Asian cuisine
With more than five choices just for Asian cuisine along Route 1, students may wonder which is the best choice. However, the real questions at hand when choosing an Asian restaurant in College Park is what type of Asian food do you want and how much are you willing to pay?
If you’re after Chinese food, there are three popular restaurants to choose from, including Panda on Lehigh Road, Shanghai Cafe on Route 1 and China Cafe on Knox Road. Shanghai Cafe and Panda offer nearly identical menu items, such as egg rolls, orange chicken, General Tso’s chicken and lo mein, with very similar prices, usually varying by only about 20 cents.
Shanghai Cafe offers a “Weight Watcher Menu” including chicken with steamed, mixed vegetables and scallops with shrimp with broccoli. Panda offers “Diet Crispy Tofu Dishes” as their healthier alternative, although neither restaurants’ menus provide the calorie content of these dishes.
China Cafe offers slightly different dishes than Panda and Shanghai Cafe, such as an assortment of curry dishes. Also, their combination platters, such as sesame chicken and orange chicken, come with soup; Shanghai Cafe’s and Panda’s combination platters do not.
If you are not in the mood for Chinese food, you can find Japanese food and sushi at Wasabi Bistro on College Avenue, or Kiyoko Express Restaurant on Route 1.
Both Wasabi and Kiyoko offer similar sushi rolls ranging from $3.50 to $5, but Kiyoko Express offers Hibachi meals and does not offer bubble tea.
— By Betty Klinck
Tea Time
Tea is a popular drink among College Park students. Some prefer the cooler, fruity taste of bubble tea, while others prefer a more traditional tea. Luckily for these tea-addicted students, there are two great tea establishments right by the campus: Yami Yami Bubble Tea and Rolls and Ten Ren’s Tea Time. But which one is better?
Ten Ren boasts a variety of teas. They have an estimated 60 to 70 flavors, including their popular mango, vanilla and passion fruit teas. In addition, you can add tapioca bubbles, apple jelly, passion fruit jelly, lychee jelly, extra tapioca and other toppings to your tea for an extra 50 cents each.
What makes Ten Ren stand out from other bubble tea places is their assortment of traditional and herbal teas. These teas are brewed with fresh tea leaves, which make for a strong and flavorful taste. If there is one thing Ten Ren does very well, it is authenticity. All of their teas are specially imported from Taiwan. Ten Ren is a great place for tea connoisseurs.
While Yami Yami does not offer traditional tea like Ten Ren does, its bubble tea selection allows for some creativity and is ideal for those who drink bubble tea solely for the bubbles, which you can add at no extra charge. Another perk is that, while there are already 33 flavors, you have the option of mixing an unlimited number of flavors. Yami Yami is a great place for bubble tea lovers, because you can get the most bang for your buck. Don’t know what to order? Honeydew, almond, and strawberry are popular choices. So just take your bubble tea and grab a seat!
— By Leyla Korkut
Birthday Bash
“Celebrate good times, come on,” goes the song “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang. And why not, when celebrating a birthday? But where do you go for the day you’ve had to wait 364 days to celebrate?
Why not Thirsty Turtle? The bar and restaurant boasts its large size in comparison to several other bar and restaurants in the area, according to its website. And this may be something that entices students to visit the place.
Going to Turtle for any event is always a party, so why not go for a birthday? The place will be full of people who undoubtedly will not hesitate to throw up their glasses and cheer your birthday on.
Furthermore, the celebration of a birthday will increase the overall happiness of the bar, which will lead to several meaningful memories for you, the birthday girl or boy.
A few guidelines need to be heeded before you go. Because of the popularity of this bar, it is imperative to dress accordingly. Don’t wear anything you would mind getting beer spilled on.
This goes for shoes as well, because the floor will be sticky. Don’t wear layers, either. You’ll get hot fast, take something off and end up forgetting about it later on in the night.
Other than that, put on your party clothes, grab your friends and have a fun-filled night. Happy birthday!
— By Christina deGraft-Johnson
Escaping the diners
It’s inevitable. No matter how much of a taste tolerance one has, after a while, the food at the dining halls becomes bland, and no combination of spices can put the spark back in the dining experience.
It is at times like this that students journey off the campus to sample their dining options in College Park in hopes of finding something both affordable and delicious.
For a classier dining experience, students can mosey on over to Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill. Located down Route 1, Applebee’s has great specials for the late-night eater, such as half-price appetizers from 3 to 7 p.m. and again after 9 p.m. For those going to Applebee’s with a more filling meal in mind, the Two for $20 deal — an appetizer and two entrees for $20 — is a great way to save money and eat hearty.
If free dessert is what you desire, look no further than Jason’s Deli, one of the newer eateries to come to College Park. Though the sandwiches aren’t cheap (wraps and sandwiches cost roughly $7), meals always include free ice cream.
So when your taste buds call it quits on the dining halls, fear not! A cheap but delicious option is right around the corner.
— By Bill Braun
Late night goes Chinese
When you’re leaving the bars or walking home from a party, some of the most popular places to eat are Shanghai Cafe and Panda. Each establishment offers a buffet-style serving for a set price.
At Panda, which is open until 4 a.m., the buffet price is $5. For the low price, you will get two servings of a predetermined meal with a side of either noodles or fried rice.
Shanghai’s buffet is open until 3 a.m. on weekends and has multiple items to choose from, with General Tso’s chicken being a staple.
Shanghai’s price is $8.95, but they allow you to serve yourself and fill up your container with as much food as can fit.
The proprietors at Shanghai said their customers sometimes fill the containers beyond capacity and, even though food is falling out of the containers, students still try to add more on top.
Panda is located on Lehigh Road next to Potbelly’s. Shanghai is across the street from Thirsty Turtle and next to Hair Cuttery on Route 1.
Shanghai has a much larger seating capacity than Panda. Its employees said the late-night crowd is made up mostly of students, who can get pretty rambunctious.
Panda has a similar atmosphere to Shanghai.
Both restaurants’ employees said the students are usually well-behaved, but each has experienced a fistfight right in front of the cash register. The police were called in those situations, and not many other problems have arisen.
If you’re looking to regroup after a night out, patronize either of these two Chinese buffets for a quick, fulfilling and economical meal on the weekend. Just try to be on your best behavior.
— By Daniel Engel
Music at the bars
Besides the drinks and the social atmosphere of the College Park bar scene, a lot can be said for the variety of music played at the different local bars.
Let’s start with Thirsty Turtle. Besides the fact that it’s mostly populated by a younger crowd, you can expect to hear all the top-40 club hits over and over, with the occasional Journey or Jackson 5 mixed in.
This is the “club” bar filled with grinding freshmen who have had a little too much to drink.
Moving on to R.J. Bentley’s, where you have the sports bar scene. This is the sing-along bar. The bar plays a lot of music to which you can show off your vocals.
It’s a good variety of pop songs, country songs and some classics.
Cornerstone Grill and Loft is good for those who have a short attention span. The DJ likes to mix in different songs before one finishes, so you get to hear a lot of different things. It’s also good for those who are still stuck in high school, because they play some old-school stuff.
Finally, there’s Santa Fe Cafe. If it ever opens back up, it’s great for live music, and most of the time, the music is pretty good.
— By Kaitlyn Carr
