The Pitt News judges price by the pound

By Patrick Wagner

Round 1: San Francisco-style Burritos

Chipotle and Qdoba both offer some of the largest… Round 1: San Francisco-style Burritos

Chipotle and Qdoba both offer some of the largest burritos around, and fans on either side will defend either Qdoba’s cheesy queso sauce or Chipotle’s fresh guac’. For the purposes of this experiment, we used a popular budget-friendly combination — black beans, grilled chicken, hot salsa, sour cream and cheese.

Weight and cost

•    Chipotle: 1.05 pounds at $6.37

•    Qdoba: 1.28 pounds at $6.52

Prices per pound

•    Chipotle: $6.06 per-pound

•    Qdoba: $5.09 per-pound

Advantage: Qdoba.

Round 2: Atwood’s Famous $5 Pizzas

If you haven’t visited South Oakland on a weekend night, you should get to the Atwood Street landmarks of Sorrento’s Pizza Roma and Antoon’s Pizza for dirt cheap, bare-bone pies. Sorrento’s gooey cheese and soft crust win legions on weekend nights while Antoon’s delivers a larger diameter pie for 10 cents cheaper, complete with a chewier crust.

Weight and cost

•    Sorento’s: 1.43 pounds at $5.00

•    Antoon’s: 1.83 pounds at $4.90

Prices per pound

•    Sorrento’s: $3.50 per-pound

•    Antoon’s: $2.68 per-pound

Advantage: Antoon’s.

Round Three: Oakland Avenue’s Asian Delights.

General Tso’s Chicken with white rice is an American-Chinese food classic, and ­— three of Oakland Avenue’s most prominent restaurants specialize in the deep-fried, dark meat chicken tossed in a spicy sauce. Stalwart Szechuan Express serves up large portions with an extra-crispy outside. Taiwan Café offers an extra bold sauce. Sushi Boat crafts tender chunks of extra-spicy chicken with super-sticky rice.

Weight and cost

•    Szechuan Express: 2.24 pounds at $5.86

•    Taiwan Café: 1.60 pounds at $6.15

•    Sushi Boat: 2.04 pounds at $5.62

Price per pound

•    Szechuan Express: $2.62 per-pound

•    Taiwan Café: $3.84 per-pound

•    Sushi Boat: $2.75 per-pound

Advantage: Szechuan Express.

(Note: These results were recorded using an Escali P115C cooking scale)