The road to ‘stuffed’ is paved with good intentions

Caution: extreme hungriness might occur. Danesh Sethna tackles the toughest challenge of the year.

As university students, the three most important things on our minds are food, alcohol and more alcohol. However, while I’m sure many of you are adept at making your own home made version of Purple, not many of us know how to feed ourselves.

Now I’m not talking about boxed mac n’ cheese or cartons of frozen fish sticks, I’m talking about real food, the kind your mom used to make and you curse yourself for not paying attention to the complex recipe. As a person who has successfully managed to screw up the humble P-B-and-J on multiple occasions, coming to Warwick meant eating out a lot! Luckily the university offers a plethora of eating joints that cater to your every need, whether you’re looking for a quick bite to eat on a budget, or you’re in the mood for something fancy.

First stop on the Warwick campus food map was the ever-popular Bread Oven. My first impression is one I imagine every single one of us has had: I’ll die of starvation before I actually end up getting served. With the massive number of students on campus trying to stick to a budget, the Bread Oven is their saving grace. With their healthy and affordable menu, plus unique sandwich combinations, the restaurant is usually packed at all times of day. Unfortunately that means if you were looking for a quick bite, you’d sooner end up getting served at the immigration office than over there.

However, I’d still recommend getting in the long queue of hungry students and waiting to be served because honestly the food is definitely worth it. My favorite sandwich selection is the ‘Hot Chick’, a crunchy, chewy, warm baguette filled to the brim with tender pieces of succulent chicken and spicy peri-peri sauce. The heat from the sauce, the juiciness of the chicken, and the fact that this is probably as close to a hot chick as I’ll get, is what makes this sandwich a winner for me.

For vegetarians I’d seriously recommend getting the falafel, mint yoghurt and salad option because anything deep-fried and smothered in dressing is bound to be delicious. If you’re trying to save a quid or two, try the hummus and cucumber option from the restaurant’s value saver menu; guaranteed to be easy on the stomach and on the wallet. Just remember to bring an umbrella if you’re going as there isn’t usually a lot of room to sit inside, and with the weather being as hormonal as it is lately the last thing you want after all that queuing is a soggy sandwich.

Next on the list, Xananas, centrally placed at the heart of the Student Union. If you’re feeling a bit elitist and are in the mood for an up market, ‘bistro’ style dining experience, this is the place for you. After a rather peaceful walk up the Union Building, I entered the restaurant which instantly screamed ‘Step away, you cannot afford me!’ Known for their extremely large portions I steered away from the entrees and went straight for the mains.

Unfortunately the coveted salmon pasta was no longer available so I instead decided to be adventurous and order the Baked Mushroom En Croûte which came topped with an exorbitant amount of melted goats’ cheese. Now while I’m all for my daily dietary requirements of veggies, there’s something intimidating about having to eat a giant Fungi all by yourself. Seeing my plight, I was fortunately rescued by my companion who enjoyed the dish so much he decided to eat it all himself. Robbed of my main I felt it right for me to take the bigger share of the luxuriant chocolate fudge sundae that screamed ‘diabetes in a cup’. Yum.

Last on the list is the chic Le Gusta. The menu, although limited, was more than enough to get me salivating. They say you can judge any Italian restaurant based on how well it can make a Margarita, and boy did Le Gusta live up to my standards. Piping hot, with a delicious chewy sweet crust and the perfect balance between tomato sauce and cheese made this pizza a clear winner. Although I’m told that the sea bass, lime fishcakes and the Lasagna Verde are something you have to try, the pizza alone was more than enough for me. Other interesting mentions on the menu are the Le Gusta pie with mustard mash, leeks and peas and the popular garlic dough balls which reminded me of the ones you can order from Dominos.

Three restaurants down and a wallet that’s been screaming for mercy my message to you is to check them out at least once because in all honesty they offer some pretty amazing food. Happy eating.