Best of Ames + ISU
Best Tanning Salon
It’s that time of year again. The temperature drops, snow begins to fall and your summer glow fades away—and let's face it, pale, white skin doesn’t grab anyone’s attention at holiday parties.) Tanworld, 4518 Mortensen Rd., offers a clean, upscale and energetic environment—to get back the tan that's gone, but not forgotten. Slip away for a break from the stress of everyday life. Tanworld offers two lines of skin care products, Sole Infusion and MR International. The lines feature the latest technological advances in premium skin care and tanning product research to ensure you get the best possible tan each time you visit. Tanworld offers monthly specials including “buy 100 minutes and get 100 free” or “50 percent off all lotions.” Tanworld is open Mon. through Thurs. 8a.m. to10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sun. noon- 6 p.m. Pick up those goggles and get ready to glow—on the inside and out—this holiday season.
Best & Worst Bathrooms
Perturbed by disgusting campus bathrooms? If you are one of us who has a (rational) fear of public toilets, heed this piece of advice: the bathrooms on the second floor of the Memorial Union, just west of the hotel desk are where it’s at! Recently redone last summer, the restroom sports clean steel stalls, ample sinks and a large selection of the automatic flushing toilets we all know and love. The choice place to pee, these restrooms feature plenty of mirrors, coat and bag racks and a bench, just in case you get tuckered out. Want more privacy or need to make a wardrobe change? Head to the family changing room just around the corner!
And the loser is… Mickey’s Irish Pub. Use at your own risk and only if you’re about to burst! The bathrooms generally don’t stock soap or feature a mirror, but the walls offer lots of interesting reading material (a.k.a. gossip) and some phone numbers too!
Best Campus Napping
We’ve all done it, awkwardly fumbling around in the [few] library chairs for the most comfortable position. Quit pushing two hard, plastic chairs together, forcing your body into an unnatural state only a gymnast could handle. Instead of tossing and turning in your make-shift library cot, head over to the Memorial Union and stretch out on one of the many—comfortable!—couches or massive armchairs. The MU has three lounging areas: the West Lounge, the Pride Lounge and the Main Lounge offer great on-campus alternatives to studying during inconvenient class breaks, and it beats trekking all the way home for a catnap. The Main Lounge is open 24 hours a day, and the Pride and West Lounges are open from 7a.m. to 11p.m.
Best Place for a Cup of Coffee
Hands down, Stomping Grounds Café, 303 Welch Ave., features the best coffee in Ames, but coffee drinks are only a smidgeon of what they offer. Their dining menu boasts everything from fancy French Toast to that Italian Panini you have been craving while choking down the usual dining center fare. Located dangerously close to Campustown, and open weekdays from 7 a.m. until midnight and weekends 8 a.m. to midnight, Stomping Grounds even extends its versatility to its cultured ambience and entertainment factors. During the daytime, the café is great for a quick meal and study break, or getting a coffee on the go. Bring your computer and take advantage of the wireless hotspot while working on homework or checking emails, or take a date for dinner and a live music show at this trendy café.
Shout out: Café Diem on Main Street earned a close second for the best cup of coffee, falling behind Stomping Grounds mainly due to its distance from campus.
Best Hair Salon
Sit back, relax and let the pros go to work at Marc Stephens. Touch up at the salon, 526 Main St. #F, with a basic manicure for $20 or a full set of acrylic nails. Indulge in a 75-minutefacial; the customized facial includes a basic treatment, lymphatic drainage massage, prolonged steaming and extractions. Pamper yourself with a 90-minute ultimate massage or receive direct attention to your neck and shoulders during a 15-minute, stress-reducing treatment.
Don’t let the stress of finals bring you down. Give yourself the gift of extraordinary service this holiday season. Bonus! Present your student alumni card for 10% off any service.
Priced to meet the needs of a college student while providing exceptional services, The Salon Professional Academy, 209 Kitty Hawk Drive, is the ultimate one-stop shop for beauty savvy students. Haircuts start at $9, eyebrow waxes run for $8 and a classic manicure costs only$11. As the cold weather dries out your skin, try a moisturizing foot hydrating treatment for $8. If you’ve ever wanted to experiment with your hair color but haven't had the cash, now is your chance—highlights start at $32 and color with style will cost you a measly $21. This month, when you spend $35 or more in retail at The Salon, you can choose from a complimentary treatment, such as a skin analysis and mini-facial or a paraffin treatment and mini-manicure.
Best Drunk Food
Need a quick fix for those late night hunger pangs that inevitably follow those six pitchers at Cy’s? Nothing tops off a few too many brews better than a massive grilled cheese reminiscent of the one your mom made you circa third grade. That’s exactly what John & Jon’s grilled cheese stand does, while catering to big-kid appetites. Open Friday and Saturday nights from about 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. (or whenever our drunk asses finally stumble home), this stand brings a new offering to the Ames late night food. Besides grilled cheese, these two guys—read as, geniuses—offer great, steaming hot tomato soup (possibly dangerous for 2 a.m), double stacked quesadillas and a mean hot-ham-and-cheese sandwich. Menu items range from $3-5, so not only do John and Jon satisfy your stomach, but your wallet won’t take a beating.
Best Place to Work Out
Need a break from all the cramming you should’ve started before dead and finals weeks? Lace up your tennis shoes and head to Ames Racquet and Fitness in the Somerset Village. With free membership opportunities for people renting from many property management firms around Ames, many off-campus students use A.R.A.F. to work up a sweat with a smaller crowd. Open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., ARAF smashes your excuse that a workout won’t fit into your hectic schedule. But, if you’re stuck on campus, Lied Rec offers an ample range of machines, cardio options and weightlifting. If possible, avoid the Lied hours of madness between 4 and 9 p.m. If you’re looking to tone up and get in shape, but lack experience and ability to design your own workout, try a group fitness class. Both ARAF and Lied Rec offer everything from Pilates to kickboxing for free with membership. Set your textbooks aside, replace that caffeine-laced energy drink with a Gatorade and head to ARAF or Lied Rec to revive your stressed mind and body with a great workout.
Best Park
If you’re looking for new jogging scenery or just enjoy the outdoors, fear no more. One of Ames’ best parks, Ada Hayden, features a variety of recreational activities including a 3.2-mile figure-eight path for that long-awaited jog. The path includes a scenic route around the beautiful lake as well as a resting bridge—you’ve earned a break after 3.2 miles—that stretches across the lake. Ada Hayden provides luxuries such as canoeing, rowing and fishing and is a perfect place to bird watch and view wildlife. Amenities include two grills, a restroom facility, a picnic area and two handy dog “Porta-Potties” (seriously, I don’t want to run through your dog’s shit). The park is open from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and is free of charge. Rentals for canoeing and rowing equipment can be purchased at Jax Outdoor Gear, 4723 Lincoln Way.
Best Way to Annoy a Professor
Over participation: Not only will this annoy your professor to the point where they end class early, you can also drag out a conversation over simple topics and avoid in-class assignments. But be forewarned, if you blow the execution, you’ll earn the label as the kid who sits up front and shares an opinion on every issue. You’ll lose likability points, and next Friday night when you try the line, “Hey, don’t we have Poli. Sci. together?” that hot girl will flashback to your overzealous, never-closing mouth in class and quickly respond “no” before making a dash to the door.
Best Hole in the Wall
Having trouble finding the best Chinese restaurant in town? Look no further—good fortune lies in King Buffet, 1311 Buckeye Ave,. Whether you’re looking for a great lunch deal or dinner with your visiting family, King Buffet serves up both. Three buffet counters heap with a huge variety of Chinese cuisine—and a small variety of American cuisine if you’re picky. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and stay open until 10:30 p.m. The lunch buffet runs you $6.95, while the dinner buffet only costs $9.75. All buffets include a beverage of choice included with cost. So put on your elastic-waist pants and dig in.
Best Place to Park
It seems like a magical place, maybe even too good to be true. Imagine a spot in Ames where you can park for as long as you want and never get a ticket–it must be miles away from campus, right? Wrong. Look no further than the strip between Buchanan Hall’s parking lot and Delta Tau Delta. Drive east and turn right off of Lincoln Way at Gray Avenue, taking a right at the stop sign. On your right is Buchanan Hall; on your left is Delta Tau Delta. Everywhere on your right—from there to Ash Avenue—is free parking! Though it’s usually full, an empty spot allows you to park and leave your car there for up to two weeks if you want.
If you can’t squeeze in there, try these tricks: What’s so great about winter? Use the snow to your advantage, packing it on your windshield to “hide” a non-existent parking permit. Get bold and go creative, making your own laminated parking pass (which potentially will last until they run the numbers and tow your car). Or if you’ve already been visited ticket fairy, just tell DPS a family member borrowed your car and left it without knowing the correct spot to park. It should work at least a few times.
Best Place for Sex on Campus
Looking for a way to spice up your sex life? The tiers in Parks Library provide the perfect place to get it on while on campus! Couple the danger of getting caught with the romantic, quiet atmosphere and you’ve instantly got that edge your relationship been craving. Plus, what better way to study for your anatomy exam than through an in-depth study of the human body? Without leaving your study spot and risking the loss of a sacred laptop outlet, sexy time in the tiers offers the perfect solution to relieve stress in between studying for harsh exams. Since many students prefer the social aspect of the library on floors two and three, the tiers are left virtually empty, aside from a few loners who study in the cubicles. Chances are, if they’re choosing to study in complete solitude in the tiers, they’re sort of creepy anyway, and wouldn’t mind a bit of entertainment. Just make sure to keep an eye out for the can collectors who roam the tiers at night, they might come as a bit of a surprise when you’re in the middle of doing the dirty.
Best Place for a Drink
Plastic, lawn furniture is sprinkled across a field at Prairie Moon Winery—the atmosphere reminiscent of a picnic—between the buildings of the winery. A free glass of sangria, some “Honeymoon” wine and snacks of cheese and grapes (actually grown on the rows of vines that stretch off the left) make for the perfect afternoon. But Prairie Moon isn’t just a vineyard. The winery hosts bands every Sunday during the warmer months (remember those?) and crowds flock to drink, eat snacks and listen to music.
Steven Nissen, who doubles as an Iowa State animal science professor, started Prairie Moon Winery to further a hobby. Now, he sells grapes out of necessity.
It can be hard growing grapes in Iowa; some of the vines are actually removed from their supports and covered in the winter. Prairie Moon Winery is a unique spot to spend a nice day and sip some good—and local!—wine.
Best Place to Study
The labor-intensive homework loading down design students is legendary, so what better place to study than in their 24-hour, open access building? With five floors to choose from and ample table space, the building works well for group projects or simply to branch away from the library or dorms. Stop by Design Café in the lobby Mon. through Thurs. 7:30 am to 5 p.m., and 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays for some study munchies. The best part of studying at Design? Mac and PC labs are available on the fourth floor, complete with free black and white printing. Labs stay open late—until 2 a.m.—to accommodate procrastination. And if you’re looking for a computer after 2 a.m., the Cyber Café offers a few computers available in the first floor lobby around the stairs for routine e-mail and Facebook checks.
Best Sober Activity
Almost a well-kept secret, Lake Robbins features a ballroom—complete with wooden floors, live bands and swing music—seemingly nestled in the middle of nowhere. Dancers take gravel roads to get to Lake Robbins near Woodward, Iowa, but once they make the 45-minute trek from Ames, the swinging begins. Couples of all ages meet up to dance, with many couples coming from the swing era itself. College students dress up in throwback outfits and practice perfecting swing moves, simultaneously learning from those who came before, who never pass up the chance to share their dancing knowledge with a younger generation. Lake Robbins hosts swing dancing most Sunday nights, and although cover is upwards of $10, once you’re in, you can dance all you want. Bonus: dancing provides a fun, aerobic activity and you never know who you might meet while swinging away.
Other (sober) weekend activities include Student Union Board (SUB)-sponsored activities including bowling, bingo and Free Friday Flicks, which present free movies after they leave theaters, but before they hit DVD release.
Best Way to Avoid Solicitors
The average college student is accosted by solicitors weekly on campus. Usually,pumping up your headphones and acting like you’re busy texting, works to avoid them, but when the age old trick of ignoring solicitors doesn’t work, prepare alternative exits. Ear buds blaring music won’t convince a determined solicitor that you can’t hear their unheeded advice, or probably aren’t interested in their propaganda. So what do you do? Confuse the hell out of them. If someone outside the library tries to sell you meditation books, tell them you can’t read. If someone asks you to volunteer, you’ll be too busy developing vitamin fortified cigarettes to help out . The average solicitor will be left standing blankly, watching you walk away.
Best Lunch Deal
Craving a meal within a reasonable price range? Look no further than the Joan Bice Underwood Tearoom, one of ISU’s on-campus dining options. This wonderful experience operates within the hotel, restaurant and institution management major and is a required lab class for HRIM and dietetics students. The tasty menu varies throughout the semester, and choices include items like seafood alfredo, taco salad and simple—yet tasty—ham sandwiches. Meals cost $6.25, and include the daily entrée, a salad or vegetable, a bread dish, dessert and a beverage. The only way to dine at this restaurant is by reservation, so call now, make a reservation and enjoy your meal!
Best Realty Co.
One of the newest apartment buildings off campus, Cardinal Terrace offers amenities familiar of a hotel (or at least a nice, grownup house)—granite-esque countertops, stainless steel appliances and in-unit washers and dryers. Extensive, organized closet space finally fits all our shit, and gated parking keeps that rusted-out Chevy that belongs to the neighbor’s boyfriend out of our assigned spots. Several security cameras patrol the building and a public patio offers a grill and furniture. Outdoor Christmas party anyone?
And a shout out to the Ames’ least attentive landlords: Preeti Seema. No dishwashers, regular insect control visits…need we say more?