From cookie-butter-flavored puddings, to Girl-Scout-cookieflavored cupcakes and 3D cakes, Love Made Edible Bakery aims to spread joy through pastries bursting with flavors.
The bakery won “Best BlackOwned Business” in The Pitt News’ annual “Best Of” contest. Upon entering the bakery, customers enter a vibrant purple room with the scent of freshly made goods. The bakery opened about a year ago and is located in Brentwood, which is about 20 minutes from Pitt’s campus.
Shamara Ray, the owner of Love Made Edible, said she had the dream of owning her own bakery from a young age after “Cake Boss” inspired her.
“I was probably 12 years old when I came up with the idea behind owning a bakery,” Ray said.
“I’ve just always liked baking and when I saw Cake Boss, where they were making really cool cakes, I thought, ‘Wow, I want to do that.”
Ray said she spent a lot of time trying to figure out the name for the business.
“I came up with the name in college. I didn’t know what to call it, and love is my favorite thing,” Ray said. “[So I thought], if something can be or taste as good as love, like good love, then it’s great. So I named it Love Made Edible.
Torea Barber, a nighttime baker at Love Made Edible, said her favorite part about the bakery is its openness to creativity and experimentation.
“I started working at Love Made Edible on August 1, 2022. My favorite part about working here is being able to create unique baked goods,” Barber said. “There are no limits when it comes to baking in the Love Made Edible kitchen.”
Barber’s favorite treat at the bakery is the strawberry crunch cheesecake, which she
called “heaven on earth.” She said it tastes similar to a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar.
Missy Simmons, 40, resident of Jefferson Hills and frequent customer at Love Made Edible, said she discovered the bakery out of curiosity.
“Funny story — I never travel that far up 51. I had to relocate temporarily and ended up traveling past her bakery daily. I happened to be driving to work down 51 and saw this cute little bakery that had a sign saying ‘open,’” Simmons said. “I was super curious. I had no idea if they were new.”
Simmons said Ray was personable from the start, allowing her to form a strong personal friendship filled with laughter.
“I walked in and let me tell you, Shamara, the owner, was like a breath of fresh air. She made all of your problems disappear,” Simmons said. “I think I would have come back to say hi even if her treats were terrible, but the
best part [was] they were the best cupcakes I have ever tasted.”
Simmons said finding Love Made Edible helped her deal with the long weeks of struggling with fertility and the strict dietary recommendations that came with it.
“I have been on a fertility journey for a long time, while in the middle of IVF, trying to stick to a low carb diet and stay away from sugar. Well, that was a big problem after having those delicious cupcakes,” Simmons said. “I made a deal with myself, I would only stop by on Sundays for a treat. I swear it got me through the hard times that year.”
Ray said her favorite thing to make is the custom cakes, which vary for different events. She said it makes her feel like she has a big role in the events she’s baking for.
“I feel like the cake is the life of the party,” Ray said. “When it’s sitting up and it’s pretty on the table, I feel like a good cake makes the party.”
Ray said she makes a variety of 3D cakes to order. Depending on the components and intricacy of the cake, it can take anywhere from six to 12 hours.
“The most unique orders are 3D. I’ve made a Tito’s bottle, or like a bag of money, or stacks of money,” Ray said. “It can take a lot of time.”
The bakery makes treats for any occasion, from gatherings to birthday parties. The flexibility in events allows the bakery to experiment with menu items, whether that be combining or creating new ones altogether.
Simmons said Ray used her two favorite flavors, red velvet and salted pretzel, to make her a special cake with a flavor on each side for her birthday.
“Here she is trying to get her bakery up and running and at the same time thinking of her customers that way,” Simmons said. “She is truly one of a kind.”
Simmons said the warmth and comfort Love Made Edible strives to project is what keeps their customers hooked.
“I always ask Shamara what her secret ingredient is that makes all of her treats so delicious. She simply says it’s because they are made with love. Well, her love of baking has me hooked,” Simmons said. “I will continue to be one of her biggest fans, watching her hard work and dedication make her dreams come true.”
As winner of “Best Of Black-owned Businesses,” Ray said she wants Pitt students to know their dreams are possible and to never give up.
“Even if it seems far away or like it’s never going to happen, it is much closer than you think,” Ray said. “I want students to know that anything is possible.”
Pitt students voted Müge Kökten Finkel, a professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, as the best grad professor in The Pitt News’ “Best Of” survey.
Finkel teaches Gender and Development, a Capstone on Project Design and Evaluation and a survey course on Global Poverty and Inequality at GSPIA. Outside of teaching, she also is involved in research projects with the United Nations Development Programme and Gender Inequality Research Lab. Finkel’s teaching style is centered on pushing students to think
outside of the box and experiment, preparing them for professional life.
Finkel said she’s surprised and “exceptionally honored” by her win.
“I only teach smaller and elective classes, so being acknowledged as one who has made a large scale effect has been wonderfully gratifying,” Finkel said.
Finkel’s classes at GSPIA focus on issues such as problems of development and inequalities on both the global and local scale. Finkel said she takes a collaborative approach in her classroom that students seem to enjoy. She strongly emphasizes a more interactive learning environment that is discussion-based rather than lecture-based.
“Interacting takes more effort, courage and commitment, but the end result is always more satisfying,” Finkel said. “In grad classes, I believe we need to prepare our students for a professional life as expediently as possible.”
Anisha Mallik, a junior graduate student at
GSPIA who took Finkel’s Gender and Development and Capstone Project Design and Evaluation class, said Finkel was “super energetic” and described her as an “industry leader” in her sector.
“She has such a zest and passion for life,” Mallik said. “It would be Monday morning at 9 a.m. and she would already be three coffees down, super awake and energetic.”
Mallik said Finkel wants to challenge students to meet her energy and passion level each class.
“Students find the most growth in their careers when being challenged to engage in interactive and energetic discussion,” Mallik said.
Finkel acknowledges that her approach may be initially intimidating, but it ultimately allows her to see her students' active thinking skills.
“My main goal is to make sure everyone in the class feels included, that their points are valued, and that everyone has a rightful place
in the classroom,” Finkel said.
Naomi Yamashita Sperry, another student at GSPIA looking to get her masters in public health, also emphasized the energy seen in the classroom. Yamashita Sperry is 55 and has a background in emergency room nursing and chose to continue her learning in Finkel’s interactive environment.
“She is extremely intelligent, and the three hour classes fly by because she commands the room in a way that is participatory, not us just sitting there in a lecture,” she said Yamashita Sperry said her classes with Finkel are not “cookie cutter,” as she aims to change students’ ways of thinking.
“For example, when looking in the field of healthcare, so much of data has been based on perception-targeted populations that don’t include everyone,” she said. “Dr. Finkel looks to include ways that we include the entire population and why issues affect minorities, instead of looking through it with a white privilege lens.”
Finkel also co-leads a research project with the United Nations Development Programme, where she focuses on collecting gendered data and analyzing global trends in gender equality See Best Grad Prof on page 10
Alexandra Ross Assistant News Editor
One of the most contentious issues at a debate between Pitt’s College Republicans and College Democrats on Monday night came when College Republicans vice president Joshua Minsky and College Democrats president Amanda Thornton debated whether abortion is a human right.
Minsky said he “[has] absolutely no problem” with abortions in the case of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk, but condemned abortions resulting from consensual casual sex.
“Control yourselves,” Minsky said, referring to casual sex, saying that “hookup culture” and the “sexualization of society” have led to increased abortion rates.
“Society has become extremely sexualized,” Minsky said. “Everyone is having sex with everyone, I mean, it's just true. Look at Tinder … I'm sorry if there is a problem in society and I'm simply saying it out loud.”
Thornton called Minsky’s responses “insensitive” and “disrespectful to women.”
“Everyone has the right to control their own lives,” Thornton said. “Having reproductive health care is a basic human right and we need to make sure we support the right to choose and work towards a world where reproductive autonomy is respected and valued, which clearly you don’t.”
Students filled the William Pitt Union Assembly Room Monday night to hear some of the University’s most politically active students debate the issues. Two panels of speakers representing College Democrats and College Republicans answered questions on abortion, health care, the Second Amendment, minimum wage, immigration and climate change. Audience members could also ask questions for the final half hour of the event.
An audience member asked the clubs to speak on recent efforts from Republican politicians to ban drag performances. Minsky said drag shows are “objectively … extremely sexual” and drag bans do not target adultoriented drag shows, but rather drag performances in public schools.
“It's extremely disgusting,” Minsky said. “Children should not be exposed to that type of stuff.”
College Democrats member George Begler argued against the bans, and questioned Minsky’s statements that he had seen evidence online of drag queens performing sexually explicit shows in front of children.
“If you don't like drag, don't go to a drag show,” Begler said. “It's that simple. It's really not rocket science … What we are seeing is an attempt to criminalize the existence of LGBT people.”
Another audience question centered on making universities more accessible to marginalized communities. Thornton said reducing testing requirements and tuition rates can make college more accessible.
economy by killing all those small businesses.”
In response, College Democrats member Thomas Ross said raising the minimum wage consistent with inflation rates would not reduce the purchasing power of workers.
“If we're able to raise the wages of minimum-wage workers … it's going to contribute to more growth in the economy, it's going to lead to better outcomes for Americans … it’s going to be better for the economy as a whole,” Ross said.
Begler and College Republicans member Heather Wright debated the adequacy of the American health care system. Begler argued for a movement toward single-payer or universal health care, in order to increase accessibility of health care to low-income Americans.
“We are the only industrialized country to not guarantee health care as a right. That is unacceptable,” Begler said.
Wright argued that a move toward publicly funded health care would worsen health care outcomes, namely by increasing wait times. She said low-income individuals can still go to the emergency room to seek treatment and can’t be turned away.
“Unfortunately, tuition is very expensive for a lot of people, especially marginalized communities, and a lot of them cannot afford it,” Thornton said.
Minsky argued that colleges should eliminate general education requirements and liberal arts education to reduce the number of credits students must pay to take. He also argued against affirmative action.
“The highest dropout rates in places like Harvard and other elite universities tend to come from marginalized people because they cannot handle the curriculum because they came from a bad school district,” Minsky said, adding that “this has nothing to do with their intelligence.”
In response to a moderator question about the minimum wage, College Republicans president Dylan Mitchell said raising the federal minimum wage would disproportionately harm small businesses, without resulting in any real wage gains for workers after inflation.
“Whenever you raise that wage, those low income, minimum-wage workers … are going to get laid off,” Mitchell said. “Many of them get laid off completely, and those that don't, their hours are slashed so bad that they're not actually making any more money, and they can no longer find work because you've damaged the
Wright also argued that these individuals can “send $1 a month” toward their medical debt without the government taking action against them — giving her own mother as an example.
“My mom's hospital bills equate to over $100,000,” Wright said. “My mom works at Giant Eagle now because of her injury, but yet they haven't come after her. She has far more medical bills than any person that I know so far, but they haven’t come after her.”
A rare moment of agreement came when an audience member asked about nuclear energy as a viable solution for climate change. Both Minsky and College Democrats member Henry Cohen said they support the use of nuclear energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
“Nuclear power is the number one tool in our arsenal, and we have to use it,” Cohen said. “It's incredibly powerful, it's safe and, most importantly, we can do it easily.”
According to Jack Ruotolo, the president of BridgePittsburgh, the debate is a tradition that pushes students toward dialogue, transpartisanshipialogue, empathy and ideological discourse, we are able to … bring politics back to the people, where real change can be made,” Ruotolo said.
In the countryside of France is a quiet and residential neighborhood where a single mother, living with her two young children, must deal with a national transit strike in Paris to reach a life-changing job interview on time. These scenes are depicted in the 2021 French drama film, “Full Time.”
About 200 people attended the opening night reception of the CMU International Film Festival last Thursday in McConomy Auditorium to watch the screening of “Full Time.” Afterward, an exclusive Q&A session took place with the film’s director, Eric Gravel, and French bakery La Gourmandine provided guests with pastries, baguettes and refreshments.
The Humanities Center at CMU started the CMU International Film Festival in 2006 to encourage further interest in the humanities. The festival’s programming booklet describes this year’s theme, “Faces of Change,” as a way to “explore the ways that change manifests.” The festival will continue through April 2.
Regis Curtis, a programming intern for the festival and a senior at Pitt majoring in German, French and West European studies, said the agenda behind the festival is nonlinear.
“We’re not trying to push any single agenda,” Curtis said. “We’re not saying, ‘Here’s the theme and here’s the lesson.’ At the core
of what we’re trying to do is really generate discourse and to have a conversation with everyone in the community and everyone else who’s sort of involved in those discourses. We want people to leave less with an answer and more with thoughts they can continue to think about.”
The festival also featured the Pakistani film “Joyland,” which explores the intersection of queerness, masculinity and family in Desi culture, this past Saturday. “Joyland” is the first Pakistani film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where director Saim Sadiq won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section — which seeks to award directors of non-traditional films.
Before the screening of the film, dancers Naina Roy and Pitt alum Jothika Gorur performed Kathak and Bharatanatyam — two of the eight classical Indian dance forms — respectively. Traditional Desi snacks like samosas, kheer and gulab jamun were provided during the screening. A Q&A session with the director and cast of the film took place after.
During the Q&A session, actor Ali Junejo — who played the main role of Haider — said he spent a lot of time trying to understand his character’s relationships in order to play the role well.
See Film Festival on page 10
said he’s always felt familiar with Pitt's student body.
Students love partying at Phat’s Bar for its tasty Moscow mules, Instagrammable setting and crowded dance floor — but it’s largely the passionate staff that complete the atmosphere.
Phat Nguyen, one of the bar’s owners and its namesake, won “Best Bartender” after students voted in The Pitt News’ annual “Best Of” survey. It’s Nguyen’s first time winning since the bar opened in January 2021, but he credits the bar’s success to the skills he learned from his brother, Phung Nguyen, nephew Andy Do and Roman Magolon, who is the general manager of Phat’s Bar.
“We’ve always wanted to open a bar,” Nguyen said. “I’ve only been bartending since we’ve opened this place. I learned what I know from Andy, and working around here all the time.”
Do and Nguyen’s brother partner with him in owning and operating the bar. Do, who has worked as a bartender in various locations for about five years, moved to Pittsburgh when he discovered the opportunity to open Phat’s Bar.
Nicknamed “Mr. Phat” by students and bar patrons, Nguyen also owns Ineffable Cà Phê in Lawrenceville. As an Indiana University of Pennsylvania alum, Nguyen
“I feel like we have a great relationship with the students, they seem to have fun,” Nguyen said. “Our atmosphere really is geared towards students to see what they want and like.”
Magolon, a senior business information systems major, said as a Pitt student, he tries to use his position as general manager to gauge what students enjoy.
“We try to cater to the students, make them feel like they can come here, have a good time and party. As a student myself, I love coming here with my friends,” Magolon said.
“We also have events with all the frats and stuff. So the relationship with the students is pretty good.”
With a strong social media presence, regular DJ nights, greenery covering the walls and a large neon pink sign in the back of the bar that reads “Be a badass with a Phat ass,” the bar has become exponentially more popular since opening.
Do said he took a lot of decor inspiration from the nightlife in Atlanta, which is where he resided before moving to Pittsburgh. He added that the team added these details in an effort to help the Phat’s brand stand out, but also to make students feel welcome.
“We're just setting a vibe to where people feel they can be comfortable here and just have a good time and be safe too,” Do said. “Instead of just being like, ‘drink as much as you
can,’ that's not what we're here for. We want everyone just to have a good time. At the end of the day, that's how we view this bar.”
One of Phat’s Bar’s signature drinks is Phat’s Bomb, a $6 shot that contains watermelon schnapps, blue curacao and Red Bull. Do said the shot is a specialty at the bar.
“We don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s one of the random drinks that we made up,” Do said. “I asked Phat what's his favorite color, since the bar’s named after Phat. He said purple, and I was like, ‘Alright, great. I'm gonna make a drink that's purple.’”
While most of the bar’s drinks are named after Nguyen, bartenders can create their own cocktail and name it after themselves. Magolon’s $8 specialty drink is called “Roman Holiday” and contains vodka, lime juice, lemon juice, blue curacao and lime soda.
Nguyen said he thinks Phat’s Bar stands out in Oakland because of its personable and positive bartenders.
“Drinks, to be honest, sometimes can't be perfect, but you pay for the experience,” Nguyen said. “You have someone to talk to, it's just fun and by that time it's just about having fun with someone. It's not really the drink that stands out.”
For The Pitt News
One club team, 70 women and countless memories. Pitt’s women’s club lacrosse team not only spends Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays practicing in the Pitt Sports Dome, they also go through the college experience together.
With their season starting Feb. 26, the Lady Panthers club lacrosse team is on fire, winning two straight games and planning on winning their third. The team faces tough competition, as the Lady Panthers play against members of the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse League, Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates and other varsity teams across the Division levels.
In addition to their recent success on the field, the team was also voted best club sport team in the The Pitt News’ “Best Of” survey. Sophomore accounting major Alyssa Perrino — who won best athlete in the survey — is no stranger to competitive athletics. The New York native played three sports in high school — soccer, lacrosse and basketball. Despite mainly joining the team for her love of lacrosse, Perrino came to love the club lacrosse team because of the friends she made.
“It’s not about lacrosse in general, it’s about the girls I play with,” Perrino said. “I wanted to continue playing sports, but didn’t want my scholarship to be on the line,”
Joining the club lacrosse team enabled Perrino to meet some of her closest friends in college. She emphasized that the environment of the team encourages her to play her best, as the girls are competitive with opposing teams, but supportive to one another.
“Great environment,” Perrino said. “[Everyone’s] supportive of each other and competitive against the other [team.]”
Some players even met their future roommates through the club. Senior psychology majors Cate Eggers and Ella Benec met through the club during their first year at Pitt. Throughout the years, the pair developed a strong friendship, leading them to become roommates.
“I met everyone in my freshman year. The best thing is that I met my closest friends,” Eggers said. “You never really know what you’re in for until you get there.”
The team’s great chemistry follows them outside the Pitt Sports Dome. When not perfecting their lacrosse skills, the team likes to have picnics in Schenley Park or find other ways to spend time together.
Many players came into the club with a predeveloped love of lacrosse. Eggers never even went
to the club fair — she just knew she wanted to be on the club team.
“I went to the first practice. The girls and the coaches were great,” Eggers said.
But lacrosse isn’t the only thing that unites teammates. In addition to loving lacrosse, the members also have a shared drive to excel academically.
“There’s always a lacrosse person in our classes,” Benec, a defensive player from Pittsburgh,
said. “Everyone is here for academics first, then lacrosse second. Not only do the girls rely on each other for academic support, yet from their head coach as well.”
The academic-minded team is also led by an academic-minded head coach. Kevin Tidgewell, called “Twiggy” by the team, is the head coach of the Lady Panthers. He’s an associate professor at Duquesne, where he also runs a research laboratory. His first season of coaching was in 2019, when
the team won the WCLA national championship and had an undefeated 19-0 season. Before becoming head coach, he was assistant coach to previous head coach Gary Neft.
Despite focusing more on the academic and social aspects of the club, the team is still set on winning games. Eggers and Benec are both finishing out their senior year with high hopes for the season. The team won their games against Penn State and Buffalo in February and hope to continue their momentum.
Perrino, Eggers and Benec are all part of the team's travel roster. The team traveled to Los Angeles last year to play against UCLA, which is a major rival for the team. When not practicing or playing lacrosse, they spent their time on the beach together. The team travels all across the country, also playing notable schools such as West Virginia, Ohio State, Clemson and Virginia Tech. Ultimately, the team wants to continue their success from previous years. The team has not missed a WCLL regional tournament since 2006 and don’t plan on missing out this year.
BEST OF food & drink
PIADA
ITALIAN
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JAPANESE
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CHINESE
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KOREAN
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SUSHI
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MIDDLE EASTERN
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STACK’D
WINGS
ROOTS NATURAL KITCHEN
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN
PRIMANTI BROS.
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PIZZA ROMANO
PIZZA
YOKO SUZUKI
ICE CREAM
BREAKFAST
DAVE AND ANDY’S PAMELA’S SZECHUAN EXPRESS
TAKEOUT
BEST OF ON CAMPUS
SHAKE SMART
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PITT EATS CAMPUS LOCATION
FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICH
PITT EATS FOOD ITEM
STACK’D
PITT EATS LOCAL PARTNER
TRI DELTA
SORORITY
ALPHA TAU OMEGA
FRATERNITY
PITT PATHFINDERS
STUDENT ORGANIZATION
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PITT NCAA TEAM
WOMEN’S CLUB LACROSSE
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ALYSSA PERRINO
PITT ATHLETE
ROC THE PANTHER
CAMPUS CELEBRITY
GEN-ED PROFESSOR
ANDREW LOTZ
UNDERGRADUATE PROFESSOR
MÜGE KÖKTEN FINKEL
GRADUATE PROFESSOR
JONATHAN “JJ” LI
RESIDENT ASSISTANT
HILLMAN LIBRARY
PLACE TO STUDY
TOWERS
RESIDENCE HALL
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PITT PROGRAM COUNCIL EVENT
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LATE-NIGHT MENU
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HEMINGWAY’S CAFE
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GAMEDAY SPECIAL
MELLINGER BEER DISTRIBUTOR
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HEMINGWAY’S CAFE TRIVIA
BAR GAME NIGHT
BEST OF CULTURE
LOVE MADE EDIBLE
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THE LAST OF US
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PIERCING / TATTOO
in public administration. Her project has continued since 2015 and is critical to the Gender Inequality Research Lab at Pitt.
Through Finkel’s efforts, every year, six graduate students from Pitt work with UNDP regional hubs as summer researchers.
Her projects outside of the classroom have also had resonating effects on students. For example, when Mallik discussed her post-grad plans, she mentioned her interest in sanitation and waste management.
“I will be attending a UN water conference soon, in which I am hoping to make connections,” Mallik said. “I’m interested in working
with displaced people through climate crises and political displacement down the road, and Dr. Finkel’s capstone course inspired this as I want to work in South Asia, India or Nepal after graduating.”
Finkel continues to be a leader in her field, according to her students. She even started a new comparative project which focuses on online violence against women in politics in Turkey and Brazil.
“It has allowed me to forge new collaborations with colleagues from different disciplines, which is always inspiring and energizing,” Finkel said. “The downside is now I feel the need to learn Portuguese.”
Finkel said in her limited free time she
enjoys traveling, reading mysteries and watching tennis. She even has a goal to learn how to play pickleball this spring.
If she had one wish for her students, it would be for them to travel to one place that isn’t typically on a “Best Places to Travel List.” She said it is both important and rewarding to pick a place where students will “find themselves lost and challenged to step outside their comfort zones.”
“It is in those rare instances I believe we all get to rediscover our core strengths, our common humanity, and gain empathy and humility, and travel really opens us up to new insights and opportunities,” Finkel said.
“I think there were two relationships I was particularly interested in understanding, which were then the foundation that I needed to find, and I think those two relationships were with the father … and the other relationship was with Mumtaz,” Junejo said. “I think these were the two things that kind of gave me a way to Haider … at least a trajectory that I could follow.”
Rasti Farooq, who played Mumtaz, said she spent a lot of time trying to understand the marriage between her and Junejo’s character.
“I think for me, what helped was spending a lot of time on the script and talking extensively with Saim and also Ali, who I spent a lot of time with in the film, and Mumtaz and Haider share a very particular relationship,” Farooq said. “We just spent a lot of time talking about the particularities and peculiarities in their relationship and their marriage … and what happens to them when they kind of fall out of that ‘togetherness.’”
Jolanta Lion, the festival’s director, said after managing the festival for 17 years now, it’s easier to recognize which films to feature.
“I’ll be watching about 20 minutes of the film, or even less, and I just know if that film will be a good feature for the festival,” Lion said. “What’s important is what different elements are at play, like the language, the music, how the story and characters develop, the camera work. After so long, you just know.”
Lion said the festival receives funding from a variety of sources, ranging from educational institutions to national consulates.
“The festival is well known on the national and the international level,” Lion said. “For example, we have two Polish films and we get support from the Slavic Department at the University of Pittsburgh, but also the Polish Consulate of the Republic of Poland in New York. The same thing happened with the Taiwanese film, where an intern secured funding from the Taiwanese Culture Center in New York.”
Curtis said the festival is lucky to have connections within the Pittsburgh community to gain traction and support.
“We have connections with the cultural communities that exist in Pittsburgh,” Curtis said. “Pittsburgh is home to a ton of immigrant communities and a ton of diversity that is often overlooked. Through that, there’s a really strong moral support to show what we’re doing has an impact and people are receiving that very well.”
Eating out can be a tricky situation for many students. While the restaurants on Pitt’s campus aren’t super expensive, the price of going out to eat or for drinks regularly adds up quickly and puts your budget in a deficit.
Some restaurants on and near Pitt’s campus — ranging from Asian cuisine to Tex-Mex to American — offer deals that students can utilize. Here’s some of the best places to go out for food or drinks without breaking the bank.
Viva Los Tacos
The deals at Viva are probably the most well known among Pitt students and definitely my favorite on this list. Located on Forbes Avenue, Viva offers discounted food deals Monday through Thursday, and happy hour from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Every night after 9 p.m. the restaurant serves half-off frozen margaritas, which is probably its most popular deal and the reason why it’s always so busy during those hours — so get there early if you plan to take advantage of the offers.
Viva also has a limited time seasonal margarita flavor that changes every few months and it’s also included in the discount, so it’s a worthwhile trip! It recently added seasonal shot pitchers to its list of drink options — a Hem's dupe, if you will.
Viva’s late-night food specials include half-off appetizers on Monday, $4 walking tacos on Tuesday, $12 bottles of wine and half-off wings on Wednesday and half-off all tacos on Thursday.
Stack’d
Located on Forbes Avenue, Stack’d is a place most known for its burgers. It has happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., which also includes half-off appetizers along with drinks. I personally recommend its fried pickles.
Stack’d’s late-night specials run Monday to Thursday starting at 9 p.m. until close. It serves $7 chicken fingers on Mondays, half-off burgers on Tuesdays, $6 quesadillas on Wednesdays and half-off wings on Thursdays.
Stack’d also sometimes has limited edition deals that it advertises with signs on its doors. It’s a great and fairly cheap place to go after a Pitt game.
Piada
Piada, also located on Forbes Avenue, offers a variety of fresh made pastas and wraps. It offers a 10% student discount when you order in store and show them your student ID.
The Piada app also offers some really good deals that won’t really get advertised anywhere else. For example, on Valentine’s Day, it had a buy one get one free entree deal from 5 p.m. to close, which requires a promo code
to redeem.
It also has the $8 student meal deal on weekdays that goes until 5 p.m. It includes an entree and a drink. Whether you order in person or online, Piada will have some sort of deal or discount.
Jolina’s 2
Located on Fifth Avenue, Jolina’s offers an extensive menu of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food such as Baba Ghanoush and a Mazza Platter. It offers 10% student discounts to those who present their student ID when ordering.
The Milkshake Factory
The Milkshake Factory, located on Forbes Avenue, features the Jake Shake — in partnership with Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Everytime Jake scores during a Penguins game, the Jake Shake becomes half-off the next day. The Jake Shake is a chocolate milkshake with hot fudge, crushed cookies and cream and brownie topped with a chocolate #59 — Jake’s number. From personal experience, this is definitely one of the best shakes the Milkshake Factory has. Sugar is addicting as it is, but this is on a whole different level. It’s a 10/10 for sure.
Located on Forbes Avenue, Primanti’s is known for its “Pittsburgh-style” sandwiches that feature fries in the sandwich. If there’s one thing Pittsburghers enjoy, it’s fries on things that don’t usually go with them.
Besides its famous sandwiches, Primanti’s also has great deals on its drinks. It has happy hour everyday where drinks are half-off. Monday to Thursday, happy hour goes from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. On Friday, it’s 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. On Saturday, it’s 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., so it’s a great pre-night outing spot to hit before your night on the town. The best part about the drinks is the little ducks they put in your drink — which you get to keep!
K-Town is a newer addition to Pitt’s plethora of food places around campus. It’s on Oakland Avenue, located between Fuel and Fuddle and Stack’d. K-Town is a Korean place that offers food such as Korean corn dogs and bulgogi — my go-to order.
Quality Korean food can get pretty pricey, so KTown is really doing everyone a favor by making its dishes affordable. Everything on the menu is under $10, and if you choose to pay via Venmo, you can get an additional 5% off. It may not be a lot, but over time, the savings add up.
It currently doesn’t have a website up and running, so all updates and special deals and discounts are posted on its Facebook page.
Kelly Xiong writes primarily about personal health and wellness. Write to her at jux13@pitt.edu.
