Little did I realize that Brody Square is quite the hike from main campus — but oh, so worth it. Being a huge fan of yams, I can say with certainty the sweet potato I had for dinner at Brody was worth the walk and bus ride. At any other cafeteria on campus, I can’t justify paying $7 for Hamburger Helper — but Brody can take all my money. Five out of five stars. I would recommend it to anyone.

Beyond the traditional MSU cafeterias, I have spent much of my free time maneuvering Grand River Avenue in search of a decent lunch — with many hits, and a few misses.

One of the first places I went to was Moe’s Southwest Grill, where I indulged in the Homewrecker Burrito. As the name would suggest, this voluptuous, oh-so-full-of-girth, oblong tortilla-wrapped wonder was as big as my face. Good job, Moe.

Staying true to my venture of trying new food, I wandered into the bright and oceanic atmosphere of Omi Sushi. Having never eaten sushi that was past the quality of imitation crab, genuine sushi was something exciting, and it also reinforced the idea that I was in fact eating a raw fish.

Although raw bundles of fish and seaweed aren’t usually my thing, these were exceptional. I recommend sushi to anyone willing to stray far from the staple burger and fry meal. Heading up the sushi, I decided to bend my food comfort zone by trying tempura-fried ice cream. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made regarding ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream, no MSU food venture is complete without a mention of the MSU Dairy Store. Not only have I tried nearly all of the flavors they have to offer, I also have been behind the scenes and was able to view (from a distance) the actual process by which the masters of all things dairy create their campus-renowned product.

First off, everything in the factory is white, and all the workers remotely resemble pale Oompa-Loompas laboring over frozen confections. Also, I have no idea how ice cream is made, so much of what I saw I would be unable to describe in any intelligent way. From what I gather, they pour milk into a big refrigerator and out comes ice cream. One of the best things about the Dairy Store’s fresh-made ice cream is the fact that I don’t have to make it.

The next stop on my cross-town, cross-campus food expedition was No Thai!, which was a fatal error on my part. I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food, so ordering the sweet and spicy chicken was the kiss of death for me. The first bite was good; the immense spice didn’t hit me until the second. Then, I began to perspire. The only thought that ran through my head was, “Lord Jesus, it’s a fire.”

And thus, I was defeated by No Thai! They should expect me back for round two sometime in the near future.

After that, I directed my attention to eateries outside of Grand River Avenue. One of the most peculiar establishments I have come across is the food court inside the International Center, The Crossroads Foodcourt. As the name would suggest, I thought I would stumble into a food court that actually had, well, international food. Much to my dismay, I was met with a Panda Express and a Subway. I would like to know which region of the world that Subway belongs to that qualifies it as an “international” restaurant. This is but one of many things about the eateries of MSU and East Lansing that confuses me.

To conclude my exhibition on the inner works of my eating habits, I would like to make the statement that finding food on campus is not hard — but the adventure of discovering a new local favorite is. Through my exploration of campus and local food, I found three universal truths:

One: If all else fails, EasyMac comes in a microwaveable cup.

Two: Although the cafeterias are nice and the local food is great, nothing really beats a home-cooked meal.

Three: I will definitely be gaining a “freshman 15” this year.

Olivia Dimmer is a staff reporter at The State News. Reach her at odimmer@statenews.com.