Going out to eat is the primary off-campus social event for the typical Medill cherub. But with all the food temptations Evanston has to offer, finding healthy food out can be a bit of a challenge.

“The second I got here I was like, ‘I’m going to eat healthy, I’m going to eat healthy,’” said Alyssa Fisher of Florida. “There is so much unhealthy food here, and I just feel like I’m always hungry.”

Fisher was not alone in thinking that healthy options were sparse.

“Most places are like a burger place, and most options are only like French fries or a hamburger or something,” said Jennifer Calfas of California.

For many Medill cherubs, the healthy food void was filled by Whole Foods, a grocery store located about a mile from campus. The store specializes in organic and other healthy food. “I think their fruit is really good,” Calfas said about the store.

Unfortunately, Whole Foods can get expensive.

“I end up steering away from Whole Foods just because of the price,” Fisher said.

The main reason for the price is the fact that the food is organic, and that is an expensive way to produce food. But that does not mean there are no other healthy options for cherubs.

“Every place has healthy and unhealthy options,” said Jill Golub, of New York. “It’s sort of what you choose to get.”

Adam Weiss, of Florida, is a vegetarian, so healthy food is a must for him. One of his favorite dinner spots is Flat Top, a stir-fry restaurant located at Church Street and Orrington Avenue.

“Everyone loves Flat Top because they just pile on all the meat and rice and noodles, and they think it’s the biggest meal here,” Weiss said. “I like Flat Top because I don’t eat meat, and I just get lots of vegetables, and it’s really healthy and just a nice meal. Everyone else can just continue piling on the cow’s flesh. I’m going to eat my broccoli.”

Another healthy option that this year’s Medill cherubs discovered was a sports restaurant called Bat 17, on Benson Avenue. One evening, to celebrate a birthday and a mock bat mitzvah, 48 of the 84 Cherubs went to Bat 17. While the restaurant serves mainly burgers and sandwiches, it has an entire section of its menu devoted to vegetarians. For example, a popular meatless item is their veggie burger.

Isabel Echarte, of Florida, ordered split pea soup, veering away from the others in the group who ordered burgers.

“I liked it a lot,” she said, “It had a lot of carrots and that made it good.”

On another night, Echarte and some other Medill cherubs went to Bat 17. She ordered the Funky Monkey, a sandwich containing avocado, Wisconsin muenster cheese and roma tomato on seven-grain bread, according to the restaurant’s website.

“It made me feel good about myself because I was eating healthy,” Echarte said.

Other restaurants with healthy foods include Le Peep, at Benson and Church streets, which has an entire list of egg-white omelets and salads, and Clarke’s, on Clark Street, between Orrington and Sherman avenues, which has turkey and veggie burgers.

While it may be a bit of a challenge to find healthy food while at cherubs, going the extra step and trying to find healthier options while out can definitely be the difference between staying healthy over the summer and gaining the Cherub 15.