Welcome Back Loves
Today I’m going to tackle one of our favorite subjects – campus food (or lack there of). When I first moved to campus my freshman year, I was astonished at all the options available on campus. After about a week, I realized that every time I ate campus food, my stomach began to hurt. I never had this issue before – and suddenly I was having awful stomachaches after every meal. I went to three different doctors, tried different medicines, and finally, had to get a camera down my throat last summer so the doctor could look around my stomach. It turns out, my stomach over-produces acid in order to digest the complex substances that PITT offers their students. And then the acid just sits around in my stomach eating away at the lining. Sounds awesome, right? Evidentially, it’s a common problem but seeing as it developed after I arrived on campus, I have no choice but to blame campus food.
Let’s start with the semi-acceptable and work our way down, shall we?
The CathedralIf I have to eat on campus (which I do, dumb meal plans), I’d at least like to eat something that hasn’t been frozen for weeks on end. The Cathedral definitely has the freshest options. The sandwiches and salads have the freshest ingredients of any of those on campus, and the breads that are used to make the sandwiches are excellent. The Hometown Grill is great for chicken sandwiches and other hot options – although that chicken in the quesadillas is a little questionable. The sushi distributed all over campus is made in the cathedral, and the Chick-Fil-a is of course, irresistible. Unfortunately, they close the best place to eat on campus at 6 p.m. – rightly avoiding the dinner crowd and forcing us to spread our glorious dining dollars across the following subpar options.
Einsteins. The same deal goes here. The best sandwiches, salad, and coffee on campus – but closes at like 7pm or something ridiculous. Plus, it’s not open on the weekends. Forcing you to use Dunkin as an alternative. If only Dunkin took our dining dollars…
The Pete. Well there’s Pasta Plus, which if you haven’t tried yet, it’s a definite must. Although not the most slimming meal, it’s pretty dang good for carb-o-loading before your Thursday or Friday night shenanigans. Places to avoid? Burger King and Sub Connection. Sub Connection is the absolute worst. It always sounds like a good idea, but about half way through that foot long sandwich, there’s the stomachache. I swear the meat they use sits in those buckets for days at a time.
The Union. There’s not a single thing here that’s good for you. Except the salads – which still are questionable. I like pizza as much as the next person, but Pizza Hut has got to be the worst thing for you.
Oh, Market Central.I’ve heard it’s getting better. Not sure how that’s possible and I remain highly skeptical about my sources. However, there are some salads. And Magellans sometimes steps it up and puts something edible out there. But the stir-fry? I’m sure it’s fake chicken. The pasta? What’s with the Alfredo sauce? It might as well be water. Don’t even get me started with the readily available fried chicken and French fries that are available any time of the day.
People always make fun of the people that gain a few pounds when they go away to college. But with such an array of “healthy” options – gaining weight is nearly impossible. My suggestions? Go for the salads and the things that seem freshest. Avoid anything fried or fake. And overall? Give your stomach a break. Hit up one of the restaurants on Forbes for some food with real ingredients – your stomach will thank you.
Xoxox,
PITT GIRL PROBZ
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Pitt chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.