It’s 2 a.m. and your eyes are starting to glaze over in your fatigue. You are sitting up in bed with your laptop balancing precariously on your knees and desperately trying to finish a five page paper that is due the same day. You had told yourself that you’d have it done, but you don’t, and now you’re kicking yourself for leaving it ‘till the last minute. And now you’re exhausted, and you’re stressed, and most of all, you’re hungry. You’re hungry, and you know you have at least three more hours to go with this paper, and you’ve got to stick it out. So you get out of bed, pad carefully over to your cabinet and pull out your favorite midnight snack. It’s the one thing that will get you through the rest of the night and allow you to finish this paper that you really don’t feel like doing. It’s the perfect thing to hit the spot at two in the morning.
Every Penn student has been through this on more than one occasion, and everyone has their midnight cravings. I asked Penn students what their favorite midnight munchies were and got diverse results: cookies, pancakes, cereal, pizza, chips, ice cream and frozen yogurt. The overwhelming favorite, though, happens to be cereal. This makes sense, because cereal is relatively cheap, easy to prepare and can be stored outside of a fridge and still stay fresh. And because there are so many varieties, there’s no way to get bored of it after too many late nights!
There are a couple of great on- and off-campus places that will help you to assuage those late night cravings as well. Wawa, with two locations at 38th and Spruce St. and 36th and Chestnut St., is open 24 hours and is always a good place for grabbing something quick and easy. Allegro’s (40th and Spruce St., open until 12 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 3 a.m. on weekends) and Dominoes (2628 North Broad St. with delivery until 2 a.m.) are serve pizza that’s not the best quality, but cheap, greasy, and great for those late nights when you just want to eat everything in sight, but there’s nothing in sight.
The Fresh Grocer, or what Penn students lovingly call it “FroGro”, at 40th and Walnut St. is also open 24 hours and good for grabbing something pre-prepared or packaged. The McDonald’s across the street is also open 24 hours and is always a staple for those crazy, after-party hunger pangs.
If you’re looking for something sweet, Insomnia Cookies in the basement of Houston Hall closes at 2 a.m. and delivers after 7 p.m.. They have the most delicious kinds of cookies, and if you order by the dozen, you save yourself the walk and a few dollars! Kiwi, our local frozen yogurt shop on 36th and Chestnut St., is open until midnight on the weekends. Trust me, the walk is worth it; their fro-yo and topping options are some of the best.
So when you’re up in the middle of the night, and your stomach starts rumbling like it’s got a mind of its own, just remember that there are options around you. Grab a friend and or two, pick up a phone and go take advantage of the many places that stay up with you just so you can get your midnight munchies.