On a hot July evening after a long day of classes, Anika Kini of Rye, New York, and her friend Devin Berkowitz of New York, were craving a pick me up during a long night of trend story work. Kini opened the bright green Uber Eats app on her phone, ready to place an order.
With just a 10-15 minute wait time for Dairy Queen, a chocolate brownie blizzard soon arrived at Jones Hall.
“I sometimes get tired of the dining hall food, and it’s nice to have a change in pace,” Kini said. “It’s sometimes nice to just kick back, relax and work in the lounge. It’s even better when you have delicious food delivered to your door.”
Cherubs like Kini ordered dinner or dessert together. They used delivery apps including DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub to explore local eats.
Dinner at Allison Hall started at 5 p.m. and ended at 7 p.m., the time when evening lectures began. Therefore, in the time between dinner and check-in, cherubs ordered local delights from Evanston’s finest establishments.
Kini said she enjoyed ordering regularly from several local restaurants like Deep Purpl and Sweetgreen. She said the food at both establishments was consistently good, and her delivery experience was fast and easy. Kini and her friends often ordered food as a group. With the help of another app called Venmo, paying was easy for everyone.
“It’s nice to have different cuisines than the typical chicken fingers and french fries served in the dining hall,” Kini said. “Dining hall food is fine, but there is not much variety, and sometimes I am craving something specific.”
During the first week of the program, Sargent was the only open dining hall, which was a 15-minute walk from the dorm. This led Caroline McHugh of Chicago to order in frequently.
“Sargent was a far walk, and sometimes I did not have the time or energy to go,” McHugh said. “I also like to order ahead before a field trip and schedule the order the night before, so it arrives on time, and I can focus on getting things done.”
Oliver Konopko of New York said he occasionally orders food as the dining hall options are sometimes unsatisfactory.
“At times I feel hungry after class, which leads me to order food,” he said. “I try to limit my food orders to only healthy options.”
Heather Mooney of Brooklyn, New York, said that although ordering in is a great privilege, Jones Hall is a difficult place for delivery drivers to find.
“The drivers don’t know where to go because of the alley where Jones is,” she said. “They once dropped my food at Fisk Hall, a five-minute walk from where our dorm is.”
Cherubs appreciated having so many opportunities for food delivery so that they could relax with friends, while also supporting the local restaurants.
