Welcome, Class of 2018! I hope you’re settling in well, and you are enjoying the first few days of what will be a long and exciting ride here.
Moving to a new place is always exciting – you get to rebuild your ‘network’. My personal favourite is learning all the cool places a city has to offer, and believe me, Kitchener and Waterloo (KW) is full of them.
Over the term I’ll try to produce lists of places that myself and my friends have enjoyed over our years here. They will be themed, and seeing as you’re still fresh on campus and have a million other things to worry about, the first theme is ‘places close by to eat’. Whether you’re sick of V1 Food, or KD after realizing it’s the only thing you are capable of cooking, or you just want to try something new, there are tons of places to eat around campus. Some of the greatest establishments are a bit more hidden away – not as obvious as ‘the place to get great food.’ Here are five unsuspecting great places to eat close to campus.
Al Madina’s
This place is located in the plaza just on the other side of Phillip Street. This is one of the better shawarma spots in town, and is renowned for their variety of great toppings (just go, you’ll understand). This place is great if your taste buds are looking for a change. Grab-and-go as well as sit-down.
MeetPoint
This place is located on University just on the other side of Phillip from campus. MeetPoint serves up some unreal Turkish and Turkish-fusion food at unreal prices – it’s hard to find a dish over $15. The patio and relaxed atmosphere make it a great spot for a sit-down dinner with friends, made even better with their cheap beer! If you’ve never had Turkish food, now’s the time.
Vegetarian Fast Food
The name is self-explanatory, but the food…you need to try the food. They have an interesting take on Pad Thai which is a must-try. Plus, once you have your EngSoc sticker on your WatCard (go to the Orifice!) you get 10% off!
Kismet Restaurant
Kismet is located in the University Plaza facing Phillip Street. They have a wide range of Bangladeshi and Indian meals, my favourites being the mulligatawny soup and butter chicken (comes with naan). They have seating, but I’ve always just taken it back to POETS. Definitely not the best Indian food I’ve ever had but it wins on convenience when you want to mix it up.
Chen’s
There are a good load of Chinese restaurants in the plaza, but for some reason Chen’s seems to stand out. It’s a solid sit-down place, but their take-out is super-quick as well. Anything off their specials menu is great, and they have a super-spicy Pad Thai if you’re up for it! Also check out China Legend, Mikey’s and Mr.Panino’s for decent Chinese.
Well, there you have it. Five places you should give a shot close to campus. I’d love to hear your feedback, send me an email at mymtan@uwaterloo.ca! Next issue it will be another five spots…what other kinds of places would you like to hear about?
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