On this edition of the Emerson food review. I surveyed a few Emerson students to find out the best places to eat lunch and their favorite items on the menu. Normally, I would just narrow it down to the top three based on the most popular responses, however there was a large variety of answers which made it impossible to narrow the top three down. So instead I chose the top three places Emerson High School students get lunch based on my personal opinion. 

Narrowing it down was difficult, but after long consideration it came down to these three spots and my favorite items on the menu. The meals and restaurants I chose were the chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil A, a burrito bowl from Chipotle and lastly the box combo from Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. 

Chick-Fil-A

The first restaurant I tried was Chick-Fil-A on Eldorado Parkway. It is a very popular restaurant among students for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which made it an easy choice. I got the chicken sandwich, without the pickles and paired it with waffle potato fries and a Coke. 

I would rate this meal a ten out of ten. The chicken was tender, juicy and crispy. It did not lack any flavor and was seasoned very well. The toasted, buttered bun was soft, it had a slight sweet taste which blended well with the savory chicken. The waffle fries were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and salted to perfection. The shape of the fry was also fun to look at and eat. The Coke added a nice refreshing touch and tied the whole meal together. 

I really enjoyed this meal and I would recommend it to all students at Emerson. It is very filling, tastes good and it is affordable. The whole meal cost me $9.69, which is a great deal for the amount of food and it is only eight minutes away from school.

Chipotle

The next restaurant I tried was the Chipotle on Custer Road. Chipotle is another popular restaurant among students. I ordered the burrito bowl with white rice, steak, romaine lettuce, and pinto beans. For the sauce I added sour cream and the tomatillo-red chilli salsa. I did not get a drink with this meal.

I would rate this meal and eight out of ten. At first I was slightly overwhelmed by all the different flavors in this meal. But the more I ate, I started to enjoy the combination of everything more and more. The steak was very well seasoned, a little bit salty but it had lots of flavor. The rice and beans were well cooked but did not have any distinct taste. What really brought out the flavors in the meal was all the sauces, the tomatillo-red chilli salsa was a little spicy and the sour cream was tangy. The blend of both was splendid and paired well with the steak and rice. 

I ended up really liking this meal and I would definitely recommend it to Emerson students. It is a great option if you are a picky eater, since you can customize what goes in your bowl. The total cost of this meal was $17.10, this was not the cheapest but affordable nonetheless.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers

The last restaurant I tried was the Raising Cane’s on Custer Road. This is a very popular restaurant among teens. I tried the box combo which includes four chicken fingers, crinkle cut fries, Texas toast, and cane’s sauce. I got a coke for the drink

I would rate this meal a six out of ten. The chicken was juicy and tender and had a great crispy texture but they lacked any flavor. This was extremely disappointing since it looked so good. I decided to try it with the cane’s sauce which had zesty and peppery flavor. It did elevate the taste but only a little. This made the chicken fingers very underwhelming. The crinkle cut fries were good, crispy, salty and soft on the inside. The Texas toast was the best part of this meal. It was buttery, fluffy and toasted just right.

While I did not really enjoy the chicken fingers. I would still recommend it because I believe others might enjoy the chicken, especially with the sauce. The whole meal cost me $11.59 and it is only nine minutes away from school. 

Overview

These are all great lunch options, especially for a quick meal right after school. My personal favorite was the Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich meal. It has a fantastic taste, it was incredibly affordable and is the closest to the school. The second best was my burrito bowl from Chipotle. This is a great option because of its customizable style and bold flavors. Lastly, Raising Cane’s, this meal was not my favorite because of the taste but I know others might enjoy this more than I did. Overall, I would definitely recommend all of these spots to Emerson students looking for a cheap and convenient meal for lunch.