This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
In light of how well our last giveaway did, Halloween’s imminent arrival and my relief at getting 2 of 3 midterms out of the way, I’m pleased to announce HerCampus UToronto’s third giveaway has just opened! But first, I would like to share a little anecdote with you guys from my Victoria’s Secret days. It’s a little known fact that I used to work at Victoria’s Secret, I was sixteen and it was my first job (also to be the first job I was fired from – after my managers found out I wasn’t eighteen. But that’s another story for another day).
I earned the minimum wage at the time, $10.25 an hour, and to a kid working her dream job amongst sparkly bras and strappy underwire contraptions, it seemed like more than enough. It was hard to deny, however, that I didn’t earn quite enough to be eating at the food court every shift. I worked at the VS in Yorkdale, y’know the mall that used to chain their chairs down to the rickety food court tables? Well in recent years, they have classed up their image (and facilities!) and now boasts a collection of stores like Dior, Chanel, Mont Blanc, and brands that I can’t even pronounce.
Now that’s fancy.
It’s safe to say, once the stores get fancier, the clientele they attract become noticeably more upscale. Upscale as in, the kind that isn’t happy wining and dining on Toonie Tuesday at Taco Bell or the Value Meal at KFC. An entire new food court opened up in Yorkdale, touting restaurants like Expressamente illy, La Paloma, and Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria.
Our story begins and ends at Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria.
I think I fully realized the scope of how fancy Yorkdale had become when Famoso’s opened – a restaurant, a real restaurant with a host and waiters and everything, had opened up in the food court.
It would be a long time before I ventured into the dimly lit ambience of Famosos, never able to fully justify spending fifteen dollars on a small pizza. Hey – that’s an hour and a half of my time right there! (To all you first time job hunters: after you get a job, you start thinking of everything in terms of how much of your time it cost. Trust me, it’s going to make you think twice about that $1.50 chocolate bar).
However, after one long shift when I had foolishly decided to wear heels to my five-hour shift, (that’s how you can root out the noobs from the seasoned professionals – the noobs were cute enough to put in the effort and get dolled up for work), I decided that I deserved a treat. I had my biweekly paycheck on my debt card, all two hundred dollars of it, and I’ll be damned if I didn’t buy myself a nice dinner.
Though it was over two years ago, I still remember being taken into Famoso by a smiling waiter and seated at a booth in the center of the restaurant, big enough for four. Despite the fact that it was past nine and the mall had already closed, the restaurant was warmed by the quiet buzz of relaxed chatter and delicious food being consumed. The waited handed me a single menu card: double sided with dishes I had never heard of, all more expensive than I could afford.
Don Andreas… Funghi… Cavoletti…
Not wanting to accidentally choose a dish comprising solely of glorified Brussels sprouts and lettuce (in my defense, most of the menu items had Italian names) I decided to pick the most familiar sounding option: Sweet BBQ Chicken. Classy, I know.
Honey smoked BBQ sauce, fior-di-latte, fire-roasted chicken, smoked mozzarella. Baked, then topped with diced tomatoes, red onions, and cilantro.
Have you ever seen pizza this fancy?
Call me safe or uninspired, but that description sounded pretty good to me! The pizza came and man, was it beautiful. I don’t remember exactly what it looked like, but I remember it being big enough for just me (ravenous, after work) and I definitely ate it all. At the back of my mind, part of me wanted to save a piece for my mom when I got home, but that part was quickly silenced by pizza.
Stuffed with pizza and ready to call it a night, I flagged down a waiter to ask for my bill – but not before the manager of the restaurant personally came to my table and asked if I wanted to try some gelato.
“You can have a taste, no charge! Try some real Italian gelato” he insisted.
Never one to be churlish and refuse free gelato, I agreed and was given several options to sample. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had a bowl of mango gelato in front of me. Say what you want, but that guy knows how to up-sell.
And thus was a sweet end to what had otherwise been a sweaty, achy day. Not the most glamorous description I know, but sometimes, real life isn’t glamorous. Sometimes all you have at the end of the night is an entire pizza that you decide to devour single-handedly, and a cup of gelato that blows your mind even though you’re convinced you’re too full for dessert.
And that should be enough.
———-
With my little anecdote aside, I want to share my spectacular pick-me-up with all of you! You, after midterm week, undoubtedly need a fun night out. We are doing a Halloween themed contest and we will be giving away four $25 gift cards to Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. That is enough for you and a friend to go out and have some delicious, authentic Italian pizza.
Or, y’know, two pizzas for just you.
(More information on Famoso at http://www.famoso.ca)
Our Grand Prize for this giveaway was kindly sponsored by Fresh Restaurant, Toronto’s original source for modern vegetarian food and made-to-order juice! Fresh has been in the business since 1999 and after the cram week I’ve been having, (cram as in, cram all the snack food into my mouth) I know I could use some clean eating. We have one Fresh Prize Pack, with a $60 gift card to use at any location, a Fresh cookbook, and a reusable eco-friendly bag!
(More information on Fresh at http://www.freshrestaurants.ca)
How do you win these fabulous prizes, you ask?
For the Famoso $25 gift cards, you have to “like” our page on Facebook and comment what you’re planning to be for Halloween (or if you’re not sure yet, what is a cool costume you’re considering?) and you will be entered in our draw. Alternatively, you can “follow” us on Twitter and tweet us the same!
For the Fresh Grand Prize Pack, you have to “like” our page on Facebook, comment your Halloween costume idea, and share the post regarding the Halloween Giveaway. Your name will be entered in the Grand Prize Draw as well as the Famoso Gift card draw.
This contest opens Saturday, October 18th and will close on Friday, October 24th. Consider this our treat to you this Halloween! We can’t wait to hear what costumes you guys come up with.
Our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Her-Campus-University-of-Toronto/24603955…
Our Twitter page here: https://twitter.com/HCToronto
Photo Sources:
http://www.shopsterium.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/victorias_secret_a…
http://static.squarespace.com/static/529fc0c0e4b088b079c3fb6d/t/53b24ef6…
http://www.blogto.com/upload/2012/06/201261-yorkdale-famoso.jpg
http://s21.photobucket.com/user/coleywog/media/Ramen7.jpg.html