Taylor Corley, Campus Carrier arts and living editor
Picture this: it’s 1 a.m. You and your friends are leaving the Berry College Memorial Library after spending hours studying by the P.O.D. and wandering around chatting with people while procrastinating on your work. You exit through the automatic doors and are heading back to your dorm when suddenly, your study-buddy’s stomach rumbles.
You know your bed is waiting for you. You know you have to be up in just a few hours for your 9 a.m. class. You know there are better ways to utilize your time and yet the words slip so easily from your mouth as you find yourself asking, “who wants to get something to eat?”
It’s no secret that every college student’s weakness is a late-night snack, and Martha Berry Highway has an endless amount of fast food options. You can choose from Taco-Bell, Cookout, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut and Waffle House if you’re willing to get out of the car. But I’m here to tell you that there’s one more option, perhaps the most delicious yet underrated option that everyone ignores, and that, my friends, is Arby’s.
Arby’s has been my favorite fast-food restaurant since I can remember, but anytime I suggest it as a place to stop for food, I am reminded by everyone else in the car that liking Arby’s is too much of an unpopular opinion for us to go there.
I beg to differ. Sure, you could argue that there are several delis all across the country that probably serve sandwiches with roast beef that is a little fresher than Arbys’, but do they serve perfectly kinked curly fries on the side? Is their restaurant name less than three syllables? Do they offer you mini roast beef sliders if you don’t think your stomach can handle a whole sandwich? I’m going to guess your answer to most, if not all, of these questions was no. If that’s the case, you’ve been eating at the wrong fast food restaurant all your life.
My go-to order is a cheddar roast beef sandwich with Arby’s Sauce, curly fries and a buffalo chicken slider on the side. I like to top my meal off with a Jamocha shake or salted caramel cookie.
But if this doesn’t sound appealing, you can choose from an array of chicken, beef, pork or turkey sandwiches, and salads, onion rings, mozzarella sticks or jalapeño bites. And as if things couldn’t get any more enticing, customers even have the option of asking for their meat on a sweet King’s Hawaiian bun.
According to their mission statement, Arbys’ purpose is to “inspire smiles through delicious experiences.” Who doesn’t want to eat at such a wholesome, joyful place? They basically offers a deluxe Happy Meal.
I’m not sure when it became considered “cool” to hate on Arby’s, but I am a firm believer in working to make Arby’s one of this first places college students suggest when looking for a place to eat late at night, and one of the first restaurants families look for on an exit sign while on a road trip. So the next time you’re looking for a greasy, meaty sandwich to hit the spot, say yes to Arby’s — it’s good mood food.
