Round 1: Best College Eats

**Voting for Round 1 is now closed. Voting for the Sweet Sixteen can be found here.**

It's time for March Madness, the top sporting event of Spring where top college basketball teams battle it out to see who will come away as #1 in the nation, with all sorts of highs and lows, upsets and outstanding performances along the way. Well, we at Cooking Channel decided the madness shouldn't be reserved just for basketball and college mascots. This year, we're pitting the best college dishes from across the country against each other in our Bracket Battle: Best College Eats tournament.

To qualify, the dish had to be 1) near the college campus, 2) be pretty much a staple for students and, of course, 3) be absolutely awesome. The schools selected didn't have to excel at basketball; they just needed to rock at satisfying late night munchies. After much gluttonous eating (mostly by reviewers on various food sites; like we had a budget to travel the nation), we've narrowed it down to these 32 dishes for our Best College Eats.

Below, you'll find the First Round Match-Ups. The schedule for our Bracket Battle is:

  • March 15th - March 21st: First Round
  • March 22nd - March 26th: Sweet Sixteen
  • March 27th - March 31st: Elite Eight
  • April 1st - April 3rd: Final Four
  • April 4th - April 5th: Championship Voting
  • April 5/6th: The winner of the Best College Eats is announced

And in addition to battling it out to see which dish is The. Best. College. Eat., the ever-talented folks at the Food Network Kitchens made at-home versions of all these dishes. This way, you can have your (Veishea cherry) pie and actually eat it, too.

Next Up

Best College Eats: The Championship Game

We are down to the final two dishes in Cooking Channel's Best College Eats tournament. Marquette University's chili takes on Baylor's Gut Pak. Which dish will win?

What Makes a College Eat the Best?

After some careful analysis (and sampling of the dishes) we identified these key elements when cooking up a Best College Eat.

Bracket Battle of Campus Eats: The March Madness of Food

March Madness brings out the best rivalries in college basketball. But college rivalries go far beyond the court’s end line. Check out our top picks for college town eats as rival dishes go head-to-head.

Meet Darrell Butler, Creator of the Fat Darrell Sandwich

Meet Darrell Butler, the creator of the Fat Darrell sandwich that's available at grease trucks near Rutgers University.

Chocolate Chip-Pecan Kentucky Pie for the Final Four

Make a warm chocolate chip cooke-pecan pie recipe -- a riff on Kentucky Pie, inspired by Derby Pie -- with this recipe from Cooking Channel.

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