Class of 2014: Freshman Blog

A friend told me the other day that you can tell a lot about a person by the receipts in their purse. Curious to see what it said about me, I rummaged through my wallet and discovered – I love to eat. You see one of the fabulous things about Hopkins is that its campus is located right in middle of the amazing city Baltimore. As my wallet and expanding waste line will tell you, exploring the many different restaurants in the area is just one of the many benefits to living in an urban environment. So I have decided to dedicate this blog to my five favorite local places to eat and give all you prospective freshman a taste of culinary life here at Hopkins.

1. Tamber’s

Vegetable pakora, stuffed garlic nan and chicken tikka masala... heaven.

Literally right down the block from my dorm lies Tamber’s, a delicious diner with a combination of American and Indian food and a regular Sunday haunt for me and my friends. “Diner food combined with Indian food?” you ask. Yes, I recognize the oddity, but trust me it is amazing. Half the menu is your typical burgers, milkshakes and fries, while the other half is traditional Indian food. The combination is great if you have friends who are not adventurous enough to try the Indian side of the menu. A great deal the management offers is 10% if you show your Hopkins ID, so to start the week off right a group of my friends and me usually go to Tamber’s for lunch Sunday afternoons. For starters, we get vegetable pakora (mixed veggies dipped in fried batter) and stuffed garlic nan, and then it is chicken tikka masala for my entre. Not only is the food delicious, but the atmosphere is great – I have spent many meals cracking up in the booths of Tambers with my friends.

2. Uni-Mini

To fill my late night snack craving I head to University Market, or “Uni-Mini” as the students here have affectionately dubbed it. Uni-Mini is a combination of a convenience store and a deli. My favorite thing to order? Chicken parm sub. It is currently 1 AM and it is taking all my self-restraint to call up Seema, my fellow chicken parm lover, and head around the corner to Uni-Mini. The subs are delicious and hot – and you get a free drink when you buy a ten inch. Uni-Mini offers an array of other sandwiches, but trust me when I say you want to get the chicken parm.

Seema and Steph bake funfetti cupcakes!

3. Donna’s

Donna’s is a great little café a few blocks from campus and actually where I ate the very first day I visited Hopkins. While the menu boasts a number of great options, I highly encourage you to try their hummus and warm pita. My friend Steph and I went to dinner there the other night, and the waiter was shocked at the speed with which we devoured the plate. They have a great little outdoor seating area that gets fixed up with a tent and heater during the winter, making it a cozy meal for whoever your lunch or dinner companion happens to be!

4. Chipotle

Of course I had to include Chipotle on this list, if you read my previous blogs you know about my obsession with this restaurant. Chipotle is right down the block from the Homewood campus, making it a popular lunch destination for many Hopkins students, especially if you go 12 o’clock. As my suitemate Lauren will say, the only way to go at Chipotle is a burrito. I prefer barbacoa, but to each his own. An exciting promotion my friend Matt and I discovered this Halloween was a $2 burrito in celebration of the holiday. While Chipotle is worth the trip any day of the year, this special discount treat makes the restaurant a must every October 31^st.

5. Gertrude’s

Gertrude’s is located at the Baltimore Museum of Art, which is actually right on the Homewood campus. Now normally I would save Gertrude’s for dinners out with parents, considering the fact my college-student budget cannot usually afford the delicacies of this restaurant. HOWEVER, my friend Steph recently found out about this amazing deal called “Tuesdays with Gertie!” Each Tuesday night the restaurant serves some of their most popular entrees for only $12 each! Tonight, Steph, Seema and I decided on a girls’ night at Gertrude’s to try their special.  And after the fried chicken I had, I can confidently say that we will be becoming Tuesday regulars.

While I cannot complain about our freshman cafeteria, the FFC, it is certainly nice to go out with friends every once in a while and explore the city of Baltimore. Although my jeans may fit a little snugger, experiencing these amazing eateries is definitely worth it, and has been one of my favorite aspects of life as a Blue Jay!