{"id":135,"date":"2026-02-02T14:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/?p=135"},"modified":"2026-02-02T14:11:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:11:40","slug":"the-dining-hall-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/2026\/02\/02\/the-dining-hall-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dining Hall Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I will address a very serious and controversial matter: which University of Iowa dining hall is the best?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You may hear the propaganda online that Hillcrest is superior to both Catlett and Burge in every aspect. While Hillcrest may have some advantages over its two culinary competitors, it still falls short in certain categories. Here is the number one pro and con of each campus dining hall, from my expert dorm resident opinion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hillcrest\u2013<\/b><\/p>\n

Pro: Hillcrest definitely has the most variety in options. I assume this is because it is the only west side dining hall, so it needs to include in one what Catlett and Burge include combined<\/span>. <\/b>I personally don\u2019t think there\u2019s a difference in food taste, but you certainly get more food to choose from.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Con: the location is inconvenient if you live in an east side dorm or have east side classes (and many classes are on the east side). When the winter weather hits, you probably won\u2019t think the panini bar is enough to justify the trek across the river\u2013unless you\u2019re ready to grip your sandwich with frostbitten fingers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Burge\u2013<\/b><\/p>\n

Pro: The seating options in Burge are by far the most spacious and varied. Hillcrest is pretty cramped and Catlett only has a few different table sizes. Burge, on the other hand, has tables for one, two, four, and six. Plus, since it\u2019s often labeled the \u201cworst\u201d dining hall, it tends to be less crowded than Catlett.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Con: Opposite of Hillcrest, Burge probably has the least variety in food options from day to day. The menu stays fairly consistent with only slight variations, so you do have to really enjoy the food stations they have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Catlett\u2013<\/b><\/p>\n

Pro: Catlett has the most options for the east side location, blending convenience and variety. Plus, on weeknights, you get access to Fire Up Grill to satisfy your cravings while cramming for your next test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Con: Though Catlett has more options than Burge, it tends to have blander options. Instead of mixed steamed vegetables, there is just plain broccoli or carrots or green beans. Rather than a waffle bar, there are just bagels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While each dining hall has its own strengths and weaknesses, you may still be wondering: which of these factors matters the most? Which one is <\/span>actually <\/span><\/i>the best?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, you\u2019re just going to have to try all three of them and decide for yourself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Until next time!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I will address a very serious and controversial matter: which University of Iowa dining hall is the best?\u00a0 You may hear the propaganda online that Hillcrest is superior to both Catlett and Burge in every aspect. While Hillcrest may have some advantages over its two culinary competitors, it still falls short in certain categories. Here is the number one pro and con of each campus dining hall, from my expert dorm resident opinion.\u00a0 Hillcrest\u2013 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135\/revisions\/137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.admissions.uiowa.edu\/emily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}