Beverages

Craig Street Coffee 305 S. Craig St. (412) 683-9993 $ No Panther Funds

It’s… Craig Street Coffee 305 S. Craig St. (412) 683-9993 $ No Panther Funds

It’s refreshing to visit a coffee shop that isn’t a part of a chain. Actually, it’s more than a coffee shop: In addition to a nice array of the caffeinated stuff, Craig Street Coffee offers sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. The extensive sandwich menu can fix you up with something grilled, something deli-style or even something vegetarian.

There are always plenty of fresh baked goods, and the chocolate chunk cookies are the largest you have ever seen. The shop’s coffee beans are supplied super fresh by a local roasting company, and you can buy them by the pound to grind on your own. There are many espresso drink choices and the specialty concoctions are tempting. You can order to go or eat in the shop. Try to nab one of the sidewalk tables if the weather is pleasant. – Chad Eberle

Crazy Mocha Coffee Company 207 Oakland Ave. (412) 621-7440 $ No Panther Funds

Ah, coffee – that heady, life-giving elixir. At Crazy Mocha Coffee Company, the employees, who are well-versed in coffeeology, can prepare any coffee drink, from the lowliest cup of drip decaf to the most decadent mocha creation. The shop’s signature drink, the Crazy Mocha, is a fantastic creation of espresso, milk, chocolate and ice cream.

But there’s more than just the delightful jolt of caffeine and chocolate to be had at Crazy Mocha. You can also get pastries, like the almond mele, a buttery pastry pocket filled with sweet, fragrant almonds, or a sandwich that’s plump with spinach and feta cheese. Relax at the outdoor tables with a blistering shot of espresso and The Wall Street Journal, or run in before class and grab a flavored Italian soda to go. Crazy Mocha also has WIFI. – Clare Perretta

GNC Smoothie 3721 Forbes Avenue (412) 682-5008 $ No Panther Funds

If you’ve ever downed one of the yogurt-and-fruit concoctions at Schenley and thought there must be more to a smoothie, the GNC Smoothie Bar on Forbes Avenue has heard your cry. From a single counter tucked among various pills, powders and other nonfood sources of nourishment, the folks at GNC can make you one of more than two dozen varieties of smoothie.

With names like “Hear Me Roar” and “More Gain than Pain,” the menu offers a smoothie for everyone, from the strawberry-banana purist to the wheat-grass-loving health food nut. For those who take their smoothies without fruit, there are coffee, chocolate and peanut butter options. And dieters limited to single-digit carbohydrate intakes can indulge for once, thanks to GNC’s Low Carb smoothie, available in three Atkins-friendly flavors. And, for those days when you just need some bee pollen, you can add it or one of 17 other supplements for just 50 cents. – Amanda Sammons

LHAS Coffee Shop UPMC Montefiore, 7th floor 3459 Fifth Ave. (412) 648-6725 $ No Panther Funds

When you were a kid, getting bug-bitten and sunburned at summer camp, didn’t you love the bi-weekly, tomato soup-and-grilled cheese lunch extravaganza? The ones you try to make at home just aren’t as satisfying as the ones you devoured at camp. Short of driving back to Maine or Maryland or Montana, ordering up the delectable sandwiches from the LHAS Coffee Shop at UPMC Montefiore may be the best way to recapture a bit of your youth.

If you love the crunch of a well-grilled grilled cheese and the most exquisitely crispy, delicious fries, the Montefiore coffee shop will not disappoint. But the Montefiore coffee shop doesn’t just make fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches. There are also fresh salads of all kinds, a selection of soups every day and a number of hot entrees, if you aren’t a grilled-cheese kind of person. But you really should have the grilled cheese. – Clare Perretta

Kiva Han 3533 Forbes Ave. (412) 682-5354 420 S. Craig St. (412) 687-6355 $ No Panther Funds

Amidst the clicking of laptop computer keys and the whispers of student fingers turning pages of classic literature, it’s easy to forget that Kiva Han isn’t a library. The main differences? You can talk as loud as you want, you won’t have to use any of your print quota and – of course – Kiva Han serves a variety of beverages that Faulkner and Descartes could never provide. Both of Kiva Han’s Oakland locations sell the spectrum, from a standard joe to the fanciest of Arabica coffee bean lattes.

Accompany your coffee with a pastry or, on a warm day, ditch the hot stuff and sit outside with a cup of iced coffee or juice. If coffee and pastries aren’t enough to satisfy your hunger, the Kiva Han on S. Craig Street has expanded to sell a lighter fare of a vegetarian or organic variety. Plus, Kiva Han advertises a special brew every month, as well as heavenly brownies. Started in 1993 by Ed Wethli, Kiva Han is supposedly named for history’s first coffee house, founded in Constantinople in 1471. – Eric Lidji

Starbucks 3618 Forbes Ave. (412) 421-6244 415 S. Craig St. (412) 687-2494 $ No Panther Funds

Let’s face it: Everyone already knows about Starbucks. Mention of corporate America always seems to accompany discussion of this coffee shop. Starbucks, then, serves as Pittsburgh’s coffee shop for customers willing to spend a little more money for fancy, eclectic pick-me-ups. Starbucks offers everything from hot chocolate to iced lattes to coconut frappuccinos to chai tea. Employees know their stuff when it comes to customizing and preparing the drinks.

There is always a regular, decaf and breakfast coffee blend of the day. There are 18 varieties of coffee beans – which range from $5.10 for a half-pound to $11.95 for a pound – and the array of coffee accessories are essential for at-home coffee consumption. Drinks come in tall, grande and venti sizes, and the most expensive drink on the menu is $4.10. Food prices range from a 35-cent shortbread cookie to a $2.25 piece of crumbleberry coffee cake. Although it continues to fight anti-capitalism protesters, these Starbucks will also continue to provide their customers with velvet couches, The New York Times and really big cups of satisfying coffee. – Erin Brachlow

Caribou Coffee 3619 Forbes Ave. (412) 687-2617 $ No Panther Funds

Stepping into Caribou Coffee’s Forbes Avenue coffeehouse is a vacation from the hustle and bustle of Oakland With its rugged, lodge-like interior patrons are instantly warmed by their surroundings, not to mention the fresh brewed coffees. Caribou serves up wrapped sandwiches, bagels and baked goods in addition to a variety of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and espresso drinks. Caribou has 10 kinds of teas including herbal and caffeine-free varieties and a variety of smoothies, frozen and seasonal drinks. – Sarah Bingler