Grinnell’s Best Eats
It may seem, to an outsider, that a town of 9,000 couldn’t possibly offer enough dining options to satisfy the diverse palates of 1,600 hungry college students. But if you ask Grinnellians about eating in town, you’ll quickly be dispelled of that myth. I talked to some current and former Grinnellians about their favorite Grinnell eats. Then I tried them out for myself.
— Henry Bolster ’18
Restaurants are listed in no particular order.
Frontier Café
classic diner, four blocks from campus
“The best part is the menu. You can get almost anything! From gyros to pecan pancakes to corn nuggets to peaches and cottage cheese. Frontier is the perfect atmosphere for gossiping and sharing embarrassing stories from the night before; Frontier has a very ‘come-as-you-are’ atmosphere, making it the perfect place to have these conversations.”
– Madeleine Brand-LaBarge ’19
“Veggie skillet, poached eggs, wheat toast!”
– Liana Butchard ’18
“Breakfast scrambler – on the secret menu!”
– Sarah Phillips ’19
“Service is incredible!”
– Addison Gould ’19
Relish
Locally-sourced international cuisine, two blocks from campus
“Relish has such a warm ambiance – it lets you have intimate moments with whoever you are with and it’s delicious.”
– Simone Downs ’17
“All of the dishes are healthy, locally sourced, and fairly priced. Once I saw my professor there on a date with his wife.”
– Kevin Connors ’18
Prairie Canary
Locally-sourced American food, three and a half blocks from campus
“Brussel sprouts are incredible – crispy on the outside, moist on the inside.”
– Charlotte Richardson-Deppe ’19
The PepperTree
Converted train depot, open for dinner only, three blocks from campus
“Has a really nice view and I recently found out that appetizers are 50% off during happy hour.” – Chrysolite Loglo ’19
La Casa de Pancho
Mexican restaurant, three and a half blocks from campus
“The drinks are refreshing, the food is home-style, and the service exquisite.” – Peter Sills ’18
“The Quesadilla Platter – it’s a huge quesadilla; it takes up the whole plate. It’s rare that you’ll find a quesadilla that does that.”
– Ruth Isaac ’17
Chuong Garden
Chinese food, three blocks from campus
“Sesame balls – when you bite into them, steam escapes into your mouth and I usually burn myself because I’m too excited to wait for them to cool.”
– Olivia Caro ’17
“We all love their sesame chicken but they make a darn good crispy salt and pepper tofu.”
– Peter Sills ’18
Jimmy John’s
Sandwiches, one block from campus
“It’s cheap, fast, and gets me the protein I need to survive the fast-paced, Grinnellian lifestyle.”
– Kevin Nguyen ’19
“Veggie sandwich with hot peppers, Dijon and sprouts – great texture.”
– Takshil Sachdev ’19
Casa Margaritas
Mexican food, two miles from campus, across the parking lot from Walmart
“It has really good, spicy Mexican food – on a rough Friday after taking my calculus exam … my best friend suggested we go to get away from campus for a bit. She was not wrong. They greeted us with a friendly attitude, and I had some really great chicken fajitas. We got to meet some of the locals which was really cool!”
– Yesenia Ayala ’18