Thursday, October 4th, 2012...3:01 pm
Small Prices, Big Taste: Cheap Eats on Campus
When I wake up I make sure to pack my lunch for the day, and make my TTC-ready to-go coffee. My days usually consist of (at least) 8 hours on campus, so saving the cash for that (first?) coffee makes a fairly significant difference, and there is no question about packing a lunch – I simply cannot afford not to. HOWEVER… sometimes I like to treat myself to something nice, like sleeping in for an extra 10-15 minutes and bypassing the packed lunch & coffee. What to do then, without the consumer guilt?
11:45pm- 1:30pm
Every second Wednesday Hart House Clubs and Committees offer a 5 dollar home cooked meal, served in the Great Hall, that’s tough to beat in value. I had long meant to check it out, but didn’t get the pleasure until today. The menu changes with every session, but can usually be found here. Today I enjoyed the veggie option: mixed greens with cucumber tomatoes with preserved lemon vinaigrette, Persian style chickpea potato stew (served with cardamom scented steamed rice) and cinnamon cookie. It was delicious. A meat lover? Change up the stew to beef-potato! Not a bad deal huh?
M-Th: 9am-6pm (Junior Common Room stays open until 9)
Fri: 10am-2pm
An almost secret for its tricky location, Diablo’s is a student run café out of University College that has the cheapest coffee I’ve yet to find on campus. Lug-a-mug with you and (no matter how big that mug is), you get it filled with coffee (or tea) for ONE dollar. Add a quarter if you don’t bring your own mug (for a small). Personally, I can attest their butter tarts are also delicious ($2) and I’ve heard rumblings that their vegan dinner isn’t half bad either ($4).
How to get here? Find the University College quad, and find the northwestern corner. There are stairs up, about 5 of them. Climb them, open doors. You have found the Junior Common Room where Diablo’s is located. Success! (oh sure, sounds easy eh?).
Mon-Thurs 5:30-7pm
An option for those kosher on campus, this dinner is operated by Hillel of Greater Toronto at the Wolfond Centre, and provides kosher meals for the reasonable price of $5. Although designed with the interest of Jewish students in mind, Hillel is an open organization and all students are welcome.
And so there you have it, a few economic shortcuts that won’t disappoint your taste buds, or rest on your monetary conscience. Happy eating frugal friends!
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