Best of Shopping

Place to develop film | Drug store | Vintage clothing store | Clothing store | Grocery store… Place to develop film | Drug store | Vintage clothing store | Clothing store | Grocery store | Video rental store | Textbook seller | All-night store | Florist | Cell phone vendor | Place to buy CDs | Piercing shop

Place to develop film

CVS/Pharmacy

3440 Forbes Ave.

(412) 687-4180

Sometimes you just can’t wait.

You need to have those 4-by-6 doubles of last night’s 21st birthday party, and you need to have them now.

So you head to CVS/Pharmacy. One of only three one-hour photo labs in Oakland, it’s the student choice for best place to get film developed. This place boasts near-Polaroid speed.

In fact, if you’re in the mood to shop, CVS’ large selection of products provides budding photographers with something to do while they wait. By the time you’ve loaded up on Pepto-Bismol, Lysol, Saltines, toilet-bowl cleaner, air freshener and Stain Stick, you’ll have photographic evidence of last night’s shenanigans in your still-unsteady hands.

On the other hand, if you’d rather not see that evidence so soon, you can postpone the return of the developed photos by using the next-day developing service. It’s cheaper than one-hour developing, and provides the perfect time-delay realization of what really went on last night.

– Dave Hartman

Drug store

CVS/Pharmacy

3440 Forbes Ave.

(412) 687-4180

CVS/Pharmacy #2348 is worth the extra walk down past McKee Place. The lighting is clean and bright, even at 3:30 a.m., no one accepts donations for door-opening services – at CVS, they’re automatic; there’s an actual parking lot, and members with Extra Care cards can earn “Extra Bucks” and “Free Extras” everyday. Clearly, we are lucky to be in one of 33 states that host some of the 4,000 CVS stores in the country.

And CVS and its 100,000 employees want to pay us back for our devotion. If you’re a student over 5, you can enter CVS’ “$10,000 Leaders for Learning College Award Contest” by the end of this month. After making $22 billion last year, they can afford it.

So hike (or drive and park) down to your friendly neighborhood CVS, get your Extra Care card, and stock up on soap, greeting cards, cleaning products, food, notebooks, pens, film, batteries and so much more.

– Elizabeth Cowan

Vintage clothing store

Goodwill

2700 E. Carson St.

(412) 481-5390

OK, so say you had a Penguins championship T-shirt when you were a kid and want to wear it but that children’s large just isn’t working for you anymore. Or you saw “Almost Famous” and thought those Stillwater boys dressed fancy-like and want to emulate them. Maybe you just want to be like the cool kids and get all emo-ed out. Where can you go to get those hard-to-find items to make such fashion statements? Not Target, that’s for sure.

Only Goodwill carries such an eclectic variety of clothes to fit all styles and needs. Sometimes, you might get discouraged to find only clothes that MC Hammer wouldn’t have been caught dead in, but they don’t call Goodwill the “bargain hunter’s paradise” for nothing. You have to hunt, hunt, hunt for those Pens Stanley Cup shirts, bell-bottomed corduroy pants, or extra small ringer tees.

And it helps in those Hammer-rejection-driven moments of despair to know you can peruse Goodwill’s vinyl album crates that invariably contain at least three copies of Herb Alpert’s “Whipped Cream ‘ Other Delights,” and find some gems there instead.

– Dante A. Ciampaglia

Clothing store

Rue 21

3605 Forbes Ave.

(412) 681-1266

Best alternative to doing laundry? Buying more clothes. Best place in Oakland to buy more clothes to avoid doing laundry? Rue 21.

While the nature of shopping itself may attract more women than men to the store, the Forbes Avenue fashion stop offers both men’s and women’s clothing at a low price – one of its main attractions.

Assistant manager Kevi Ferguson and general manager Latrease Degraffenried said some of the store’s best-selling items include socks, sale-item suede coats and dorm room accessories, including lava lamps. Asian-themed party shirts are also hot sellers.

Jeans are also a best-seller for the store. On any given day, the store might have jeans from Bubblegum, L.E.I. or even Express, and they all move quickly off the racks.

With frequent sales and tons of fun merchandise, there’s no reason not to put off that laundry for yet another day.

– Leslie Hoffman

Grocery store

Giant Eagle

4612 Centre Ave.

(412) 682-5526

It was an easy choice.

The big bird is there for all of your food shopping needs, and more. The closest store is on Centre Avenue in North Oakland, but there are two locations on Murray Avenue, both along the 61C Port Authority Transit bus route, one in Shadyside, and another at the Waterfront in Homestead.

Baking what may be the best sheet cakes in town, the Giant Eagle bakeries shell out thousands of delicious cookies, brownies, doughnuts, breads and cupcakes from their ovens daily. Invest in a cookie card: you’ll get a free cookie every time you’re there.

Don’t get annoyed if you get a cashier who puts two items in each bag. Those little blue things will come in handy if your apartment ever runs out of Hefty bags, and they’re essential for off-campus recycling.

And don’t forget your Advantage Card. Without it, you would miss out on discounts and coupons. Besides, shopping just isn’t advantageous without an Advantage Card.

– Erik Arroyo

Video rental store

Take 2 Video

416 Semple St.

(412) 683-7127

Rainy days and nights are common in Pittsburgh, and there will be times during the semester when it’s just more desirable to stay indoors. So whenever it’s too cold to go out and too wet to play ball, jog over to Semple Street and let Take 2 Video hook you up with some entertainment options.

Though Take 2 has consolidated its Bates Street and Atwood Street locations into one store on Semple, Pitt’s favorite rental joint hasn’t lost its edge. Take 2 still offers a wide selection of movies for an affordable price, and you don’t need to take a bus to get there. Nothing stands between you and your video of choice except a quick walk through beautiful South Oakland.

Next time you get a craving for the movie you saw on your first date, the movie you saw on your last date, or even your favorite straight-to-video hit, swing by Take 2. Then, spend those cold, rainy evenings basking in television’s warm, glowing, warming glow.

– Eric Miller

Textbook seller

Campus Bookstore

3610 Fifth Ave.

(412) 681-9770

It’s extremely agonizing watching your hard-earned money go to waste on textbooks. I’m sure you could think of a million other ways to spend more than $300.

The average person doesn’t want to spend time searching for the best deal on books, but they don’t need to fret because the Campus Bookstore provides students with options and affordability.

Whether you are a person who likes to have their texts already highlighted and full of notes, or prefer to do the markings yourself, the Campus Bookstore provides new and used copies of most books. Most of the books cost the same or less than those you find in a Barnes and Noble or even online.

So if you’re in a hurry or if convenience is your middle name, the Campus Bookstore is where it’s at.

– Meghan Dowdell

All-night store

7-Eleven

3955 Forbes Ave.

(412) 682-6108

Pop quiz: It’s 2 a.m. You have the munchies. Bad. Where are you going to go?

Well, duh.

The establishment that plays such a vital role in late-night culture that often 7-Eleven is more crowded at 2 a.m. than 2 p.m.

Standard time or military time, it doesn’t matter how you have your watch set. No matter what it says you can bask in the splendor of row after well-lit row of ramen, chips, and snack cakes. And now with pizza available right next door, all of the major snackage groups are present and accounted for.

Even if you’ve never stayed up past 10 p.m., it must be hard to resist the siren call of those spacious aisles. And there’s plenty of fresh coffee for those who tend to “forget” about term papers until 12 hours before they’re due.

Screw campus food – those squares are totally closed by midnight. When you need a tasty treat, you know where to go. Just don’t forget your keys. That would suck.

– A. Horbal

Florist

Gidas Flowers

3719 Forbes Ave.

(412) 621-1300

Your girlfriend caught you checking out someone else at a party, she won’t return your calls, and you want to get back into her life. What are you going to do? Why not buy her a big bouquet of flowers? It probably won’t fix everything, but it’s a nice start.

Gidas, located on Forbes Avenue, offers a wide variety of blooms for the remorseful Romeo or date-inept Don Juan, plus everyone in between. From the standard carnations and roses to large exotic blooms that look like they might bite, Gidas offers a look and smell for almost any occasion, including pre-made bouquets and arrangements for the lover-on-the-go.

If you are not looking for something pre-made or don’t feel confident enough in the floral arts to create something on your own, a friendly, helpful staff member will assist you in picking the right look for your special occasion.

Of course, most women would surely agree that guys could stop by Gidas more often than just on special occasions.

– Mike Boyles

Cell phone vendor

Cricket

3619 Forbes Ave.

(412) 635-4565

The deal was on. Johnny sat back on his big, green couch and thought about the best way to get in touch with his Phoenix connection.

“Cell phone,” the couch said.

“What?”

“With Cricket Talk,” the couch said, “you get unlimited local minutes, caller ID call waiting, three-way calling and 500 anytime long distance minutes.”

Johnny took a drag from his cigarette.

“What’ll it cost me?” he asked.

“‘Bout 40 bucks,” the couch said. “Plus, for $4.99 a month, you can get text messaging.”

“No wonder they were voted No. 1,” Johnny said. “What do I owe ya?”

“Just stop farting into my cushions,” the couch said with a slight laugh.

– Eric Lidji

Place to buy CDs

Sam Goody

3601 Forbes Ave.

(412) 683-2433

With a store window festooned with posters, cover art and disc cases, all with spotlights shining down on them, Sam Goody lures customers in.

Not only does it sell the most popular contemporary music, it also sells recording artist calendars and other music paraphernalia. You can buy CDs, get something to carry them in, and procure something to play them with, all in one place.

Need an Xbox or a PlayStation 2? You can get those there, too. Grab some games for your system while you’re at it.

The store boasts a wide array of DVDs as well. It has everything from Card Captor Sakura to The Beatles Story to Lord of the Rings.

Next time you’re in need of reasonably priced entertainment that you can take home with you, Sam Goody is a great place to look.

– Natalie Preston

Piercing shop

Z-Spot Body Art Studio Inc.

115 Meyran Ave.

(412) 681-2171

www.zspotstudio.com

The first thing you notice is how damn clean the place is.

The shiny autoclave sitting on the purple-and-zebra striped counter sterilizes the equipment used by tattoo artists Z and Leanne and piercers Kristin and Dave to modify, scarify and beautify the human body.

Tattoos are works of art at Z-Spot: Z and Leanne both attended art school and are more than happy to consult the aspiring tattooee on designs from the many binders, posters and wall hangings around the shop, but will gladly help you design a custom tattoo if you can’t draw it yourself.

Kristin and Dave work from a zebra-printed chair partitioned away from the rest of the shop. Laminated photos of their most successful pierces cover the walls, and if you’re too shy to order a more exotic piercing off the menu, you can simply point to the piercing of your choice on the grinning, evil, plastic rat by the chair.

And do be advised that whatever you get, it’s going to hurt. Of the pain, Kristin herself says, “Somebody called me ‘devil woman’ once. And I get kicked in the crotch all the time.”

– Clare Perretta