Are your parents coming to visit while you’re at Purdue? Do you want to take them out to dinner but have absolutely no idea where to go? Don’t worry! There are plenty of great restaurants near campus. Keep reading for the 9 best restaurants to take your parents to near Purdue!
Nine Irish brothers is a traditional Irish pub with a light and cheerful atmosphere. It is located on Howard Avenue, just a short walk down the hill from Chauncey. It’s the kind of place you want to take your parents to after they’ve seen your messy room, untouched laundry and the ridiculous amount of junk food you have stocked up. This place is just the spot you want to sit back and enjoy fresh appetizers, traditional Guinness and sometimes, a live band! Don’t worry, you don’t have to be 21 to get in, which is awesome because it’s the kind of place where everyone from Purdue would go to whether they want a drink at the bar or want to have a full sit down meal.
The service here is great, and there are a dozen kinds of premium beers on draught for you or your parents to choose from. You’re already getting the idea that this place is a semi-formal restaurant and bar with great service, great atmosphere and most of all your parents won’t even remember what they wanted to yell at you for. Could it get any better?
Triple XXX is a family diner, and has been around Purdue for a little less than 100 years. This restaurant has and will always attract anyone and everyone who visit Purdue. There are many reasons for this and let me start off with their specialty root beer. Real, original and home brewed root beer. Along with this they have fresh burgers, appetizers, fries and my personal favorite – ALL DAY BREAKFAST! Triple XXX has always been known to be the traditional diner and it maintains its persona by always having the best food you can ask for, whether you want a meaty burger or fresh omelets, they’ve got it.
Pro Tip: The restaurant is casual and there is one thing that you must remember before walking into Triple XXX with your family, they take cash only. They do have an ATM inside, but it’s always nice to go prepared. It’s worth noting that this is one of the very few places on campus where you can get a hot dog.Don’t you just want to devour this Old and Gold!
Did someone say Thai food? Purdue is blessed with multiple restaurants that serve Asian cuisine and it’s hard to pick which one is best. One of these amazing places is called Basil Thai, located right next to the bars in the Chauncey Hill parking lot. This casual sit-down restaurant has a lot to offer when it comes to Thai food. Their menu ranges from rice dishes to noodles and various types of meat-based dishes that will keep you and your parents full for the rest of the night (that’s right, go on and party after 10pm, they will be too full to want to go anywhere else!). Basil Thai is so great not just because of its food but also because of its fantastic location, which is practically on campus.
If you’re vegetarian, almost every dish comes with tofu and let’s not forget their bubble tea that I mentioned in my previous article, another restaurant that has so much to offer. Basil Thai usually has a wait for tables, unless you go there a little before the time you want to eat and put your name down. Remember to be there when your turn comes up because they don’t hold tables for very long. They’re always busy! Mango salad, anyone?
Oh yes, you will literally have smiling teeth after you eat their Italian food. Mostly referred to as Puccini’s, this formal Italian restaurant is the perfect place for a nice family dinner on a Sunday evening. Of course, this means you should call in advance for a reservation and get there on time. The Italian food here is just amazing, and the variety of vegetarian, gluten free and meat based dishes is huge! Puccini’s has large portion sizes and when you order something like a Pasta, by default there is a salad and a garlic bread basket included. Its more than enough to fill you for the night and leave you with dreams of spinach stuffed ravioli and thin crust pizza right out of the oven and on your table.
This place is a treat for me once every few weeks when I know I’ve had enough of dealing with homework and midterms. Try and take your parents there when the weather is good, they have patio seating and there’s nothing else like eating a freshly cooked Italian meal made to order on a pleasant evening in the fall. Always so cheesy… Err, I mean perfect!
You thought I forgot about Indian food? No way, a heavy Indian meal is just what you need after a long day of showing your parents around campus. If you’re a fan of Indian food, this is the place to go to. It’s always good to call them and ask them what the rush is like, and how long will it be before they have a table on a busy night, but for the most part they usually have a few spots open since it’s a pretty big restaurant. Their food? I don’t even know where to start.
I know it’s authentic because I am from India myself, and I can vouch for the fact that it’s delicious. Almost EVERY dish comes with rice, so order wisely. You will always end up with an entire box of rice. Take it home though, it’s always good to have some cooked rice in your fridge because when you wake up the next day and have nothing to eat, you will thank India Mahal for having such large portion sizes. Fresh, hot and flavor-filled Indian food, just what you need.
The Town and Gown Café is a small but classy café that looks like it’s a brunch/lunch kind of place but is actually best described as a dinner restaurant. Their peaceful and warm atmosphere is perfect for a formal family dinner and of course this comes with exceptionally good food. They serve fish, breakfast food, sandwiches, salads and in my opinion the best freshly made iced tea in town; All with a gourmet touch and a fantastic presentation. Their servers are so polite and accommodative, and the café has both indoor and outdoor seating. Your parents would love this spot, and will want to come back to Purdue for another meal here. At least you can get your place clean by then. The amount of flowers and plants in this café makes it so much more awesome to eat in.
The Lafayette Brewing company is not simply a bar or a brewery,it’s much more than that. This restaurant is a classy, high-end place that serves fantastic food and great beer made right there. They have burgers, sandwiches and even fish & chips if you’re in the mood for something not so common around here. They have soups as well, if it’s rather cold outside (like it usually is). If your parents are visiting and you have a younger sibling, it is likely that he or she will be there as well. Good news though, on Sunday’s your little brother or sister can eat free from 11am to 8pm at the Lafayette Brewing Company.
This might seem like another pub, but their food is just so fresh and well made! They use a variety of flavors and you can choose from spicy to flavorful, whatever you like! The place is fairly large, and has a separate floor for 21+ adults who want to lounge around a bar and have a few beers. As for location, this restaurant is located in Lafayette on 622 Main Street, so it’s probably a good idea to make a reservation and drive there considering it’s a weekend. Try and drive extremely well to get your parents to let you bring your car down, that’ll probably work. Doesn’t it just look amazing? It is!
Of course Sushi. No, not the Sushi you ordered at midnight but the sushi that makes you keep wanting more. This is not your typical take-out sushi (although they do have takeout). Maru sushi located on North Chauncey Avenue under the Chauncey Square Apartments building and is one of the perfect restaurants to take your parents to near Purdue over the weekend. The place is semi-formal and will serve the best sushi you have ever had, no I’m not exaggerating. It is a little higher priced than any other sushi restaurant and rightly so because of the many expert chefs making the sushi from scratch as you order, the large seating area and the level of service.
Anyone who goes to Purdue knows that Maru sushi is the best place to have a wholesome sushi dinner with any kind of company. Of course, with great sushi comes great amounts of people wanting to eat it, which means there’s almost always a wait at Maru for a table. You should go there 20 minutes before you actually want to eat and get on the waiting list. If you’re courageous enough to invite your parents to your apartment to eat, you can call Maru and make a pickup order, but I highly recommend that you eat at the restaurant (I am sure you do too). It’s just so hard not to eat it.
Peppercorns Kitchen serves one of the best Chinese food around Purdue’s campus. To be more specific, its Szechuan Chinese cuisine. This restaurant is a formal and expensive restaurant, with servings so big that you will have food for the next two days, and again I am not exaggerating. It is absolutely HUGE! Their specialty is the fish hot pot and it is the size of a small two-person table. If you or your parents like Chinese food, then this restaurant is a must out of the restaurants to take your parents to near Purdue. Usually, it is pretty easy to get a table since the place is so large, but bigger groups should make a reservation to make sure you don’t get a huge waiting time. The mighty fish hot pot!
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