Clarification: Meals at the Dining Hall cost $8 for faculty and staff, last week Cas was charged $8 and was mistaken for a staff member. For students, meals cost $12 at the Dining Hall.
New changes are being made to Point Perk, including a rehaul of their entire menu catered by the same group that runs Point Park’s Dining Hall.
In a letter to the editor, University President Chris Brussalis said that the changes being made to both Point Café and Point Perk were to significantly reduce the cost for students and enhance their overall Pioneer experience. Well, this week I learned that he wasn’t wrong – the food on the menu is decently affordable. But does it taste good?
First on the menu, I tried the cheese nachos. Although, I almost didn’t review them in the first place because, in my opinion, chips are chips. They came with sour cream, melted cheese, shredded cheese, green peppers and something else, but I only tried them with the cheeses and sour cream; both on the side.
Opening the box right away, I could tell that these nachos were not your basic white girl nachos that you might order at Chipotle or get for free at Moe’s. The contents of the chips were, I quote my editor-elect, “the good kinda chips.” They were thick and crispy, plated inside one of the brown, square cardboard containers that every meal came in.
Together we ate the entire thing in one sitting.
The same editor also told me that the nacho cheese was definitely the same cheese used in the Point Café to make the mac and cheese. It was really good.
In the future, you will definitely find me in the Perk ordering some hot chips for an in-between-class snack.
When I was there, I ordered three drinks, all of which were absolutely delicious. They had two different slushy flavors: a sugar-free watermelon slushy and dragon fruit slushy. I bought the dragon fruit slushy, which cost $4.95. When the worker behind the counter said he couldn’t try the dragon fruit drink because of his strawberry allergy, it made me sad. As I drank, his comment made me wonder if the slushy contained any dragon fruit at all. It was a little sweet, but is still worth trying if you have Flex Dollars to spend.
Although I realized they were still using the same cups from the Starbucks “We Proudly Serve” model and, as I was trying to get the slushy out of the cup, I could only suck out the juice without a straw, leaving the ice inside.
I also ordered two other drinks. The farmer’s punch at $3.95 had an unidentifiable fruity taste and was almost sweeter than the slushy. When I was there, they had small cups to try each juice. I would recommend stopping in for a sample sometime.
Next, I tried a mango flavor and, in the sample, the drink’s flavor was really concentrated. Yet, after ice was added, it tasted more diluted than I liked. If you order it, ask for light ice. The mango flavor is decently strong and the drink in general was refreshing.
I brought this next meal into the office. Since the first day of class, I have been hearing rumors of bison chili and couldn’t believe that it, allegedly, has real bison meat in it.
The bison green chili at $7.95 is a cup of chili that comes in a small container. Although the price is a bit high for the portion, I give it the pass, figuring that bison meat is probably expensive.
When I opened the lid, I saw what I imagined Black Diamond would look like if he was put inside of a blender. The color of the meat mixed with the green peppers was the same shade of green as Point Park’s.
The appearance made me apprehensive but, after trying it, I learned that it was super tasty. The peppers made it spicy, but the burning sensation in the back of my throat was more painful than the spice on my tongue. At times I had to close my eyes and attempt to forget what the chili looked like to keep eating. As an in-class snack, I wouldn’t recommend eating this around your peers, yet again if you like spice it’s surprisingly good.
It might not be a bad idea to order the nachos and chili with friends to make some spicy bison-meat nachos.
I was told that apparently the most popular item on the menu is the chicken wings at $8.95. To be honest, next week I’m going to review Forbes Tavern on Forbes Avenue. They have five wings for $7.50 and their wings taste way better.
If you’re in a pinch, sure, get the wings. But if you have time? Don’t. The meat felt almost hard and was difficult to pull off the bone. I was served entire wings too, which should have been exciting because they were big, but I didn’t get any more meat. I just wasn’t sure about the whole ordeal.
If you plan to eat them in class like I sometimes do, don’t get them dredged in sauce. It gets messy and would probably start an awkward conversation between you and your professor.
The last thing I tried on the new Perk’s menu was the turkey bacon cheddar panini for $8.95. In my opinion, the sandwich was small and had basic flavor for the price. Opening its brown container, I saw that it was just a fancier turkey sandwich. I didn’t eat the whole thing but it would be filling, again, in a pinch.
This review comes from someone who doesn’t have Flex Dollars. For me, the only food worth your real money is the chili, the nachos and any of the drinks. However, I know that a lot of you reading this probably do have an abundance of flex dollars to spend. Now there’s another spot on campus where you can actually get real food that isn’t half bad.
Shout out to the Point Perk staff who told me that my order was the biggest one they had received so far for the semester. They were really nice and found a janky brown bag to help me carry everything back to The Globe office.
