Features

I didn’t get the nickname “Feed me” for nothing. My favourite part of school was lunchtime, closely followed by morning tea. For me, and many other such kindred spirits, life at university has proved no different: life revolves around food, glorious food. So what to do when you’re stuck at campus over those stomach-rumbling noontime hours, when you were too sleepy/hungover/late/disorganised to even contemplate making a packed lunch (or you are sick of terrible hall slop and want something actually made of food), and you have only a ten dollar note to your name? Never fear, I spent a week selflessly sampling the culinary offerings of campus (and immediate surrounds) to find the best and most delicious lunching locations nearby.

Monday:
Albany St: emerge from the Central Library onto Albany Street, and a world of lunching possibilities opens up. If you’re looking for a classy café, turn left towards Unipol and hit Eureka, or right for the Green Acorn. If you choose the former, your $10 note probably won’t go much further than a bowl of chips or one of their outstanding chocolate brownies. I’d recommend the latter. The Green Acorn, on the other hand, has lotsa delicious sandwich options, and bottomless student soup (that’s soup for students, not soup made out of students…I think). Both have good coffee as well, but if it’s a liquid lunch that you’re after, you should pay Doc’s a visit (formerly CIA, at the Unipol end of Clubs & Socs) for delicious, cheap coffee, a smiling barista and loyalty cards with the best purchase-to-freebie ratio around.
Other options abound. It is a rare student who hasn’t sat in Central and salivated over the sight and smell of Poppa’s Pizza just across the roadway. While your $10 won’t stretch to an entire large pizza, Dunedin’s Original Pizzeria does offer lunchtime “subs” which are happily in budget. Or you can go halves on a pizza with a buddy. Should you fancy a midday tipple, Poppa’s doesn’t charge corkage for BYO wine.
Lastly, your $10 will allow you to pick up some sushi or cheap’n’quick Asian food at Arirang, neighboring The Green Acorn. Sushi-wise, it’s not quite Sav Jap; but you can get a cheeky six-pack of teriyaki chicken for $5, and at such a favourable distance from the library, that’s not to be sniffed at.
 
Tuesday:         
Frankly Sandwiches: this wee gem of an Otago innovation is so much more than the campus answer to Subway. The ingredients are fresh, the serving staff are friendly, and the sandwiches are so crammed full of goodness that it’s impossible to eat one and maintain one’s decorum. Not only can you choose between baguettes of different sizes, but also wraps, baked potatoes, salads and that Kiwi classic, the Vogel’s sandwich. With a whole $10 to play with, all sorts of culinary delights can be yours: sundried tomatoes, a liberal slathering of basil pesto, brie, hummus. But even a basic Frankly, for around $5.50, will leave you ready to tackle those afternoon lectures and almost enough spare change for another Frankly tomorrow. Best of all, if you’re organised and buy your sandwich before 10am, you get a free hot drink to warm your little hands up against the Dunedin weather.
 
Wednesday:            $3 lunch: when funds are tight and your puku is empty, look no further than the second floor of the Clubs and Socs building, where every weekday from 12-2pm, nutritious and filling lunch is served for a bargain $3. Four days a week (Mon – Thurs) you’ll hear the meditative chanting of Hare Krishna as local devotees go about their Food for Life project, a global distribution of prasadam (vegetarian food made without stimulants like chilli and ginger), while on Friday, $3 lunch is provided by SAI youth. A far more excellent use of religious energy than say suicide bombing or door-to-door faith sales, this project was inspired by the belief’s twentieth century founder, Prabhubada, who in 1973 (bless him) said: "No one within ten miles of a temple should go hungry . . . I want you to immediately begin serving food". Today it is estimated that 700,000 meals are served daily as a result of this project. Personally, my pick for $3 is Wednesday, when you a served a super-delicious wholemeal bread bun accompanied by vegetable and barley soup. Apple crumble or chocolate pudding, as well as various other goodies, can be purchased for a few dollars extra.
 
Thursday:            Union Hall: as well as its ideal proximity to Lex’s coffee cart, Union Hall offers a splendid variety of food options during the week. Lunch in Union Hall is like a whirlwind tour of the globe encompassing Asian, Italian and Mexican food, as well as a nationless-but-no-less-delicious “Healthy” servery, and the Fridge. Lastly, the Union Grill offers fush’n’chups, classic burgers and to-die-for Kapiti ice cream. Unfortunately, this university-monopolised fare doesn’t come cheap, and you’re unlikely to get much change out of $10 at any of the serveries. Luckily each option has a once a week special, and if you happen to pick Thursday, you can get a large pizza from the Union Grill for $6. $6 fajitas on Tuesdays is also a good time.
All in all the food is a bit mass-produced, a bit over-priced and not as authentic as the adjectives might suggest. But if you hit up the daily special, your pocket and your growling stomach will thank you for it.
 
Friday: Fluid: unless you live over Forth Street way, you frequent the School of Education, or you hit up Campus Wonderful for spearmint milkshakes like me, you might never have noticed Fluid. Tucked away a block down from UniCol (towards Logan Park) on the corner next to the Campus Wonderful dairy, this little café is quite the lunchtime gem. It has an impressive array of sandwiches and other savoury lunch items for under $10, including lots of interesting vegetarian options (if you’re that way inclined), leaving you some coin to spend on great coffee or their irresistible slices and muffins. The only downside to Fluid is that, catering strictly to the Uni/Polytech market, it’s closed during the weekends, and shuts up for summer in mid-December.
 
Saturday:            Cumberland Street: if you’re after organic food, with lots of gluten-free and vegetarian options, look no further than the Good Earth for a weekday lunch or Saturday brunch. Conveniently opposite St. David, for those HSFYs who cannot bring themselves to stray beyond a 200m radius of that lecture theatre, the Good Earth has a sunny courtyard and also offers evening service on Fridays and Saturdays. Stretching to brunch or dinner might be too much for that lone $10 note, but the extra moneyz will be worth it. Try the organic vegetable hash with bacon and eggs, or their spin on huevos rancheros. The only downside? The coffee’s a tad expensive, but its many loyal followers will tell you that 50c here or there is totally worth it.
Another Cumberland Street option is the Museum Café, which features a giant sunfish replica as décor. The food and coffee can be somewhat average, especially when the café is busy, but if you are looking to indulge in a museum-based study break (maybe some fun in Animal Attic) then stop by and give the café a whirl.
 
Sunday:            Ombrellos: there are many good excuses to have Sunday brunch at Ombrello’s: a classy affair with your visiting relatives, a hot date, or simply something to soak up your Saturday night. Ombrello’s ain’t cheap, but the food is excellent. There are the usual suspects: pancakes, Eggs Benedict, big breakfast. But it’s worth branching out to such exotic options as French toast (citrus, cinnamon and coconut) served with fried bananas, bacon and maple syrup on homemade brioche, or rosemary-infused roasted portobello mushrooms with crispy parmesan polenta and salad greens, and topped with a creamy port wine sauce.