Photo credit Office of Student Life.
The Good, The Bad, and The Very Very Ugly is an AROUSE special series tackling the ins and outs of campus food.
Who’s up for bar food… on campus?
When my roommate freshman year burst in to our decrepit and sad quad in the North Dorms and introduced me to Woody’s, I felt sketched out. What do you mean, we have a pub style restaurant on campus? But when he told me it honors the late and great Ohio State football coach — our very own Woody Hayes — I absolutely had to give it a go. And guys: they totally deliver.
Woody’s marks the most “The Good” out of any entries to this series so far. To begin with, I want to praise the immaculate vibes. Nowhere on campus even comes close. I’m telling you: this place has everything. A suited-up Brutus statue greets you when you walk in, the stage always has sports games streaming or some event going on, and even the Grub-Hub pickup spot sits right next to a lovely fireplace. The incredible ambiance ranges from exposed brick, which I’m always a sucker for, to the classic pub bistro-ish stylization of the joint.
Also, I swear you get the most bang for your buck at Woody’s than anywhere else on campus. Contrary to Scott, where you dump a swipe and it relies on quantity to keep you satisfied, Woody’s offers food that really brings a punch. My personal favorite is the large boneless chicken wings. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, I’ll own it, I get BBQ boneless wings routinely. But as far as I can tell they’re the yummiest chicken you can get on campus, and I will die on that hill.
Which leads me to my next point: that being the quality of food rises leagues above every single Tradition’s location. Well, most of the time. The Bad parts of Woody’s lies almost entirely within their pizza. I’ve never had food from anywhere that’s as inconsistent as Woody’s pizza. I’m not blaming the student workers at all (trust me, I know food service is a nightmare for real). But I more so place the blame on the ingredients and the recipes that they are given. I will never understand how the pizza is either perfect restaurant quality or it feels like it was marinated for grease in hours. In all honesty, I can’t really complain too much because regardless of how its cooked, it still manages to hit every time.
Time for The Very Very Ugly section of the article. Surprise: there’s nothing here. Woody’s is the only campus dining experience that has done me no wrong, and I honestly can’t think about anything that’s Ugly about it. It has the longest hours, the best food, and the best vibes. I bet you didn’t even know that they are the only OSU campus establishment to sell alcoholic beverages. Of course, only to the 21+, but how cool is that?
This place has seen me at my highs and my lows. Whether I just rotted in bed all day or passed an exam with flying colors, getting Woody’s Tavern has always made my day even better. If you somehow haven’t tried this amazing spot on campus, I would really encourage you to go!
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