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.