The answers to one of life’s most important questions down below.
Hello world!
Welcome to my first blog post!
When applying to Hopkins, I used this blog site to gather research about anything and everything, and I would have liked to see more posts about the food on-campus. I know that the website gives you names and operation hours, but I needed information about the actual food! Now, a year later, I’m here on Hopkins Insider as a blogger to give you an inside look!
During the first week of the semester, I only knew of the FFC (the Fresh Food Cafe) and CharMar (Charles Street Market). Also, my mind was blown when I knew that you could use meal swipes at CharMar.
If you want a sense of the locations, you can find them on the virtual tour or refer to the cover image.
Anyways, I present to you a guide to food at Hopkins!
The FFC is one of the main freshman dining halls. It has breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night. They have pasta, bagels, fruit, and a whole variety of foods! Curly fries and grilled cheese are some staple foods of my meals. FFC has so much variety; one day they will have a taco bar and another day, a churro bar. Late night is from 9 PM-12AM, and they bring out breakfast foods, like pancakes. Sometimes, on the first Sunday of the month, FFC has Sterling Brunch. Now, this was something that I was not aware of. They go all out. I’m talking smoked salmon, crepe station, shrimp, french toast bake, risotto, and more. Some of the best things about FFC is the waffle machines, which sometimes have flavors like red velvet and apple cinnamon, in addition to plain. Also, they have an omelet station with a bunch of sauces, vegetables, and meat for your eggs, where you can make your own eggs. Last thing, FFC ice cream is amazing. Trust me. Try it.
CharMar is right across from the Hopkins sign. It is a combination of many things. First, a large part of the market is a grocery store. They have drinks, microwavable foods, and snacks. Also, they have a shelf of sushi from Bamboo, so you don’t have to walk all the way over there. They have an ice cream mochi, salad, and make your own smoothie bar. Right when you walk in, you see a sandwich station and hot foods. Now, another part of CharMar is Meals in a Minute. You can use meal swipes here. They have a variety of options, so you grab a meal, two snacks, and a drink. Snacks vary from yogurt, chips, and fruit. All in all, CharMar has a lot to offer, and you should definitely go check it out.
So, you walk into Levering and see the cafe. Then, keep walking and go down the stairs, and you’ll see a variety of options. There’s a pizza bar, and they have a Mediterranean bowl station. It has a food court vibe and something for everyone.
As you can see, there are a lot of options for coffee at Hopkins, each with their own unique attributes. Brody’s cafe has breakfast sandwiches, cookies, bottled drinks, and pastries, in addition to the cafe drinks. The cafe has so much natural lighting which is so beautiful. Gilman’s cafe has coffee, snacks, and a bring your own cup discount. Levering cafe probably has the most options in terms of coffee and tea but also offer snacks and small meals. Last but not least, Mudd cafe is huge and are above lecture halls. This cafe also has a lot of natural light, making it an ideal place to study. Like the others, this has pastries, coffee, and sometimes bagels!
I love the LaB. I cannot emphasize how cool it is. The aesthetic is game room meets science. They have cool snack foods that you can buy while playing games. They have Nintendo Switches, Wiis, an XBOX, and just a lot of cool gaming systems. Back to the food, like the whole vibe of the place, the foods are innovative as well. They offer cubes and unique milkshakes.
Nolans is located in Charles Commons, making it a convenient eating location for people living there. It is really similar to the FFC in a lot of aspects, except that it’s a little smaller and the food options differ, even though they still have the omelet station and ice cream.
Bamboo cafe is a Japanese-style dining location. They have a variety of delicious curry and udon like chicken, vegetable, and tempura. They often have deals on rolls and sushi and have boba. It is a great place to eat if you’re craving something warm. The food also comes out really quickly and is steaming hot. Definitely check it out! My recommendation is the chicken curry!
These aren’t the only dining options near Hopkins; however, they are some of the most popular ones. To shortly recap some other options within close walking distance, there is a Chipotle, Pizza Studio, Starbucks, Coldstone, Honeygrow, Subway, PotBelly, PekoPeko Ramen, Niwana (a Japanese and Korean restaurant), University Market (highly recommend the chicken strips and fries!) and a ThB (a bagel and deli place). There are so many more amazing places in Baltimore as well!
Protip: There is a website that shows you the meal options for the day for places like FFC and CharMar. It is super helpful when deciding what to eat!
Hopefully, this was helpful and you should definitely check out all of these places!
Sincerely, Sejean
