Students are lucky to have so many great dining options at FAU, but sometimes the mid-day hunger requires a venture out for a great lunch. Whether you are a student looking for something other than the campus options, or you are a family looking for something yummy after that campus visit, lunch can be the best meal of the day.

Here are just a few of the many great places that the FAU/Boca area offer:

Beehive Kitchen–  About 10 minutes from FAU, they are known for their build your own bowls.

Charm City Burger Company– Located in Deerfield Beach, their burgers are a must.

Cannoli Kitchen: N Federal Highway: Fast Italian food and a large selection of Pizza, indoor and outdoor seating. Don’t miss the chance to try their cannoli, made fresh when you order.

Fran’s Chicken Haven– This is a must when you are craving fried chicken (get it topped on waffles – as they say, “waffles, whipped cream, a chicken breast, and thigh … oh my!”

Fresh Kitchen– Located at 5550 N. Military Trail, great when you are looking for something fast and healthy like their bowls, pressed juices and homemade teas.

Ichiyami Buffet and Sushi– over 100  sushi rolls, chines, all served buffet style.

Kanapai Sushi: Federal Highway. Sushi and Japanese BBQ restaurant featuring a revolving sushi bar. The sushi bar features boats that float by with fresh sushi and appetizers made by chefs in front of you. The restaurant also features a full Japanese menu and a late-night happy hour with half-price sushi.

LocalGreens: Just opened last year, offers a health-focused menu with the convenience of fast food. Provide fresh, local ingredients. You can purchase salads and bowls here and even customize your own meal. Great for on the go college students trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Located at 1841 S. Federal Highway, Ste. 400, Delray Beach.

New York Grilled Cheese– this is what you get when you take a classic grilled cheese out of the frying pan and into a waffle press. Add in their waffle fries in many combos and this is comfort food on a different level.

Oishii– when you are craving sushi and hibachi, less than 5 minutes from campus.

P.F. Chang’s– Located down the street from FAU in the University Commons shopping center, they are known for their Asian-inspired dishes, sushi, dim sum, noodles, and rice.

Playa Bowls– Located on East Palmetto Park Road, try their acai or pitaya bowls.

Ramen Lab Eatery: 2nd Street. A new restaurant in Boca, expect to wait for a table. Ramen Lab offers a variety of Asian Style food and Ramen options that are customizable.

Shake Shack– Located at the University Commons shopping center, down the street from FAU, it is the go-to place for burgers. You’ll probably make many trips here so make sure one of those includes trying their ‘shroom burger.

Tucker Duke’s Lunchbox: Federal Highway. Home of Southern Style Blue Plates specials, Tucker Duke’s features a large variety of burgers, salads, sandwiches, and house specials such as Nashville hot chicken and fried green tomatoes.

V and S Italian Deli– When you are craving a fresh Italian deli sub, this is where you want to head.

Yard House– Located in Mizner Park, this is a great place to go if you are looking for a wide variety of menu options from seafood and steaks to pasta and pizzas and everything in between.

Yokohama Sushi: Federal Highway, Located next to Kanapai. Cozy Japanese restaurant where sushi is chief. Large menu featuring several types of sushi. Features a late-night happy hour with half-price sushi.

Yolk: opened in Boca January 2019. Offers upscale breakfast and light lunch fare. Offers unique twists on classics. Indoor and outdoor seating and is located very close to FAU. 5570 Military Trail Ste. 402, Boca Raton.

Be sure to save this list so you know where to go the next time you visit your Owl!

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Whether you are coming down for a mother-daughter sorority weekend or just to spend time with your daughter, you will find plenty to do together. Shopping in Boca Raton is easy to find. There is a plethora of shopping right near FAU, including plenty of big box stores, but the kind of shopping that may come after the call that cries, “I have nothing to wear,” exists too.  These also may be the stores you may want to visit should you get lucky enough to partake in a Mother-Daughter weekend.

Right across the street from FAU, you will find University Commons. University Commons is home to Nordstrom Rack and a new but becoming a favorite boutique, Etiquette Boutique. After shopping, have lunch at J. Alexander’s, P.F. Chang’s, Shake Shack, or Mario’s Osteria.

Further east from campus is Mizner Park, home to many small shops and restaurants. Mizner Park is also home to a few favorite boutiques among FAU students such as Francesca’s, LF Boca, and Shusha Boutique. The Town Center Mall of Boca Raton, 10 minutes from campus, has Macy’s, Nordstrom, Sears, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales as anchor stores. The Town Center mall is home to several popular stores like Forever 21 and American Eagle, and several high-end stores such as Gucci and Tory Burch. The Town Center is a large mall that is home to over 100 shops and several restaurants; there’s something for everyone.

Shopping Maybe?

It’s inevitable that in four years at FAU, a little shopping expedition may be called for. I’m not going to lie, it’s one of my favorite past times. Should you get down to FAU for a little mother-daughter time, you may find yourself at one or more of these. And when you’re done, you and your daughter may want to indulge in a mani-pedi at Snappy Nails or Venetian Nail Spa, two of the favorites among Owls. Be sure to remind your shopper to ask for student discounts; many stores offer one with an ID. Some of the salons do as well.

If a movie night is what you are looking for, head to the Cinemark Palace 20. There are, as the name says, 20 movies to choose from; all in fabulous reclining chairs with reserved seating. There is also the iPic Mizner Park, which offers a more luxury movie-watching experience.  Perhaps something will be going on at the Sunset Cove Amphitheatre while you’re there or maybe a stroll through the Japanese Gardens at Morikami is in order.

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For parents of incoming freshman, you probably are starting to hear whispers about rushing, or sorority recruitment. What is rushing her way and your way through this whole process? Talk to any parent at any school, and you will not find too many who love the process.  But like the process or not, sororities do have their advantages, especially at a large college.

This is an unusual, unprecedented time. The situation and circumstances continue to evolve daily. Please start your planning for any event by checking your university website.

Before my daughter mentioned she was interested in joining a sorority, I heard all of the common misconceptions of rushing a sorority. However, after seeing all three of my daughters recruitment and enjoy all that sororities have to offer, there is so much more to these organizations than I had previously thought.

As a mother of three daughters who joined three different sororities, I’ve seen it all. I’ve attended more than my fair share of mother/daughter weekends, mother’s brunch, and family weekends. All of my daughters had very different experiences when they rushed; two went through formal fall recruitment while my middle daughter opted into the more casual style of spring recruitment, yet they achieved their common rushing goal. All three of my girls set out to find a place to call their home away from home for the next four years. After a very long, emotional week, their goal was accomplished. My second two daughters were considered to be legacies of their sister’s sorority; meaning that their sister was considered an alumna. She could write a letter of recommendation on their behalf as could any other family member, no matter what university they went to. Click here for the email address to send a letter of recommendation.

All students that wish to join Sorority Recruitment must complete an online module entitled: Hazing Prevention: It’s everyone’s responsibility before they will be able to accept any bid requests. A link to this will be included in the confirmation page after registration.

Rushing

When my student was accepted into FAU, her journey through recruitment gave me a whole other perspective than I had with my older daughters because my FAU owl was closer to home. FAU sorority recruitment follows a typical schedule of other larger universities, the major difference being that there were fewer sororities to choose from, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most of the women going through recruitment have heard both the positives and negatives of each chapter; this includes which of the six are the most popular. There is a preconceived belief amongst those going through sorority recruitment that they want to wear certain letters (all of the sororities have different combinations of Greek letters).

I am not going to chocolate coat sorority recruitment- it is based on first impressions, judgments, and appearances; certainly in the first few rounds where conversations last about 10-15 minutes. The Panhellenic Council tries very hard to promote the positive aspects of joining a sorority and in recent years have scaled back how much the sororities decorate their on-campus rooms. Sorority recruitment at FAU is moving towards a Value-Based Recruitment model; this model focuses on showcasing each chapters values and finding the women who best meet these values. Be this as it may, there is still the preconceived ideas and of course judgments made by first impressions.

We’ve got some great suggestions from our interns about what to wear for recruitment. You can read that here.

Speaking Greek

If I am speaking Greek, let’s address some of the particulars. Recruitment will begin August 30th and ends with Bid Day on September 6th.  Registration for recruitment opens in the summer. There is a fee, but this fee will get her a Panhellenic T-shirt and a bag. Due to the current situation, Recruitment will be held via a hybrid model. The Potential New Member orientation, Open House Round, and Invitational Round will be held virtually. Preference Round will be held in person. However, if a Potential New Member feels uncomfortable attending in person, there will be a virtual option. This is subject to change according to current CDC recommendations and local ordinances.

Florida Atlantic University has six sororities on campus. The sororities do not have houses on campus at this time. Each sorority gets a room in the student union to call home for the week and use it during rush. These rooms are typically fully decorated around a central theme for the week. For meetings and other events, each sorority chapter is assigned a room, typically in the student union, to use for the duration of the semester. Students who would like to participate in Sorority rush must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours and have a GPA of 2.75 or higher.

Recruitment involves four rounds and a bid day. As your daughter goes through each round, she will go to fewer sorority houses. She may not get invited back to every house; chances are likely that she will not; however, she will have options that hopefully are one of the houses she was considering.  If your daughter is registered for recruitment, she is expected to attend every round and to visit every sorority on her schedule. If she must miss a round due to class, she can inform a member of the Panhellenic council so she is excused for the evening.

Perhaps your daughter will be able to look past the process and focus more on finding like-minded young women and a place where she will fit in. I have witnessed girls joining sororities because of specific Greek letters only to realize after a few weeks, their choice was not the right choice for them.

Yes, there are judgments being made based on the brand of clothes being worn, disingenuous conversations and misrepresentations.  The advice I gave my daughters is to be true to themselves. Creating a false persona just to get into a specific sorority would not result in making true friendships. When one of my daughters had her selection narrowed down to just a few, she called me panic-stricken, asking which sorority she should choose. I simply told her to go with the sorority she felt most comfortable in and to pick a Sorority where she could truly see herself calling the women her sisters.

Many parents like to send their daughters a gift on Bid Day. We recommend holding off as they will be getting gifts from the sorority they pledge on Bid Day and continually going forward from tank tops to water bottles and everything in between. Should you decide to get them a congratulatory gift, we have some suggestions here from:

Desert Cactus Greek, Brit and Bee, Alexandra and Company, Go Greek Chic, Cotton Sisters, Sorority Shop, Signature Tumblers and Gild the Lily.

Once they have chosen a sorority, read out blog Sorority Girl to learn more about sorority life.

Learn the facts about Florida Atlantic University Sorority Recruitment.

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