Fast Food

Boston Market

5200 Baum Blvd.

(412) 683-9752

$$

No Panther Funds

If you like… Boston Market

5200 Baum Blvd.

(412) 683-9752

$$

No Panther Funds

If you like freedom and the American Revolution, try the next best thing to come out of Boston: Boston Market.

While there is no memorabilia from the revolution, or of Boston itself, there is sure to be plenty of food.

Boston Market offers a variety of meals, including chicken, meatloaf and honey-glazed ham. Food just like mom used to make, but she probably never offered 25 different sides with her meals.

If all you’re looking for is a quick bite to eat, try one of the hearty sandwiches or a bowl of soup and a salad.

For any groups looking for something to eat, Boston Market has family meals for as many as six people. Fortunately, you don’t have to travel all the way to Massachusetts to eat at Boston Market.

— Joe Marchilena

Subway

3707 Forbes Ave.

(412) 687-7550

415 S. Craig St.

(412) 687-6728

$

Panther Funds (only at Forbes Avenue location)

Variety is a very important part of life, and with it comes the ability to choose how to use it.

One of the best places to exercise that ability to choose is Subway, which has more than 20 different kinds of subs to choose from, all of which are made right in front of you.

Probably the most famous among Subway’s sandwiches are the seven subs with fewer than six grams of fat.

But if you prefer your sub to have cheese, mayonnaise and other condiments, then try either the Subway Classics, which include standard subs such as the steak and cheese, or the Subway Selects, which include the sweet onion chicken teriyaki sub and the Dijon horseradish melt.

For those looking for a good deal, Subway has eight different value meals from which to choose. Each meal comes with either a 6-inch or foot-long sub, along with a 21-ounce drink and a bag of chips or two cookies. And, if the weather is nice, the Subway on Craig Street now offers outdoor dining in new digs across the street from its former location.

With so many choices, you could eat at Subway every night of the week and never eat the same thing twice. Now if only you could decide on a major …

— Joe Marchilena

Wendy’s

349 Fifth Ave.

(412) 683-5900

$

No Panther Funds

Sometimes it’s hard to find a meal for less than $5, even after considering all the half-price restaurant deals in Oakland.

OK, so maybe it’s not so hard to find a meal for less than $5, but it can be difficult to find a meal that’s tasty, too.

Wendy’s, located on Fifth Avenue in Central Oakland, has goodies to satisfy everyone, from a beef-hungry burger-lover to the meat-abstaining veg-head. Want a burger topped with bacon and cheddar? Wendy’s has it. Want a baked potato with sour cream? Or how about one of their garden salads? And don’t forget the 99-cent menu.

When you’re looking for something hot, fast and cheap, Wendy’s is the place to go.

— Leslie Hoffman

Arby’s

3417 Forbes Ave.

(412) 687-3090

$

No Panther Funds

It’s curly and it looks like a spring.

Is it a mattress coil? No; it’s one of Arby’s curly fries.

Whether you get a small, medium or large order, the fries are always a curly bunch of potatoes waiting to be devoured.

If you prefer your French fries to be straight, it’s not a problem. Arby’s also has home-style fries, along with potato cakes, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers and baked potatoes with butter and sour cream or broccoli and cheddar.

And if you thought there was only one way to make a roast beef sandwich, then you thought wrong.

Arby’s has eight different varieties of the roast beef sandwich, each one a different size and shape, made with or without cheese.

And if you don’t like roast beef, there are plenty of other types of sandwiches to choose from, including the hot ham-and-Swiss sub, the Philly beef-and-Swiss sub, and the turkey sub.

If you happen to be up early in the morning, there are a number of breakfast items to choose from. In fact, Arby’s has such a wide variety of meals to choose from, you don’t ever have to go home.

–Joe Marchilena

The Original Hot Dog Shop

3901 Forbes Ave.

(412) 621-7388

$

Panther Funds

Known simply as “The O” to those living in or around Oakland, The Original Hot Dog Shop is Mecca for French fry and hot dog connoisseurs around the country.

Its fries, which are often ranked by national magazines as some of the best, are sold in portions roughly equivalent to large, huge and freaking enormous. Pittsburghers know that when they have a need for some good fries, it’s time to get some O fries. What’s even better is that they deliver all the fried-potato goodness — with ranch dressing, cheese or even beef gravy, if customers desire. No wonder any truly drunken party includes a call for O fries.

The O also has enough seating for a small army in its two-story location, which makes it a nice place to drop by for a quick bite alone or with a mass of friends looking to polish off a big thing o’ fries.

Beyond fries and hot dogs — which also top nation “best lists” — The O serves a variety of quick-serve foods, including chicken parmigiana sandwiches and super cheap pizza.

— Megan Smith

McDonald’s

3708 Forbes Ave.

(412) 687-3747

$

No Panther Funds

There are more than 30,000 of them in the world, and one happens to be in the heart of Central Oakland. And at the only McDonald’s within walking distance of campus, you’ll find a restaurant not unlike 29,999 others.

There are burgers, fries, shakes and salads. There’s coffee, senior-citizen discounts, breakfast before you wake up and extra-value meals all night. The Oakland McDonald’s is now open 24 hours on every day but Sunday, when it closes for a few night hours.

Bathrooms are located downstairs, and when the place is packed, additional seating is opened upstairs. Prices and speed of service are primarily in tune with other McDonald’s restaurants, but you won’t find a drive-through or a Playland in this bustling eatery.

You will find the comfort of a menu repeated across the globe. And don’t worry if you’re still perturbed about the Playland thing. You can take your order to go — straight to Schenley Park.

— Dave Hartman