Maximizing your meals at Lisa's Café and the C-Store
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    Coffee, a Clif Bar, and ramen make the world go 'round. Photo by Lydia Belanger / North by Northwestern.

    While some may view Lisa’s Café as a place to hide from the winter chill while searching for frat parties, it is also another option of a place to use equivalency meals. One of the first established NuCuisine creations that isn’t a dining hall, Lisa’s carries a large variety of C-store items along with made-to-order food options. Unfortunately, its menu is nowhere as extensive as The Great Room or Fran’s Café; however, there are a couple of deals you can take advantage of at this North Campus hotspot.


    Choose one off the made-to-order menu
    For the most part, you can afford everything off the made-to-order menu with the late night meal equivalency of $6.60. However, the menu fails to offer side options with generally larger portions, like the fries and tater tots in The Great Room and Fran’s. Here is a list of the made to order options and prices.

    8-inch subs:    $5.35
    2 hot dogs:    $4.35
    1 hot dog:    $2.29
    Soup:        $3.49
    Cheese Pizza:    $3.25
    Topping Pizza: $3.49
    Smoothie:    $3.40

    Choose something from the C-store
    Because of Lisa Café’s limited menu, you will probably want to pick something out from the C-store to get the full value of your equivalency meal. Below are some of the deals you should keep your eyes out for – and a few things you should avoid.

    The Good
    - Ramen Noodles: $0.50
    Super cheap. Just add hot water and you’re good to go. They’re also pretty filling.
    - Easy Mac: $1.69
    This cheesy concoction is a great way to finish off the rest of a meal or just to get a small bite.
    - Cliff Bars: $2.29
    Not the tastiest options, but these baked and packaged bars are nutrient dense and will ward off hunger.
    - Espresso/Coffee Drinks: 12 oz/$2.29 16oz/$3.00
    These drinks come from behind the counter, but are pretty good deals for the convenience. Rather than trek all the way to Norbucks, these caffeine-filled beverages taste pretty good overal and will ward off late night drowsiness.

    The Bad
    - Hot Tea: $1.50
    Essentially, you’re paying for hot water with a tea bag in it. If you like tea, invest in getting a box of it from Whole Foods, which at most costs a few dollars.
    - Lean Cuisine: $4.99
    Another option at the C-store that costs exponentially less at grocery stores. Unless Lean Cuisine can promise you exponential weight loss to match its exponentially high price, it’s probably not worth it.
    - Ben & Jerry’s: $4.95
    Similar to the Lean Cuisine, if you pick up one of these high-priced delights you’ve depleted almost all of your meal equivalency worth. Put off your craving until the next day where you can get some gelato at Norris for just $0.99 at happy hour.
    - Trail Mix: $3.29
    There’s a variety of trail mix in the C-store, but all of them are horrible deals. There’s one package that’s even almost $6.00. If I were to ever buy a $6.00 bag of trail mix, those cranberries better have been flown fresh from Brazil or something.

    In the end, Lisa’s Café doesn’t have a huge amount of options for made-to-order food, but if you’re starving and on North Campus, it’s an accessible way to get something to munch on. And if you’re a smart shopper, you can get away with some pretty good deals at the C-stores on campus. But again, where your money goes is in the name: convenience.

    Note: The prices of things from the C-store may vary and do not include tax.

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