As the busy college students we are, it is usually too time consuming to have to buy fresh groceries, take the time to stand in front of a stove, and then afterwards clean up the dishes.

Our dining options therefore usually consist of either Brandies cafeteria food, frozen cuisine or the occasional trip to an Old Market restaurant. Because of convenience and lack of a car, “dorm-room cuisine” is limited to putting together meals with stolen bread from Brandeis and a value pack of cold cuts. Nebraska, while severely limited in the variety of cuisines offered, puts a twist on the classic hot pocket with the Runza.

Runza is a mid-western fast-food joint located on 5051 Center St with 10 other Omaha locations. Rather than being limited to a typical ham & cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, customers are given the choice between Cheese, Swiss Mushroom, Cheeseburger, or BBQ Bacon filling.

While there is a wide variety of options, there was nothing extraordinary about the overrated sandwich more resemblant of a hot dog bun with ground meat and cabbage with spices in it. The “made-fresh” bread felt like a brick in my stomach and I would not want to drive out of my way again to feel myself being pummeled by the dead weight of carbohydrates and greasy meat.

To cater to the hundreds of college kids here in Omaha, Runza should offer a delivery service. If I wanted to order Chinese food right at this very moment or even at 9 pm, I could call in my order and have it delivered to me within 20 minutes. Instead, Runza forces their customers to drive into the cold weather to hang out with the sketchy fast-food crowd while waiting for essentially an overrated sandwich and burger.

While I stood there waiting for my order to be filled, I was accosted by one of my fellow customers, a bearded-man wearing a thug-like beanie. It was great to be in the company of a homeless guy interrogating me as to how it was possible that I could speak proper English without an Asian accent. If I’m going to take the time to leave campus for dinner, I would rather shell out extra money so as to not feel like I had to defend myself with a sandwich.

As a West-coast resident, it is frustrating that Nebraska glorifies mediocre sandwiches and burgers like Runza’s. There is a whole world of ethnic foods to try and I have spent many of my weekends wanting to try something beyond the frozen section of Walmart or Sodexo menu.

While there is Blue or Indian Room in the Old Market, the restaurant options remain the same year after year. There is nothing wrong with having American pride in classic sandwiches and burgers, but to never be able to try different cuisines is a missed opportunity for kids to learn about new cultures and inspire them to travel to new places.