Dumplings. Filipino barbecue. Boba tea. Poke bowls. Fresh-made smoothies. All these mouthwatering food options have one thing in common – they can be found right outside your classroom door on our Danforth Campus. And not only that, they are all served from different St. Louis owned restaurants.
WashU has partnered with many local minority-owned or woman-owned restaurants to provide our students and community diverse, high-quality meal options. The fall 2023 semester welcomed four new popular eateries to the Danforth Campus adding to our already existing repertoire creating eight in total, distinctive (and delicious) locally owned options to choose from.
With so many great local eateries now just steps away from all our on-campus living, we decided to shift the focus of our Good Eats Food blog to start highlighting the local restaurants on the Danforth Campus. The first location the Chancellor and I decided to visit was Corner 17 at Whispers Café located in the Olin Library.
Having visited Corner 17’s Delmar Loop brick and mortar location many times before, I was thrilled to learn they would be one of the new additions on campus. Owned by WashU alumnus Xin Wei and his sister Rachel Wei, Corner 17 first opened in 2013. The restaurant serves as a way for them to share family recipes and their cultural heritage with the St. Louis community.
Corner 17 at Whispers Café serves a variety of grab and go meal options as well as Chinese dumplings, boa buns and traditional Chinese desserts. Boba tea is also available to order via the GrubHub app.
Chancellor Martin and I couldn’t pass up on trying some of their teas as well as some of their dessert options.
Both desserts were great with just the right amount of sweetness in the Strawberry Shortcake. The sauce on the Matcha Muffin was a great compliment to the moist quick bread. Some of the other bakery offerings include scones, danishes, bagels and, of course, coffee (including drip and espresso drinks) as well as rice wraps, fried rice and General Tso Chicken for grab and go options. The grab and go selections do change periodically with eight to 10 items available daily.
Next time you get the craving for something unique with an international flare, I encourage you to make a visit to Corner 17 at Whispers Café. You won’t even have to leave the comfort of campus to satisfy that craving! It makes for the perfect option if you’re on the go to your next Chem lab or cramming for the test you have later this afternoon. They’re open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
To read more about Corner 17 at Whispers Café and the other locally owned restaurants on campus, check out the article on the Source.
Our visit and what we tasted
