If you are like me, chances are, you are a broke college student trying to save money while still going out to eat in nice places, or maybe, you are just someone who already got tired of eating the same food over and over again.
That is why The Rider reporters and photographers asked students where they eat and relax while not breaking the budget (and staying close to campus).
Brownsville: English Education major Monika Martinez was one of the students who recommended El Hueso de Fraile, or as Brownsville residents like to call it, El Hueso. Located at 837 E. Elizabeth St., Suite D, the coffee shop is a 10-minute walk from campus.
“I like to order a sandwich called El Mestizo, with chips and the white tea,” Martinez said. “They have a really good iced coffee that I recommend everyone tries at least once.”
Martinez said she likes the coffee named El Beso Rosa, which tastes like strawberry coffee.
“I like the vibe of El Hueso,” she said. “It’s a family-run business and the owners are very kind and also very talented. They have live music almost every evening.”
El Hueso has a bohemian vibe that makes everyone feel at home. They display art pieces such as paintings, drawings, photographs, handmade jewelry, among other unique things.
“Our main purpose is to promote culture, music and what better way to do it than with the students,” Laura Foncerrada, owner of El Hueso de Fraile, said in Spanish.
Foncerrada said she likes to make students feel at home. She supports, advises and sometimes she even “scolds” them when they don’t behave.
“It is so funny because a lot of them call me ‘mamá’,” Foncerrada said.
El Hueso offers a variety of unique sandwiches, coffees, teas and craft beer.
“We have more than 100 different beers,” Foncerrada said.
Edinburg: For this campus, students selected a newly opened restaurant named “Snack Shack.”
“The best-sellers are the natural juices, the Homer, the Kount, the Goonie and el chicharron preparado, strawberry and chocolate smoothies and the prepared apple,” owner Lysette Resendez said in Spanish.
The restaurant has a television and Internet that students can use to watch Netflix or listen to music.
“The TV is [there for] whatever the students want to do,” Resendez said. “That’s why I put it there, so they can enjoy it while they’re here.”
She said students like to go there and enjoy the white corn she prepares because it has a different taste than what Edinburg residents are used to.
“The chamoy we use, we make it here. It’s a homemade recipe,” Resendez said. “Our prices are affordable for students.”
Prices range from $1 to $8.50.
“If a student comes with their ID or if they have a red shirt, they’ll get a 10 percent discount,” Resendez said.
If you would like to see one of your favorite restaurants featured in our next issue, email therider@utrgv.edu.
