Best Italian Food: Joe Mama’s

Voted the best for Italian Food, Joe Mama’s, located in the… Best Italian Food: Joe Mama’s

Voted the best for Italian Food, Joe Mama’s, located in the heart of Oakland, offers a hip and casual dining experience for both normal hours and those half-priced, late-night study breaks. Featuring signature sandwiches, delicious spicy nachos and, of course, pasta, Joe Mama’s is a favorite location for college students to go and relax. Joe Mama’s also features a full bar with a wide variety of novelty drinks. While at Joe Mama’s, make sure to admire all of the celebrities’ autographs Joe has collected over the years.

Runner up: Bravo Cucina Italiana – Donald Campbell

Best Chinese / Asian Cuisine: Lulu’s Noodles

There is nothing quite like Chinese or Asian food for a hungry college student in need of nourishment. Voted No. 1 in Oakland for Chinese food is Lulu’s Noodles on Craig Street. Lulu’s features decor that will appeal to the young, stylish college student in all of us – the walls are painted bright colors and the artwork is overtly avant-garde. Sample all of Lulu’s tasty Asian delicacies, including its famous line of wonton dishes. On the run but thirsty for something tasty? Drop in and order a delicious bubble tea. Runners up (tie): Szechuan Express, Sushi Boat. – Donald Campbell

Best Indian: India Garden

Voted the best in Oakland for Indian food and located just a short walk away from central campus, India Garden provides an excellent atmosphere to enjoy something exotic. With Bollywood movies and Indian music videos playing in the background, India Garden is sure to raise the spirits of any overworked college student. Its extensive menu of delicious Indian dishes featuring the restaurant’s tasty garlic naan will be sure to include something enticing to every customer. Be sure to try a delicious, thick mango lassi. Runner up: Prince of India – Donald Campbell

Best Mexican: Mad Mex Mad Mex combines a dark, intimate atmosphere with a wonderfully eclectic choice of background music. Included on its menu are delicious tacos, chimichangas, burritos and wraps. Served with rice and beans on the inside, and delicious salsa, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole on the outside, Mad Mex’s cuisine will be sure to entice the pallet of every spice lover. With your meal, choose from among various types of beverages, including a wide variety of beers. Runner up: Qdoba – Donald Campbell

Best Sushi / Japanese: Sushi Boat Voted best in Oakland for sushi is Sushi Boat. Sushi Boat provides a highly affordable menu for any college student who wishes to try its wares. Delicious sushi may cost you from $3 to $5, leaving you enough cash in your wallet for something to drink and some “finger food” to supplement. As the weather continues to get colder, consider popping in to Sushi Boat for some delicious (and affordable) soup. Runner up: Oishii Bento – Donald Campbell

Best Thai / Southeast Asian: Spice Island Tea House If you want the best Thai food in Oakland, consider visiting Spice Island Tea House. Spice Island boasts a comfortable, laid-back atmosphere and an extensive, exotic menu. Choose from authentic Thai dishes with beef, chicken, seafood or, of course, vegetarian fare. Supplement your meal with some delicious warm soup and noodles, and wash it all down with some authentic Thai teas. More calorie conscious? Try one of Spice Island’s famed salads; it might be the most out-of-the-ordinary salad you ever try.

Runner up: Thai Place -Donald Campbell –

Best Middle Eastern: Baba D’s Hungry for some shish kabobs and want to get the best Oakland has to offer? Visit Baba D’s, a small yet exciting restaurant, which offers a juxtaposition of traditional middle eastern cuisine and the American food college students have come to enjoy and depend on. If you are health conscious and want a tasty, inexpensive and good-for-you treat, try Baba D’s signature salads – a healthy taste of the Middle East. Runner up: Ali Baba’s -Donald Campbell –

Best Half-Price Menu: Fuel and Fuddle

Coming in No. 1 for half-price is – surprise, surprise – Fuel and Fuddle. Fuel provides a frantic, yet enjoyable atmosphere for any student who wants to eat late at night inexpensively. Its choices between steak burgers, nachos and specialty pizzas are supplemented perfectly with its menu of exotic drinks. If you want to get into Fuel, though, be sure to get there relatively early and long before half-price starts at 11 p.m. Fuel is exceedingly popular and always fills up fast. Runner up: Hemingway’s – Donald Campbell

Best Deli: Campus Deli

When Sub Connection and Subversions just won’t cut it, students can always turn to the delicious and affordable Campus Deli to satisfy their cold cut cravings. A New York-style deli, Campus Deli is open until 11 p.m. and offers a tantalizing selection of hot and cold subs. Campus Deli carries Boar’s Head deli meats, numerous cheeses and fresh homemade deli salads, which can be ordered by the pound to be prepared and enjoyed at home. Owned by the same people that brought Fuel and Fuddle and Joe Mama’s to Oakland, Uncle Sam’s rolls in at second. Runners up (tie): Uncle Sam’s, Food 4 Thought – Andrea Bullard

Best Food to make in a dorm: Kraft Easy Mac

Evolved from the more complex, multi-step stovetop macaroni, Easy Mac can be prepared in just four minutes, bringing cheesy goodness to both the accident prone and those on a tight schedule. Ridiculously simple three-step preparation and surprisingly intense flavor make Easy Mac ideal for students who find if difficult to make time to grab a bite to eat. Just add water and a bowl full of hot, processed cheese heaven is just a four-minute spin in the microwave away. Long a favorite of both starving artists and athletes with voracious appetites who are also on a budget, Ramen Oodles of Noodles are a suitable alternative, though a higher sodium content makes them slightly less healthy. Runner up (tie): Ramen, Oodles of Noodles – Andrea Bullard

Best Sub Place: Subway

It’s hard to resist the aroma of fresh baked bread wafting from Subway while walking by on Craig Street or Forbes Avenue. Subway is affordable and guaranteed to be fresh. Ask one of Subway’s “sandwich artists” for nearly any topping and they will prepare the sandwich in accordance with your unique tastes. Uncle Sam’s allows patrons to salivate while waiting in line, as hot sandwiches prepared on a sizzling grill right before their eyes. Quizno’s might not be as popular as Subway or Uncle Sam’s, but it does have a pepper bar.

Runners up: Uncle Sam’s, Quizno’s – Andrea Bullard

Best Restaurant for a Date: Joe Mama’s

Dim lighting, shimmering red booths and a charming ’50s-style diner atmosphere pulled Joe Mama’s into the lead as the best restaurant for a date. The walls are covered with black-and-white photos of celebrities and lesser-known humans alike, most of which are addressed to the enigmatic “Joe.” A moderately priced menu also helps to temper the stigma of having to pay for first dates gone awry, and with a menu full of pizzas, sandwiches, salads and pasta dishes, Joe Mama’s accommodates even the pickiest of eaters. Ensconced among the quaint art shops, boutiques and bookstores on Craig Street, Union Grill pulled in second with the exotic Spice Island Tea House taking third.

Runners up (tie): Union Grill, Spice Island Tea House – Andrea Bullard

Best Coffee: Starbucks

What would the world be like without that little green mermaid’s face gracing every street corner? Most likely a whole lot sleepier. It might be ubiquitous, but no one can deny that Starbucks succeeds in keeping the eyes peeled into the wee hours of the night before a major exam. Adding shots of vanilla and caramel, tossing in bits of chocolate or topping beverages with whipped cream can create a more eclectic java drinking experience. Cross-street rival, Caribou Coffee boasts of a more original roast.

Runners up: Caribou – Andrea Bullard

Best Wings: Quaker Steak and Lube

Quaker Steak and Lube wings have long been a Pittsburgh favorite. A selection of 14 original sauces makes it easy to find a flavor that is spicy, tangy or sweet enough to suit nearly every palate. Those bold and/or stupid enough to order Quaker’s “atomic” sauce on their wings are required to sign a waver before digging in to this sweat-inducing, tongue-swelling experience. Available in half-dozen servings all the way up to economy-size buckets, Quaker Steak and Lube caters to any appetite. With its hip, ever-dark Tex-Mex atmosphere, Mad Mex takes second prize for best wings. “Los Wingos” are available on three intensity levels: mild, wild or insane.

Runner up: Mad Mex – Andrea Bullard

Best Vegetarian: Qdoba

Vegetarians are often hard pressed to find meatless cuisine in Oakland restaurants, but Qdoba comes to the rescue with several vegetarian options that are entirely meat free, flavor-packed and filling. Their vegetarian burrito comes chock full of either pinto or black beans, cilantro-seasoned white rice and any one of Qdoba’s signature salsas. The robust, tomato-based tortilla soup is another 100 percent vegetarian selection. With a menu almost exclusively filled with organic foods, Red Oak Cafe also caters to vegetarians. Each day the restaurant dishes up a new combination of fresh “grains, beans and veggies.” Runner up: Red Oak Caf’eacute; – Andrea Bullard

Best French Fries: The Original Hot Dog Shop

After a long night of … um … studying, nothing beats heading over to The O and downing a heaping plate of its world-famous fries. Add some cheese sauce to the mix and you’ve got yourself one greasy, satisfying plate of goodness. Sure, you can get a pizza or a hot dog or even a six-pack at the Oakland landmark, but it’s the fries, those glorious, golden fries, that keep The O’s hungry patrons coming back again and again.

Runner up: McDonald’s – Colleen Seidel

Best Bagel Shop: Bruegger’s

One would never think that there could be so many different ways to doctor up a bagel beyond your basic cream cheese or butter and jelly, but Bruegger’s proves that just about anything can be slapped on and still taste pretty darn good. With more than 12 flavors of cream cheese and 14 kinds of bagels, the possibilities are endless. But it doesn’t stop there: Bruegger’s employees can make you a sandwich on the bagel, or you can even go bagel-less with a salad, soup or regular sandwich. Whatever way you choose, there’s always something delicious baking at this bagel shop. Runner up: Einstein Bros.

Best Ice Cream: Dave ‘ Andy’s

It’s impossible to walk by the ice cream shop on Atwood Street on a hot day, smell the sugary goodness of the treats inside and not stop to get yourself a cone – or, at the very least, be seriously tempted. The Oakland legend earns its Best Of status by a landslide, perhaps because its local origins give it a flair that other national chains don’t have. And it’s certainly hard to find a better homemade waffle cone in the city, especially when you can see them being made right in front of you. – Colleen Seidel

Runner up: Rita’s Italian Ice

Best Pizza: Sorrento’s Pizza Roma

It’s a staple for breakfast, a given for a Saturday night, the go-to food for the big game or the happy ending after a long night of merrymaking. In college, it’s never the wrong time for pizza. And Sorrento’s offers just what every college student wants – piping hot pizza made to order. Homegrown in Oakland since 1973, the family-owned restaurant is always packed on weekends with co-eds waiting for their piesand offers a host of specials throughout the year. – Colleen Seidel

Runner up: Antoon’s

Best Meal Under $5: Wendy’s

One word: Baconator. It’s a mystery to the female persuasion why that one word causes so much excitement in a man, but nonetheless, every day around lunchtime she will find long lines full of men at the famous food chain. Wendy’s offers a variety of foods on its dollar menu and a variety of meal choices for less than five bucks. So, come to think of it, maybe the male excitement isn’t caused so much by the mention of a sandwich that holds six strips of bacon on two beef patties, but by the mention of another word: cheap.

Runner up: Antoon’s – Colleen Seidel

Best Vending Truck: Kashmiri

While some are still mourning the loss of Scotty’s Hot Dog Stand in the parking lot of what is now Schenley Plaza, others are finding a new favorite vending truck to indulge in on the go. Surprisingly, it serves Indian food. Kashmiri, usually located on Bigelow Boulevard between Fifth and Bayard, serves up hot Indian food for quick lunches at decent prices. Now there’s a new definition for the term “fast food.”

Runner up: Thai – Colleen Seidel

Best Sandwich – Primanti Brothers

It’s not Pittsburgh without Primanti’s, and it’s not Primanti’s without small mountains of coleslaw and fries on your sandwich. That unbeatable combination has earned Primanti’s the distinguished honor of best sandwich in the ‘Burgh for 2007. Whether heading over to its Forbes Avenue location for the Steelers game or treating your out-of-town relatives to a pastrami sandwich downtown at Market Square, Primanti’s is there to fill your belly. There’s just one rule to enjoying the tasty challenge that is a Primanti’s sandwich – you’re not allowed to eat it with a fork and knife. Runner up: Panera Bread – Colleen Seidel

Best Place to get Breakfast: Pamela’s Diner

When Forbes Avenue is over-crowded with students on Friday or Saturday night, it’s because everyone is in search of a party. When there is a crowd near the corner of Forbes Avenue and Atwood Street on Saturday and Sunday mornings, it’s because everyone is waiting to get inside Pamela’s. The fact that the weather is changing hasn’t deterred students from either of these Pitt traditions. With several locations in the area, Pamela’s is Pittsburgh’s favorite spot for breakfast. Serving everything from veggie-filled omelets to fruit-covered pancakes to hearty portions of bacon and sausage, Pamela’s is the not only the place for a hangover cure, but a great place to meet up with friends in the morning, any day of the week. Runner up: McDonald’s – Jacob Spears

Best Hamburger: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Five Guys seems to be the solution to an old predicament: People have always wanted their burgers fast, but also wanted the quality that most fast-food joints lack. At Five Guys the ground meat is never frozen and you don’t have to open up the bun to make sure the patty is inside, but they still have the same speed and convenience of other fast-food restaurants. To top it off, you’re able to top your burger any way you want, and the toppings come at no extra cost. Runner up: Fuel ‘ Fuddle

Best On-Campus Eatery: Market Central

Perhaps it was long overdue, but students don’t seem to be missing Eddie’s. (Some of us may miss the Marketplace, but only nostalgically.) Pitt’s revamp of Sodexo’s food services under the Litchfield Tower’s seems to be exactly what students living on campus have been longing for. While Taco Bell and Pasta Plus seem to be the favorites, the overall sentiment is that students are glad to have more selection and improved quality.

Runner up: Cathedral Cafe – Jacob Spears

Best Bar Food: Hemingway’s

With a love of beer comes a love of bar food. Hemingway’s does it right with everything from soft pretzels – if you’re just looking for something salty to go with your brew – to filling burgers and wraps with curly fries – if you are looking for big eats. Hemingway’s serves up bar food staples such as wings and – a yinzer’s favorite – pierogies, but if you’re looking for something more adventurous, try the restaurant’s pizza fries. With daily drink specials and a half-price food menu that starts at 9 p.m., Hemingway’s can’t be beat. Runner up: Fuel ‘ Fuddle – Jacob Spears