Give your microwave a break and start spending the blocks

Book learnin’ and pounding the pavement build up an appetite. Fortunately, Pitt offers many… Book learnin’ and pounding the pavement build up an appetite. Fortunately, Pitt offers many dining possibilities beyond Easy Mac, ramen and reheated lo mein.

Sodexho

Pitt’s food service provider, Sodexho, supplies the edibles and potables for the on-campus eateries. In addition to that, Sodexho caters special events, dances and receptions. Sodexho also provides part-time jobs for students interested in working at one of Pitt’s dining facilities. Information about student employment, weekly menus, meal plans and dining hall hours is available online at www.pc.pitt.edu/dining/index.html. Not near a modem? Call or stop by Panther Central, located in Litchfield Towers Lobby, at (412) 648-1100 for general information. Or call the Sodexho Hotline at (412) 648-1220.

Meal Plans

Blocks — prepaid meal plan units worth $5.25 — can buy food, drink and occasionally a USA Today at some of Pitt’s eating establishments. These are all-or-nothing deals — though items may add up to $5.22, use a block to pay for it and you sacrifice the remaining three pennies.

Meal plans, required for virtually everyone living in the residence halls, provide anywhere from six meals a week — the Panther Lite plan — to 19 blocks a week — the Hungry Panther plan. The eating week stretches from Monday morning to Sunday night and, because blocks don’t roll over, unused blocks cannot be redeemed the following week.

That said, one block buys entrance to either Marketplace or Sutherland cafeterias, both all-you-can-stomach buffets. For 21 quarters already on your Pitt ID, you can pile plastic plates with mac and cheese; fresh veggies and salad; pizza of all flavors; French fries and hush puppies; spaghetti and burgers, both meat and soy. Marketplace also offers vegetarian food, ice cream and make-your-own waffles and omelets. Sutherland has a smaller buffet, with emphasis on pastas and protein. Both offer cakes, pastries and brownies for dessert.

Other facilities, particularly Eddie’s, Sub Connection and Schenley Cafe, offer block specials — usually an entree, side dish and drink for one block. For example, one block at Schenley gets you a hamburger, fries and a soda; or at the Pizza Hut there, a personal pizza, a bag of chips and a soda; or at Sub Connection, a six-inch sub, a bag of chips and a soda.

If you run out of blocks or want a midday snack, Dining Dollars can be used to purchase smaller items, such as soda and juice by the bottle, cookies, and coffee.

Dining Dollars can be used like cash at any Pitt eatery and, unlike blocks, are not contingent on the eating week. Since students often run out of Dining Dollars mid-semester, they can purchase more, in $50 increments, at Panther Central.

Dining Dollars can be used at Cathedral Cafe, located in the Cathedral of Learning, which now serves fresh sushi daily. The cafe also has a Chick-Fil-A, a made-to-order sandwich and deli area, and a tasty and — gasp — almost gourmet meal section, which makes the best herbed potatoes on campus. You can also use Dining Dollars at vendors around campus, including coffee carts in Towers Lobby, Mervis Hall, Victoria Hall, the basement of the Cathedral and Langley Hall. The cart at Langley also sells great egg-salad-on-a-pretzel sandwiches and (usually) has the best service.

Of all these eateries, the two newest places to nosh are the Food Court at the Petersen Events Center, which offers a mall-type court with coffee, sandwich shops and even a Burger King; and Einstein’s on the Way, located in Posvar Hall, which offers bagels, coffee and salads. Benedum Hall also houses an Einstein’s Express, with the same services as those in Posvar, but with more limited hours.

Sorting through these details may seem tough at first. Remembering the schedule of what’s offered when and where is a matter of practice. Depending on your predilections, the list of where you can eat becomes a shorter list of where you want to eat. For the vegan, kosher or finicky, knowing what’s available proves important. Such eaters can find veggies at Marketplace, pre-packaged kosher meals at Eddie’s or a limited number of options elsewhere.

You eat food. They serve food. It’s a match made in heaven. Or, at least, in the many on-campus dining halls.