COVID-19 has heavily impacted the ASU community, shutting down in-person experiences students would expect at the University, including the opportunity to try new restaurants.
To help ASU students struggling to find a new place to grab a meal, The State Press reached out to several ASU deans to share their favorite take-out restaurants from across the Phoenix metropolitan area.
In some areas, including Phoenix, indoor dining is possible at a limited capacity. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has suggested ordering take-out limits exposure and creates a safer dining experience.
The deans’ choices are just a handful of numerous take-out restaurants conveniently located in close proximity to ASU's campuses. During such unprecedented times, students and faculty may find solace in discovering the community around them through safe dining options such as take-out or outdoor dining.
Dean Carole Basile of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College wrote in an email that although she doesn’t frequently order take-out, her favorite options while at work are the fresh and real meals from the Original ChopShop and Engrained Café.
Basile urges students to “try something new and different” during this pandemic and hopes those who do, enjoy the food at these nearby restaurants.
Salad and Go is the favorite of Amy Ostrom, interim dean and president's professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
“I often get the Thai salad with added avocado,” Ostrom wrote in an email. “It is delicious!”
Healthy options such as this one and extreme convenience helped Salad and Go win Ostrom’s heart.
“The Salad and Go app makes it easy to customize orders,” Ostrom wrote. “I admit to being someone who tailors orders at restaurants pretty regularly.”
Duane Roen, dean of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts and vice provost of the Polytechnic campus, gave the title of his favorite spot to Wildflower Bread Company.
“I’ve been a vegetarian for 32 years,” Roen said in an interview. “They have good vegetarian options and they have really good bread — I love bread — and they have really good soups.”
Roen suggested the bread bowl to anyone interested in dining at Wildflower Bread Company.
Dean Deborah Helitzer of the College of Health Solutions stated Foxy Fruit Bowls is her favorite by the Downtown Phoenix campus.
“The food is healthy and I like to support the mother/daughter team who own and run it,” Helitzer wrote in an email. “I eat a Berry Bliss Bowl or a Heart Beat Bowl and sometimes a Decadent Dragon.”
Todd Sandrin, dean of the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and vice provost of the West campus, identified Wraps N Curry by the West campus as his favorite due to their “wonderfully tasty cuisine and great friendly, speedy service!”
Interim Dean Kristin Gilger at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication admitted that she doesn’t have a favorite take-out restaurant but frequents the Starbucks on campus.
“That’s for coffee,” Gilger wrote over email. “Lots of it.”
Correction: Due to an editor's error, a previous version of this article incorrectly spelled Kristin Gilger's name. The article was updated on Feb. 6, 2021, at 6 p.m. to reflect the change.
Reach the reporter at idortch@asu.edu and follow @bellinilane on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.
