Hokies Gotta Eat

So it’ll be a while until you’re here on campus, but for those of you who may be spending a few days on either side of Orientation around Blacksburg, I wanted to throw in the Off-Campus dining opportunities.

As a freshman and on-campus resident, you’ll be eating in a dining hall or at Squires 95% of the time. Familiarize yourself with this website: Student Programs
It has everything: daily menus, upcoming special events in dining (theme dinners, when D2 goes trayless, etc), and even links to help create healthy meals.

Try to change it up in terms of where you eat. Yes, you can always eat at Shultz or Owens, but you’ll get really sick of it really fast. And places like ABP (Squires), DX, or West End can drain your dining plan pretty quickly.

Read the daily menus. Deet’s always has paninis (which are great, btw), but their soup changes daily. They also have daily coffee flavors. Owens and West End also have daily specials. Personally, when there’s Sunday Gravy at Owens, it makes my week. So learn to check the menus.
Love the on-campus dining. Remember, we have the best in the country. There’s a reason for that, and you will see why (and it’s not just the lobster at West End).

But say it’s someone’s birthday or you have a date, or heck, you just want to get off campus for a meal. Blacksburg (and Christiansburg) has a lot of great restaurants, and I thought I’d just list my favorites. This is by no means an extensive list.
Souvlaki – Greek food, subs, and salads. Get a gyro (yee-roh) or kebabs. They’re great.
Happy Wok – This place opened my freshman year and within a week had a line out the door. Cheap and tasty Chinese food.
Moe’s – They had the good sense to open during move-in last year. It’s Mexican along the same lines as Chipotle and Qdoba.
Sharkey’s – I love their sandwiches. I forget what night it is, but they have a 99-cent wing night.
More Than Coffee – Blink and you’ll walk right past this place, and that would be a shame. It’s Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food, and if you’re not feeling that adventurous, their cheese fries are great too.
Backstreet’s – Pretty much everything here is good. Get a group of friends out here and get a pizza. Can sometimes be a little slow.
Bogen’s – This place is a great date restaurant or somewhere to go with your parents. It’s a little pricey, but has great American food. And all the entrees are named after locations at Tech.
El Gran Rodeo – Not to be confused with El Rod’s. This place is in Christiansburg. Great Mexican food.
Blacksburg also has the following chains (OK, Moe’s is a chain too): Jimmy John’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Macado’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell TCBY, Starbucks (2), and Subway (2). In Christiansburg, there’s Applebee’s, Taco Bell, Jimmy John’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, IHOP, Texas Steakhouse, Cici’s, 2 more Subways, Red Robin…and that’s just what’s right off 460.
Want to order pizza? I personally think Firehouse is the best. There’s also Gumby’s, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s.
So go find somewhere to eat. I’m still mourning the loss of Boston Beanery.