viva Thai Bistro – The food takes a time to make so ordering before ensures you won’t have to wait too long. They have noodles, fish, salads, soups, fried rice, and curries.
• Lazy Dog – This is a great place to either order ahead or just get take out, they have burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, noodle, rice, and much more to choose from.
• Mama Chen’s – Ordering ahead will save you time as they can start making your food as you’re walking over. They have noodles, soup, fish, and many Chinese/Taiwanese dishes to eat.

Least crowded places:

These places are less crowded and will be much quicker to order your food.

• Target – lots of variety and especially fast if you have a card. You can get a variety of refrigerated and microwave foods, junk food, and vegetables
• Inteanet – They have a tendency to be slow to make drinks, although ordering is quick.
• Super Cue – As a result of the distance Super Cue tends not to get crowded, although food may take longer to make. They have chicken, fish, fries, rice, ramen, and a variety of milk teas.
• Lyfe Kitchen – Not very many people visit Lyfe Kitchen, so it’s relatively empty, but sometimes food will be a longer wait.

• 7 eleven – If lines form, they tend to move quickly, although you must consider walking time too.

Places to avoid:

These places tend to have crowds regardless of what day of the week you go, which means you may spend a good portion of your lunch hour waiting in a line.

• Subway – Lines tend to move pretty slowly, but you can order custom sandwiches.
• Pieology – Although you can customize your pizza, there’s always a crowd, with about 5 minutes per pizza, long lines form quickly.
• Starbucks – there’s always a line at the Main St Starbucks, but Bay Club Starbucks tends to be uncrowded.
• Cafe LaTTea – Not only is there usually a crowd at Cafe LaTTea, but it can be slow (if you order a bagel or honey toast)
• 85 – Lots of people go to 85 to buy bread and tea, so there tend to be long lines that usually move quickly
• Philz – Although coffee and bagels are made quickly, the line to pay tends to run long.

*If you go to any of these places try to beat the crowd or go later into lunch*

Alternatives:

Sometimes regardless of avoiding certain places and going to less crowded areas, you still run into lines, so here are some other alternatives to consider too.

• Find friends with an open periods
  • Although you don’t get the adventure of going off campus, this leaves more time to hang out with your friends and not have to worry about lines
• Find friends that can drive or bike to food places
  • Driving anywhere further from school will help save time or leaving quickly to arrive at places requiring 10+ minute walks. You can either avoid or beat crowds.
• Order delivery – it requires less effort but will be more expensive, and you must order ahead, so it arrives in time for lunch.
  • Pizza – Pizza will arrive hot and ready, just be sure to avoid Pizza My Heart, they have extremely expensive delivery
  • Doordash – Ordering from any of your favorite places close or far, but remember to consider the fact that it will take longer for them to deliver than directly ordering from a store.