"Not all chain restaurants are created equal" should be my new mantra after this weekend's visit to the Flat Top in Champaign.
1. I don't understand how the street with all of the restaurants and bars can be considered "on campus" but that's really neither here nor there. I went to a school where if you wanted something (decent) to eat, you had to take a bus or drive to get there. I guess that's a win for U of I students.
2. The location is easy to get to (see point 1) and there is a lot of other stuff around it too.
3. It's a larger location, which is nice.
4. Service was friendly and as quick as it could be (you are pretty much at the mercy of the cooks, no?)
5. I found that the spread of veggies at this location seemed smaller than others. Even some of the veggies that are listed on their "signature" recipe card were missing. I would much rather see the "staple" veggies than the seasonal berries and figs. Who wants to put berries and figs in their stir fry anyway?
6. The staff was working hard to make sure that the sauce counter remained clean, which I can appreciate, and understand its hard, especially during move-in time at a large university when you have a lot of unruly hungry families around.
7. Gave us the student discount even though my sister hadn't gotten her ID yet. +1.