UF Eats: A Students Guide

Hello, my name is Addie Burchell. I am an advertising major at the University of Florida and I have created this blog for one of my classes, MMC 2100.

This blog will be about food, so get excited. My passion for food started at a very young age. One bite of chocolate cake and I fell in love. I have always loved cooking and finding new recipes, but I mostly like eating the food I make.

  Last year I began writing for a food blog. It was a great way for me to get out in the community and try different restaurants in Gainesville. I learned which ones I liked and which ones I didn’t.

 I thought about which food items were overpriced and which ones were worth the cost. Each time I would write about a different restaurant, I would think about how I could probably make the same thing at home. And I did.

   I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought about recreating some of my favorite dine-out meals. But is it worth it? Does it taste the same? Sometimes it’s better to go out and purchase food, but sometimes it’s not.

For this blog,  I will be reviewing restaurants that students here in Gainesville tend to frequent. Most of these restaurants are pretty fast and affordable, which is why they are so popular. But let’s be real, every cheap food run adds up and college is expensive. In light of this, I will also be trying to make some version of the different menu items at home.

Bowls at Grill Fresh. Photo from @GrillFresh Facebook

Seen as one of the healthiest spots in midtown, Grill Fresh provides students with gluten-free, dairy-free, hormone and antibiotic-free and no sugar added meals.

Guests can choose bowls based on how many proteins, veggies and base foods they want. The base is usually some type of starch such as sweet potato noodles. They also serve kale as a base. The proteins include several types of chicken, steak, tofu, pork, and fish. For veggies, guests can choose items such as broccoli or green beans. You then get to choose a sauce to add to the meal. Sounds tasty, right?

I decided to make this meal at home using the proteins, base, and veggies that I love to get when I go: chicken, sweet potato, and asparagus with tzatziki sauce. Overall it cost about $2 per bowl.

It was pretty simple to make the grilled chicken, just marinate it and throw it on the grill. The sweet potatoes and asparagus I roasted with some garlic salt, parsley, and pepper. Total cook time for this meal is around 45 minutes (thawing and marinating the chicken may add a few hours). If you need some guidance use this recipe: chicken asparagus sweet potato skillet

I followed a recipe for the tzatziki sauce.

When everything was combined together, it tasted just like Grill Fresh. Hearty and healthy, it is a perfect option. Not only will you be full when you are finished, you will leave feeling good about your choice. The creamy tzatziki sauce complimented the firm asparagus and tender chicken breasts.

Beastly relish burgers. Photo from @Relish Facebook

Burgers are fan favorite grub in college towns and it’s no secret why. Plump, juicy patties enveloped in a warm bun with toppings galore? Sounds like a party to me!

Gainesville's Relish burgers are some of the most popular burgers in town because of their hearty meat patties and unique toppings.

A subway-style line allows you to point at what you want on your immaculate meat machine and witness its creation.

This is your chance to go all out. Get the corn, pineapple, and french onions as well as more basic sides such as lettuce and tomato. The fruity punch of the pineapple compliments the salty crunch of the french onions and blends beautifully with the majesty of the rest of the burger.

One of the few places offering a legitimate triple patty burger (no flimsy patties, three quality meat saucers) Relish takes the cake in terms of a quick and affordable burger fix.

But there has got to be a way to make something so wonderful at home.

This recipe from Genius Kitchen guided me in my quest to remake my favorite burgers from mid-town. Mixing egg into the burger added a fluffy texture to the burger and the tips this recipe provides to handle the meatless helped me to make a tender hamburger.

The burger itself was filling, tasty and cheaper to create than purchasing at Relish. The estimated cost for this meal is about $4, give or take depending on the number of toppings you add. The time commitment is about 30 minutes. It was also healthier because I was able to choose a leaner ground beef and reduce some of the greases.

However, because I am a huge fan of all the toppings, the bill went up and it also took more time to prepare. I was also left with lots of extra random toppings that I probably won’t use again unless I make another burger.

The value for this restaurant is dependent on two things:  How many burgers you want to make?  How often do you eat burgers and what is your desired number of burger toppings?

A creamy cup of cocoa makes every day better. Photo @Daniel Robert

Nestled in the heart of downtown Gainesville, Volta coffee has been attracting crowds anxious to get a sip since its opening in 2008. Abstract artwork and specialty chocolates line the walls of this trendy and chic go-to stop for students to grab their favorite coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I’m not big on coffee, so I always go for the hot chocolate.

Volta’s  “drinkable chocolate” menu is quite exquisite. From Perfect Milk Hot Chocolate to Spiced White Hot Chocolate, you can’t go wrong with Volta. Thick, rich chocolate pours into your mouth revealing sweet and spicy flavors of chocolate, cinnamon, and even the occasional chile.

 My personal favorite is the Perfect Milk Chocolate. The perfect blend of chocolate and spice- it tastes like a frothy holiday hug. But after paying $4 for a mug, my wallet begged me to consider trying this at home.

I started by melting chocolate and whisking in some milk in a pot on the stove. Then I added cinnamon and nutmeg.This spiced hot chocolate recipe is similar to that from Volta.

 I like to whisk the milk at the top of the drink as fast as I can to create a nice froth and add some cinnamon to the top. Whipped cream is also a wonderful addition.

It was just as comforting and dreamy as the hot chocolate at Volta, minus the pretentious name. The drink also took about five minutes to make. You could even make the hot chocolate with a packet and then just add the spices for an even faster version with fewer dishes. 

Chipotle’s beloved bowl varieties. Photo from @Chipotle facebook

Who doesn’t love Chipotle? Not only is it a delicious and filling meal, it is healthy compared to other fast food restaurants. At any time of the day, one can find people lining up to eat the warm heaping of beans, rice, and meat doused in a variety of toppings, that we have all come to know and love. 

Mealtimes are especially busy. Even with three chipotles located within five miles from each other, there is always a wait.

So what is it about this place that is so captivating? Why do college students rush in like zombies every day at noon? If you think about it, the majority of what you are paying for is rice and beans which would cost you less than five dollars to make double the amount at home.

I decided to recreate a chipotle bowl at home, using ingredients I had on hand and following Rachael Ray’s Tex-Mex bowl recipe video. 

After thawing out and cooking the chicken, cooking the rice, heating the beans and chopping all the vegetables, I  finally had my homemade burrito bowl. It took me around two hours from start to finish, mostly because the chicken takes so long to de-thaw and grill. The cost was estimated at $3 per bowl, compared to Chipotle’s $7 bowl. 

It was good, and not terribly difficult to make, but it didn’t quite taste like Chipotle. It took about two hours to make because of the various components that are essential to giving it the flavor, and I ended up having way more food than I wanted to eat.

Located at 7003 N.W. 39th Ave., Gainesville Church of God held its annual pumpkin patch the entire month of October. The event took place Monday through Saturday of each week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday’s from 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The idea for the pumpkin patch started after the church went on a missions trip to Guatemala. There they served in partnership with nine feeding centers for children. After the trip, the church began selling pumpkins every Halloween to raise money for the feeding centers. Not only do they support Guatemala, they also donate to Food4Kids and The Salvation Army here in Gainesville, giving 100 percent of the proceeds to families and children.

Every year thousands of people pour into the patch to enjoy a variety of pumpkins, fall decorations, and activities for the kids. A small train ride, hay to play on and the pumpkin-face photo station are popular among guests.

Prices of the different pumpkin sizes can be found underneath a tent located on the church grounds. Purchases are made here as well. Along with buying pumpkins, guests can purchase fresh pumpkin bread made by church members.

Lili Hopkins and Kate Thomas make use of the pumpkin backdrop for a photo. This was their puppy Simba’s first time at a pumpkin patch. Hopkins snaps the photo while Thomas poses with Simba.

Two third-year students at the University of Florida, Isabelle Crevier and Chloe Flynt, lift two big pumpkins. They spent their time at the pumpkin patch trying to find the most unique pumpkins.

Curt Johnson selects his pumpkin by feeling the outside to make sure it is smooth. He came to the pumpkin patch with two of his friends hoping to find a nice pumpkin for Halloween.

The best part of running the pumpkin patch for the organizer, Wayne Sapp is knowing all his efforts are going to make kids happier because they have more nourishment and resources to combat the cycle of poverty. Sapp was not interested in a picture but wanted to make sure the pumpkins and pumpkin patch were showcased.

“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” John 1:5

What a beautiful picture of hope. Though there is so much darkness in this world that threatens to cover up the light, the light will NOT be overcome!