After a busy evening packed with covering Penn State women’s hockey and THON, I entered the BJC for my midnight shift on press row ready to eat my arm. I was really hungry, so I decided to embark on a journey to try as many tasty foods that I could stomach offered around the BJC concourse.

I know what you’re thinking — eating so many fatty foods at such an obscure hour of the night sounds awful. And you’re absolutely right. The food made me feel like garbage. However, it did taste very, very good at the time that I devoured each item.

Here’s what I experienced on my hunt for the best foods available at the BJC this THON weekend:

Chicken Tender Basket

Although the BJC’s version doesn’t quite live up to the sheer perfection that is the Beaver Stadium chicken basket, I still loved wolfing down these tenders. For $6, I got three hot pieces of the breaded chicken. The fried food may not be the healthiest, but the chicken tender basket option seems to be a safe bet everywhere at Penn State. (Editor’s note: A Beaver Stadium chicken basket consists of both chicken and fries. The chicken basket referred to in the review above includes only chicken tenders.)

Grilled Cheese

OH. MY. GOODNESS. Former staff member/mascot Mike Reisman once spoke to me about the pure excellence that is the THON grilled cheese, but I don’t think I ever thought it could be this good. This is hands down the best food item in the building this weekend. The sandwiches are made fresh, so I didn’t get stuck with some 20-minute old cold cheese bread like I worried would happen. Instead, a beautiful specimen of a fresh grilled cheese was placed in my hands for the modest price of just $3. I will eat at least 13 of these this weekend.

Cup of Curly Fries

Curly fries are always an elite selection when it comes to picking side food items. The BJC’s fries were pretty solid, although my $4 cup did come only about two-thirds full. The fries made for a good combo with my chicken basket. I did wish they were a bit more fresh, as you could tell they’d been sitting in the warmer for awhile when I received them. (Editor’s note: The staffer reviewing these curly fries turned down my offer to share my nacho cheese. Everyone knows cheese fries are superior to regular fries. His mistake.)

Pizza Cone

An average cheese pizza cone from Kono is about what I was expecting when I walked up to the chain’s concession booth at the BJC. However, I was shocked when I walked up right as an entire new batch of cones was coming out of the oven. I was able to score one of the scorching hot pizza cones for $6, enjoying the crunchy bite of the crust that protects the delicious, gooey goodness that is the cheese and sauce.

Berkey Creamery Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Creamery ice cream and THON? Sounds like a perfect combination to me. With a large cup of Dippin’ Dots costing $7 at its own stand, the Berkey Creamery concession is handing out whole pints of ice cream for that same $7 price tag. I love Cookies and Cream, and some of my fellow staff members voiced their approval over the new flavor released this weekend in honor of THON — Gold Ribbon Ripple.