Yeah, the meal plan is pretty great. You can eat as much as you want whenever you please. You can meet up with your friends for a quick bite before class. The dining centers have endless options from breakfast and lunch to dinner and dessert. Residence Dining Center even has the Bison Beanery, which is almost like a knockoff of popular coffee choices such as Caribou Coffee and Starbucks. As great as this is, sometimes you get a lot of the same thing. You might be thinking, “Wow, I’m really sick of eating grilled cheese every day for seven days a week. I could use a change.” Luckily, there are many restaurants native to Fargo that are simply to die for, restaurants that will make you a different person after trying them, a happier person.

Spicy Pie

People who are familiar with the Fargo area won’t be surprised to see this on the list. If you’re looking for a new pizza place to try, this is the one.

Located right off the North Dakota State campus on 12th Avenue, this place is a little too close. You might find yourself coming back on frequent visits.

One pizza can easily fill up to four people. Of course, it depends on how hungry you are, but the pizzas here are humongous.

Their specialty pizzas are to die for. I highly recommend trying “the carnivore” if you like many different kinds of meat on a pizza. If you like a little kick, the buffalo chicken pizza is a good bet. If you’re a spice fanatic, try the “thee spicy pie.” This pizza straight from hell is topped with jalapeños, banana peppers, spicy sauce and ghost pepper cheese. Good luck downing that one without tearing up.

Spicy Pie also offers grinders, which are basically submarine sandwiches that consist of meat, cheeses, vegetables, seasonings and pizza sauces. I haven’t actually tried a grinder, but some of the specialty ones look pretty good.

They also deliver and are open until midnight on the weekends. Keep that in mind when you want to kick up your party with a real treat.

Old Broadway – Sports Zone

Not many people know about this one. Old Broadway is a restaurant located in Downtown Fargo. It has three parts to it: the nightclub, the grill and the sports zone. The grill and nightclub are cool, but the sports zone is something else.

When you walk in, you will be unable to see the walls because there are so many TVs. They have booths with mini TVs built into the side of the wall, as well as a pretty nice bar area. You can also grab a bowl of popcorn whenever you feel like it. It’s truly the best place to come for game day.

Let’s talk about their food. They have specials every night except Friday and Sunday. Thursday night was my favorite night of the week to go my freshman year. They serve 50-cent boneless wings on Thursday. (However, they used to be 25 cents. I’m still very aggravated that they chose to change it). The garlic Parmesan wings are my personal favorite. Their traditional barbecue wings are simple, but yet so satisfying. Come in for the Thursday Night Football game and max out on some quality wings for a killer price.

Pancheros Mexican Grill

Before you bash me, I know: Pancheros isn’t native to Fargo. There are a couple locations in Minnesota, but for the most part, people sleep on this restaurant.

There is one location in Fargo off 13th Avenue and another in Moorhead.

Very similar to Chipotle, Pancheros offers build your own burritos and bowls. However, the difference between the two is, dare I say it, Pancheros is 10 times better than Chipotle.

“What? This guy is crazy. Nothing can possibly be as good as Chipotle.” I can’t tell you why it’s better. Your taste buds are just going to have to prove that. However, I think it’s a plus that they actually mix in all the ingredients in your burrito after you tell them what you want. At Chipotle, they do a pathetically small attempt to mix up your food, and certain food groups end up being at only one end of the burrito.

This is going to sound weird, but once you get your burrito it literally smells like a fluffy pancake. Tell me that won’t increase your hunger by a long shot.

I’m telling you guys, this place is the real deal. It’s the hidden gem of the burrito world, unfortunately being overshadowed by the seemingly unbeatable Chipotle.

Also, make sure you get queso. It’s a little extra, but it adds so much more flavor.

Definitely get yourself to Pancheros and have a bite of heaven.

Nichole’s Fine Pastry

Got a little sweet tooth? You’re going to want to give this place a shot.

My teacher brought in a very large bag of cookies last year from here, and I immediately went there after class to buy some.

Located downtown, this place has many excellent dessert options, such as cookies, bars, cupcakes, cakes, pies and tarts. Not to mention they also sell coffee, tea, sandwiches and salads.

Unlike most bakeries, Nichole’s is very affordable. Having a party? They offer a 16-inch cookie tray with 120 cookies for only $45. They have eight mouthwatering flavors of cookies to choose from.

Nichole’s is a great, underrated dessert place that I encourage all to try.

I’ll be sure to try different restaurants and bakeries in the future to get an updated list up. For now, take some time to try these four places. You won’t regret it.