wokery

Originally Posted by lorend

I would not call Bridges healthy. A good many of their options are fried, and they don't focus on all of the food groups...it's primarily carbs, protein and sauce.

Delicious carbs, protein and sauce I might add.

Originally Posted by maclover

One of the best places for food is located in the mohawk-nursing? building which is right beside the psychology building.. it has amazing variety of wraps, salads, pizzas and I think it also has tim hortons... you should try that

The wraps there are incredible!

It also would depend on what classes you have... if you're grabbing something quick between classes, maybe the location is more important than the price, so get to know what you can eat - or like - in each place.

Mac isn't that hard to navigate, I know it seems intimidating at first, but it gets easier very quickly. Good luck!

How long does it take to go to the nearest grocery store?

Now that people are starting to mention off-campus places to eat, I would suggest Saigon Asian as well. I work there lol but the food is actually REALLY cheap and for the majority without any MSG. You can get a small pho for 4.99, extra large (which is ENORMOUS .. you could feed a family with it) for 6.50. There is nothing on the menu that is over 8.00!! There's healthy options too, like fresh rice paper rolls, and vermicelli with lemongrass grilled chicken. It's on King, just down King from Pita Pit and across from Montfort and CIBC. It's a cheap place to go when you don't want to eat Commons anymore. It doesn't take meal plan though, but for $6.00 (or whatever price you pay these days for a sub) you can get a lot more food than a sub or a pita, lol. Almost the entire server staff is just McMaster students so if you want a job during the school year you're almost guaranteed a job too =P free meals!!

ALSO they deliver for orders over $20 .. so you can order it from residence too.

ANYWAY I know this seems like a shameless plug but even if I didn't work there I actually would wish I had known about this in first year!!! Cheaper than ordering a pizza ... and you can make more meals out of it than a pita of equal or higher cost.

Originally Posted by smiles

How long does it take to go to the nearest grocery store?

Fortinos is on Main, and is definitely the closest to Mac. (It is brutally expensive, in my opinion). From the hospital (which is right on Main), it's about a 15 minute walk for me (and then just add on the time it would take to walk from your residence to Main St W).

If you want to go to Metro at University Plaza in Dundas (there's also an LCBO there lol), it's about a 7-10 minute bus ride along Main St W (just wait at the stop on Main & Emerson on the same side as McMaster). Try to go on a weekday though, since in the evenings or on weekends the buses run far less frequently and you might have to wait a long time with bags of groceries around you.

If you want to go to Metro at Main & Longwood (just on the outside/outskirts of Westdale), take the bus from the centre of campus (take the 5A, 51, or 1A) through Westdale and then get off at Longwood. It's also like 7-10-ish minutes for me, but I tendedt o prefer to go here since there are more buses going in that direction, and so you don't have to wait as long for a bus.

BUT THE BEST OPTION if you are buying a lot of groceries and don't want to spend a lot is to bus it to No Frills at Main & Tisdale. I think this is mostly just an option if you live off-campus though .. I suppose if you live on residence you're not going to need to buy so many groceries that going to No Frills would be worth it. It's like 20-ish minute bus ride (1A or 10 B-Line will go that far east). It's really cheap.


Anyway .. long post .. the point is you'll probably just go to Fortinos, because it's the closest. If you took a bus it would be even faster. If you are in a serious rush there's a convenience store on Main right across from Mac (at Main and Bowman) called "Min's Mart" which sells some food-ish necessities (no comment about how fresh it is lol).

Assuming you get groceries and live on rez, Would No Frills make a big difference compared to Metro and/or Fortino's ?

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Assuming you get groceries and live on rez, Would No Frills make a big difference compared to Metro and/or Fortino's ?

It really depends on what groceries you are getting, and how many. When I lived on res, I rarely got groceries .. I mean I would have some random things (like milk, juice, some fresh fruit, Bulk Barn candy, granola bars, just snack-ish items), but pretty much every meal I got was with my meal card on campus. And honestly with stuff like that, you could either just (a) buy it at home at whatever supermarket you prefer and just bring it with you to res, esp. if you go home often, or (b) just go to the overpriced Fortinos or Metro, cause if you're just buying a few items it's really not worth the trek to No Frills.

So yeah, honestly, I don't think No Frills is worth it if you're living in res and on a meal plan. Maybe if you were in Bates/Keyes on a reduced plan and actually cooked real meals it would be worth it. Otherwise .. for a box of granola bars, a carton of milk, some apples, and a box of pop tarts, it's not worth the time you will spend getting there, especially in first year when you might still be learning to manage your time efficiently. I would only (strongly) reccomend it if you were off-campus and ridiculously frugal like myself =P lol.

Originally Posted by ladyh

Now that people are starting to mention off-campus places to eat, I would suggest Saigon Asian as well. I work there lol but the food is actually REALLY cheap and for the majority without any MSG. You can get a small pho for 4.99, extra large (which is ENORMOUS .. you could feed a family with it) for 6.50. There is nothing on the menu that is over 8.00!! There's healthy options too, like fresh rice paper rolls, and vermicelli with lemongrass grilled chicken. It's on King, just down King from Pita Pit and across from Montfort and CIBC. It's a cheap place to go when you don't want to eat Commons anymore. It doesn't take meal plan though, but for $6.00 (or whatever price you pay these days for a sub) you can get a lot more food than a sub or a pita, lol. Almost the entire server staff is just McMaster students so if you want a job during the school year you're almost guaranteed a job too =P free meals!!

I go there so often I love pho!

Haha, that actually makes sense, Thanks! snacks aren't that important anyway.. I think

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Haha, that actually makes sense, Thanks! snacks aren't that important anyway.. I think

trust me...snacks will be important in first year when you are running late for class or dont have time to grab a bite to eat :-)

do nofrills/metro/etc. there accept the meal plan ?

No, grocery store do not accept the meal plan.

Originally Posted by lizziemcg

fresh fruit or veggies on campus

This idea was floated a few years back by the MSU, but never caught on. Such things as this are why it's now the "Freshman Fifteen" whereas before it was the "Freshman Five".

Poetically, these numbers also closely correspond to what you would have expected then and should now expect to pay for a decent lunch on campus. Well actually, to be fair it should be pointed out that "back then," it might have been less than five dollars.