I ate at The White Spot for an entire week and it hurt
‘Gyros are basically Greek tacos, which sounds like every frat dude’s wet dream’
Scarfing a Gusburger down at 2am is part of being at UVA. It’s as Wahoo as streaking the lawn, or singing the Good Ol’ Song. But eating White Spot in broad daylight for a week is a different animal entirely. My friends said it couldn’t be done, my mother asked: “don’t you know that’s bad for you?”, and those two dudes who work there, they just smirked. I decided to give it a try anyway, here’s what happened.
I began my quest on a Monday morning and ordered sausage gravy, knowing that I’d soon grow tired of cheeseburgers and consequently delaying the inevitable as long as I could. While the meal was good, it turns out that even White Spot’s breakfast menu is consistent with their policy of all meals being sufficiently greasy (albeit delicious).
Gus Burger
And by my afternoon class I was ready to crawl back in bed and call it a week. By the time I returned to order a cheeseburger and fries late that afternoon I was still feeling the effects of my previous meal; at this point it was clear that I might be in for a long week.
The next day, I begrudgingly trekked back to White Spot with my roommate Javi in tow, already partially dreading the inevitable feeling of mild disgust that would follow the meal.
In hopes of feeling less saturated with grease, I opted for a grilled cheese in lieu of a cheeseburger, but this proved to be a futile effort when paired with the fries that I ordered out of habit.
Sausage gravy
By Tuesday evening, I still felt pretty full from lunch, but I nonetheless ordered another cheeseburger and another side of fries. Why I didn’t choose another option from their actually quite large menu eludes me; my best guess is that it was an ill-advised passive aggressive attempt to prove that cheeseburgers can’t actually kill me. The aforementioned cheeseburger didn’t appreciate the sentiment and did its best to prove me wrong.
By Wednesday, I was thoroughly struggling to continue my diet, with both my stomach and my wallet hurting. Nonetheless, for lunch I powered through the restaurant’s signature offering, the Gus Burger, named after the establishment’s locally famous owner.
Grilled cheese
At this point, the employees (in my opinion, the friendliest on The Corner) had begun to notice my recurring presence, greeting me each time with a larger smirk than before. For dinner, I sought some much-needed variety and ordered a gyro. Given Gus’ Greek heritage, this meal was especially great, if for no other reason than because it tasted nothing like a cheeseburger. Plus, gyros are basically Greek tacos, which sounds like every frat dude’s wet dream.
By this point, I’d accepted that my “week” of White Spot meals would mirror my academic week that ends on Thursday, and I went to bed knowing the end was near.
Gyro
Cheeseburger
Despite my newfound optimism, on Thursday morning as I entered White Spot I found myself struggling to find an appetite. In an attempt to taste the least-White Spot food possible, I ordered their shrimp platter. At the time it was pretty good, but again that could be entirely because it was not a cheeseburger.
I finished off my final meal of the week that night with another grilled cheese with another side of fries, though ironically I ate out of a to-go box while in Roots, a restaurant that specializes in salads. Never have I ever felt unhealthier.
Shrimp platter
In some ways, the end of this binge leaves me regretful, because I now can barely stomach the thought of eating at a restaurant that used to be one of my favorites. It’s not you, White Spot, it’s me. Actually no, it’s definitely you too. I’m sure I’ll be back to the restaurant I love one day, but for now, I just need time.
Jack’s menu for the week
Monday
Sausage gravy $5.25
Cheeseburger and fries $6.90
Tuesday
Grilled Cheese and fries $4.40
Cheeseburger and fries $6.90
Wednesday
Gus burger $4.45
Gyro $6.30
Thursday
Shrimp basket $9.75
Grilled cheese and fries $4.40
Total cost: $48.85