Welcome Back: The Lunchbox, take II: our favorite Oakland desserts

Dessert at Pitt is easy to find. Lucky students with meal plans have access to a basically unlimited supply of ice cream, cookies, brownies, pie and cakes with one swipe at either Market Central or the Perch. The Quick Zone also offers a variety of frozen and non-frozen sweet treats. Students with kitchen access can also easily bake cakes and brownies from boxed mixes. 

But for the days you don’t feel like turning on the oven or need to break the daily monotony of cafeteria food, turn to the streets of Oakland. From Belgian waffles to frozen yogurt, there are a number of options to satisfy your dessert cravings. 

Razzy Fresh

300 S Craig St.

3533 Forbes Ave.

Razzy Fresh offers several frozen yogurt flavors with dozens of topping choices. They also charge by weight, so go crazy with your mixings. Its self-serve style and colorful spoons make for a great stress reliever, especially during late night study sessions — Razzy Fresh stays open until midnight. 

Mahita’s Pick: Chocolate, raspberry and French vanilla yogurt mixed with lots of chocolate chips and fresh fruit

Ellie’s Pick: Taro yogurt with fresh fruit, whipped cream and shredded coconut

Crepes Parisiennes

207 S Craig St.

Want to impress your date? Treat them to a truly continental experience. In addition to a wide selection of savory crepes fit for breakfast and brunch, Crepes Parisiennes also features a variety of sweet crepes. From black forest to strawberry, there is a crepe on the menu for every sweet tooth. 

Ellie’s Pick: Nutella with berries, paired with a cup of black coffee

Mahita’s Pick: Exactly the same as Ellie. 

Dave & Andy’s

207 Atwood St.

With homemade ice cream and fresh-baked waffle cones, Dave & Andy’s is freshness you can see — literally. All their ice cream and waffle cones are made fresh behind the counter and the smell of baking cones wafts down Atwood Street daily. With an ever-changing line of flavors and new unique combinations for sale daily, it’s nearly impossible to see the same flavors twice. Dave & Andy’s also sell ice cream by the pint, so you can take it home with you.

Mahita’s Pick: Black raspberry in a waffle cone

Ellie’s Pick: Chipotle chocolate in a waffle cone

Waffallonia

Schenley Plaza

ALSO 1707 Murray Ave., if you feel like traveling to the original 

Belgium is known for good beer, good soccer players and amazing waffles. Luckily, waffles are less likely to cause national heartache — anyone who watched the World Cup can agree — and are available practically on campus. Waffallonia makes fresh waffles every day and offers toppings like strawberries, bananas, cookie butter and ice cream. 

Mahita’s Pick: Plain Liege waffle with a cup of coffee. I swear, the coffee also tastes like waffles.

Ellie’s Pick: The Namur — bananas and Nutella on a sugar waffle — with a cup of coffee.

Joe Mama’s Italian Deluxe

3716 Forbes Ave.

In the mood for a dessert a bit on the fancy side? In addition to lunch and dinner options, Joe Mama’s has great dessert offerings, from cobblers to cakes. Although the list may be small, the taste (and portions) are big. Each dessert comes prepared in a large coffee mug with more than enough to share.

Ellie’s Pick: Tiramisu

Mahita’s Pick: Also tiramisu. While I enjoy cake and cobbler as much as the next person, tiramisu is one of the great loves of my life.