Reviewing 9th and 9th Restaurants

Have you ever been confused about where to go to lunch? At Rowland Hall, we are lucky to have countless options for places to get snacks or lunch throughout the day. However, unless you have tried every food place on the street, it’s difficult to know what is good and what isn’t. To help you out, we have created a food guide for all of the most notable places on 9th & 9th, our ratings and google’s ratings, our recommended menu items, and some pros and cons for each location. We hope you enjoy!

* Star Ratings are according to Google

Barbacoa Mexican Grill: 10/10, ★★★★☆*

The sophomore class loves Barbacoa! It is a Mexican fast food restaurant that offers a wide variety of options, with fantastic customer service, a good ambiance, and great seating.

Price: $

Pros: Cheap and quick food

Cons: Long lines and can be crowded

Recommended items:

Maddie, Ruchi, Maile: Either a quesadilla with rice or nachos.

Vessel Kitchen: 5/10, ★★★★☆

Many people have varying opinions on Vessel. Maile and Ruchi are in agreement that the food is very bland; however, Maddie enjoys it and encourages you to go give them a try! Despite the unflavored food, Vessel is one of the best places to go on 9th and 9th, as it is known for being quite healthy and having a great ambiance. The lighting is very pretty, and the dining room is extremely clean.

Price: $$

Pros: Healthy, great seating and ambiance

Cons: Expensive, inconsistent tastes

Recommended items:

Maile: No recommendations

Ruchi: No recommendations

Maddie: Market plate

Smiths: 4/10, ★★★☆☆

Although Smiths has a wide variety of options, including sandwiches, sushi, and salads, the food tends to be lower quality, as it is a grocery store. However, it is a quick option for students who want to grab an easy lunch to go.

Price: $

Pros: Attached Starbucks, wide range of snack options

Cons: Not many lunch options, not on 9th and 9th

Recommended items:

Maddie, Ruchi, Maile: Sushi

School Cafe: 3/10, N/A

The place we all know and love, the school cafe! The school cafe has many drinks and small snacks to take with you to class. However, with only one option for a main entree each day, you could find a wider variety of lunch options elsewhere. Many upperclassmen prefer to eat off campus, but it is a great option for freshmen!

Price: $$

Pros: Convenience

Cons: Not a wide range of lunch options

Recommended items:

Maile: Fruit snacks

Ruchi: Blue Gatorade or salt & vinegar chips

Maddie: Cliff Bar or salt & vinegar chips

Dolcetti Gelato: 9/10, ★★★★★

Dolcetti is a cute gelato restaurant really close to the school. It always has a pleasant ambiance, with stunning decorations that remind you of an antique shop. The gelato also has a large selection of flavors that changes all the time. In addition to gelato, Dolcetti has a variety of drinks and pastries. The service is extremely fast, and the employees are always so nice!

Price: $$

Pros: Good gelato, great ambience, fun games inside, fun flavors

Cons: Subpar outside seating

Recommended items:

Maile: Coffee gelato

Ruchi: Coconut sticky rice gelato

Maddie: Chocolate gelato

Coffee Garden 9/10, ★★★★★

Coffee Garden has an exceptional environment, with outstanding service. The pastries and drinks are always made wonderfully and presented beautifully. The walk from school is also very scenic in the spring. Coffee Garden has a variety of different drinks and pastries ranging from coffee to soda and sandwiches to macarons.

Price: $

Pros: Quick walk, punch card policy

Cons: The food isn’t great

Recommended items:

Maile: Iced caramel latte

Ruchi: Iced soy chai and fruit tart

Maddie: Iced vanilla latte

Spilled Milk Ice Cream and Cereal Bar: 3/10, ★★★★★

Spilled Milk is a new ice cream shop that opened next to Vessel. Overall, we would say that it is very overpriced with limited options for ice cream. The food varies in taste; some of the options like the milkshakes are good, but others like their ice cream sandwich we did not enjoy. Nevertheless, they have some fun choices for mixing ice cream flavors and toppings and it is definitely a trendy place.

Price: $$$

Pros: Different and trendy

Cons: Limited menu, Dolcetti is better

Recommended items:

Maile: Strawberry shake

Ruchi: Strawberry shake (she recommends that you do not get the ice cream sandwiches)

Maddie: Match Made in Heaven

Pizza Nono: 9/10, ★★★★★

Nono is the only pizza place on 9th and 9th and has pizza, salads, and calzones. Right now they do not have indoor seating, but they have many outdoor options that allow for good people watching and close access to the school.

Price: $$

Pros: Medium priced, with good food and a great location.

Cons: Can have long wait (anywhere between 15-30 minutes)

Recommended items:

Maddie, Ruchi, Maile: Margherita pizza

Ruchi’s honorable mention: Cauliflower

Publik Kitchen: 5/10, ★★★★★

Publik is a cafe-style restaurant with many options. It has a variety of toasts, drinks, and sandwiches. Right now, they do not have inside seating at the 9th and 9th location, but they do have plenty of outside seating with umbrellas and shade. We have heard very good reviews, but personally we have not loved the food.

Price: $$

Pros: Good seating, medium priced, great location

Cons: Long wait (about 20 minutes)

Recommended items:

Maile: Avocado toast

Maddie: Peanut butter and banana toast

Pie Fight: 5/10, ★★★★★

Pie Fight is a walk-up stand right next to Rowland Hall that has many unique flavors of pie. They sell hand pies that are intentionally designed so that people can eat them while walking. They do not have outdoor seating, but there are seating options nearby. The pies are a bit overpriced but still good quality and worth trying.

Price: $$

Pros: Very convenient and close to the school

Cons: Slightly overpriced and does not have any seating

Recommended items:

Ruchi: Peach cobbler

Maddie: Blueberry lemon

Brass Smoothies: 6/10, ★★★★★

Brass is a delicious smoothie place that has smoothies, smoothie bowls, bars, and oatmeal. It has good outdoor seating, a friendly chipmunk, and relatively quick service. Maddie highly recommends going.

Price: $$

Pros: Good food and quick service

Cons: Pricey

Recommended items:

Maile: Any smoothie

Maddie: Either the Milkshake or Brass Monkey with peanut butter and cocoa powder

Honorable mention: Caffe Expresso: 9/10, ★★★★★

Caffe Expresso is a drive-through coffee shop a little farther than 9th and 9th. It has quick service with great employees and high-quality coffee. Although everyone has differing opinions on coffee shops, Caffe Expresso is a great place to try out some new drinks!

Price: $

Pros: Great coffee, quick service, punch card policy

Cons: Not on 9th & 9th, and you it is preferable to drive

Recommended items:

Maile: Poppy seed muffin

Ruchi: Iced soy chai

Maddie: Iced vanilla latte

Student Recommendations:

• Hattie Wall (senior): “My favorite place on 9th and 9th is Publik. I usually get toast and coffee.”

• Lizzie Carlin (junior): “At Brass, I recommend the Brass Monkey and a peanut butter bar.”

• Asa Braun Freck (sophomore): “At Barbacoa I get a burrito with brown rice, black beans, beef, cheese, corn, and the hot sauce with one scoop of guacamole mixed.”

• Ari Garland (freshman): “At Coffee Garden, I recommend an iced chai”

• Will Lehman (sophomore): “The pecan pie at Pie Fight is good.”

• Will Warren, Max Rohovit, Joey Libsvin (freshmen): “The chicken and pizza from the cafe are good.”

• Summer Connery (junior): “I like the avocado toast with an over-medium egg at Publik.”

• Bea Wall (freshman): “I like the Pop Tarts at the school cafe.”

• Arden Louchheim (sophomore): “I like Coffee Garden, and I usually get an iced coffee.”

• Grace Baranko (junior): “My favorite place is Pizza Nono and I get a margherita pizza.”

• Jaiden Handlon (sophomore): ”I like to go to Barbs and get the sweet pork quesadilla”

• Layla (sophomore): “My favorite thing from 9th and 9th is a burrito from Barbacoa or chai slush that Coffee Garden has.”

We recommend that you expand your horizons and try these places on 9th and 9th! Everyone has their own opinions on food, so even if we ranked a restaurant low, you should give it a try anyway. However, if you do take our recommendations into account, we definitely think you should try Pizza Nono, Coffee Garden, and Dolcetti Gelato. We hope you enjoy!