| Written by Alexis K. |
Whether you live on campus or not, chances are, you are going to want to try other food besides the cafeteria food. Being that I work on campus, my friends and I are constantly walking around Camden on our lunch breaks looking for new places to eat! Before I started at Rutgers–Camden, I didn’t realize there would be so many delicious food places so close to campus; however, I started getting so many recommendations from other students and faculty. I have a list of some of my favorite off-campus eateries and I wanted to share it with you so you can enjoy some good food as soon as you get here instead of having to go hunting for it!
Mylestone Soul Food and Catering
This eatery is located at 321 Market Street, almost directly behind the 330 Cooper apartments. It is only about a 5-minute walk from campus. Their take-out is pretty fast, but—to avoid a wait—you can call ahead of time and place your order! They have traditional soul food such as yams, collard greens, chicken, and more, but my personal favorite is their shrimp! Every Wednesday, they have 50 cent shrimp, and they are huge and come in all flavors! You can get them sautéed or fried, and then add sauces such as buffalo, BBQ, sweet chili, garlic or just eat them plain! I typically get the eight fried buffalo shrimp with a side of blue cheese dressing all for just $4! As I said before, the shrimp are huge so they make for a perfect filling, lunch.
The Halal Food Truck
This food truck is located right outside of our Science Building next to the crosswalk on Third Street! It’s a bit iconic to Rutgers–Camden students so you will always see people lined up at lunchtime! They serve breakfast sandwiches with pork roll, bacon, or sausage for around $3-$4 and they are so yummy. They also have tons of lunch specials that include hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, lamb, and more. My favorite thing to get from the food truck is the chicken and rice with hot and white sauce! This $7 deal includes sautéed chicken mixed with spicy rice, a tiny small side salad, a bag of chips, and can of soda. I like spicier food, so I always get hot sauce on top when he asks, but the hot sauce is very hot, so, to balance it out, I get what the owner calls “white sauce,” which is a sort of mayo-blend that tones down the spicy hot sauce! You have the option for the hot sauce though, so, if you don’t like spice, don’t ask for it! It is a great deal, and I always have leftovers to take home.
Market Street Pizza
If you join any clubs on campus and and attend a meeting for which they say, “lunch will be served,” chances are they are talking about pizza from Market Street Pizza! I have had many flavors from regular, to white with veggies, to pepperoni, to buffalo chicken, and they have all been very good! They are located at 1 Market Street, which is about a 7-10 minute walk off of campus. They have an online ordering and delivering service if you don’t want to walk there or don’t feel like calling in your food. They also have very good salads, wraps, and bacon cheese fries! If you are craving pizza, this is definitely the spot to go. My personal favorites from there are fettuccine Alfredo, with a soup or salad for $9.95, a foot-long chicken parmigiana sandwich with fries for $9.65, and a 12-inch buffalo chicken pizza for $10.95!
FreshMex Mexican Grill
If you are missing your hometown Panchero’s, Moe’s, or Chipotle, then we have a fix for you! Located right next to Market Street Pizza at 1 Market Street, is this Mexican eatery where you can get tortilla bowls, quesadillas, burritos, and tacos. The tortilla bowl is absolutely huge and costs around $11. When I get it I can typically eat it for 2-3 days after because it is so much food! I personally love to get chicken, rice, black beans, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, corn, and top it off with chipotle mayo! The bowl is delicious and makes for a great leftover, too. I enjoy getting the taco bowl because I can break the shell down into chips and eat it like nachos with all the yummy stuff I put in it, but you could choose to put it in a regular bowl or wrap it in a tortilla!
Fresh: Salads and Smoothies
Feeling healthy? Stop by Fresh located on Third Street, only a 5-minute walk from campus! They have all different salads, from Chicken Caesar to Antipasto, or even Create-Your-Own including five toppings! If you are sick of paying $12 or more for salads at places like Saladworks, you can get the same roll, quality, size, and topping-options from Fresh. The most expensive salad is the Create-Your-Own, which is only $7.50! Want to add on a smoothie, as well? Smoothies range from $4-$6. They have fruit smoothies as well as dessert smoothies, including classic strawberry banana, as well as other flavors including peach, mango, blueberry, and more. For dessert smoothies, they have mocha, coffee, chocolate peanut butter, and even Oreo! I personally enjoy the chocolate peanut butter smoothie best, along with the Create-Your-Own salad, which is a complete meal that will keep you full all day for just. Both come to $12! The strawberry banana smoothie is also a win, if you prefer a fruit smoothie!
Latin America
Latin America is located on Federal Street, and is the perfect spot if you are looking for authentic Latin food. They offer Spanish rice, empanadas, churros, potato balls, burritos, quesadillas, pork, chicken, and really anything else you could think of. They are cheap and quick so it is worth 5-minute walk off campus. My personal favorites are the Spanish rice with a chicken burrito, or a chicken quesadilla with a churro on the side. As I said, their prices are very reasonable, so I typically don’t spend more than $7-$8 for a meal there.
