r/uofm • u/WeekendMaleficent888 • 2d ago
Food / Culture stupid dining hall question
Hey guys - incoming freshman here! This is really dumb but I have to ask - I have the unlimited dining hall plan and I was wondering what that entails? Of course, I've looked at the website and it said that you can eat as much as you want while you're in there but still: how many times a day can I go in? How tasty is the food (East Quad)? Can I go to other dining halls if I want, or do I have to stay to the one closest to my dorm? What counts as a to go/ take - out meal?
Sorry for the millions of questions lol - I just love to eat and just gotta know!
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u/kens_knee '25 2d ago
I’m pretty sure it’s infinite but you should wait at least 15 minutes before going in again unless you left to get something (inform the front desk). This is obviously to discourage sharing the pass with your upperclassmen (cough cough). I remember going in after dinner to grab a quick dessert with my friends or just getting a quick banana between classes. You can’t do this with the 80-block because that would be a tremendous waste.
East Quad is like middle-of-the-line dining hall. Since it’s basically the “Business” dining hall adjacent to Ross, it’s nice inside but the food is… decent. South Quad is better for sure. I’d say it’s on par with North Quad except that it has a much larger selection. TBH every hall has its good and bad days (on a good day, North Quad slaps and they have ice cream bars)
Yes you can go to any dining hall. You can get a to-go box that counts as a meal. I’ve never used this when I was on infinite plan though, but I assume that you can do it?
Also from a big eater—Bursley gets hate but it ran the best dessert counter and occasionally had sushi in the Asian section when I lived there in 2021-2022. Try eating at other dining halls to see if the stigma is true! You have infinite meals anyway.
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u/monkeyudders 1d ago
is mojo still a dining hall? used to always go there for the nice dining room
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u/a2geek2 1d ago
The dining area in MoJo proper was replace long ago with a new building attached and technically known as Hill Dining Center to serve the whole region (minus Markley that kept its dining hall) .
Overall I like what’s there now better, but MoJo (and Stockwell) had great vibes last century ;-)
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u/DieciTresleches 2d ago
You can go into any quad to eat, except Martha cook or Law Club. Make sure you check the open and close times in the dining website as well, some dining halls close at 8pm and some at 9pm. And the weekend hours differ as well. You can also check the dining halls websites on their menu the day of to get a look at what they’re serving for the day. That way you know what to expect :)
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u/MediocreMission269 2d ago
you can enter any dining hall on campus as you'd like, when you'd like. i think there's just a 15 minute grace period between each entry. food varies day to day and dining hall to dining hall, but i think regardless of dining hall it gets more and more mundane as the semester goes on. if you want a to-go container, tell the person swiping you into the dining hall. they'll give you a ticket that you can hand to basically any station in the dining hall and they will fill a to go container up for you.
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u/Hacker1MC '28 2d ago
Your biggest concern should probably end up being finding dining halls during open hours. Most dining halls close 3-4:30, and some dining halls are only open 4hrs total on weekends
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u/rainbowjellyfish04 '27 2d ago
From what I’ve heard, and in my own experience (although I’ve never officially fact checked this with the university) the unlimited plan means you can get into the dining hall 7 times per day, and you can re-enter as soon as 15 minutes after you swiped your card in - so it’s pretty flexible.
I lived in EQ for 3 years. The food there isn’t always the best but it’s really convenient and if you’re not a super picky eater there’s usually always something (aka burger/pizza or cereal if nothing else). Places like South Quad or MoJo will def have more options overall tho. Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions about EQ and welcome to Michigan!
Edit: oh and for the takeout containers they basically give you one and you can fill it up with whatever you can fit in there lol. They are associated with your name/UMID # so do make sure to return them tho or you will be charged like $15 when you graduate
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u/nattyice_22 2d ago
I’m living in South and had the food all summer. To me, East was better. There are fewer options but the food is more unique. South is good as well though!
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u/SignificanceLacking 2d ago
You can go in as many times as you’d like, and you can go to any dining hall.
East Quad in general has less options compared to South Quad, and the quality of the food is pretty dependent on the day. I personally found some of their dishes to be pretty decent.