Foods Missed

When USC decided to close its campuses and send students home for the impending lockdown, the loud hum of activity that sounded through the UPC and the HSC quickly subsided. As students swiftly began to evacuate, restaurants in the area began to take the unexpected toll of the nonexistent student body. Most shut their doors to weather the brunt of the pandemic, while some operated through takeout only.

Returning after more than a year of the pandemic-disrupted student life away from campus, restrictions have lessened, and the once resounding vibrations of a healthy, abundant campus have returned. Students, both new and returning, have experienced the new normalcy of a recovering campus, as they tackle obstacles from scheduling weekly coronavirus tests to finding out where to grab a meal.

While USC’s dining halls have always been a staple in campus food culture, new restaurants in the Village and other local eateries off campus have served as viable alternatives. Whether it be searching for delicacies such as açai bowls or truffle fries or avoiding the long wait times almost everywhere on campus, these restaurants have continued to stay in the mind of students even through the pandemic.

Here are some restaurants — Bird’s Nest Cafe, Dulce, Honeybird and It’s Boba Time — that Daily Trojan photographers have continued to return to.

Photos by Amaya Cranston, Eli Masket, Talha Rafique, and Sasha Ryu.