Mercante

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Alla Salsiccia – chorizo, tomato, basil, oregano and mozzarella

Ever since coming back from exchange, I’ve noticed a new building at UBC when I drive towards the Henry Angus Building. My friends later told me that the building was called Ponderosa Commons. So when we had a final exam and were looking for a place to study and grab a quick snack, my friends suggested we go to Mercante. It’s a new Italian cafe and they offer a large selection of pastas, salads, pizzas, and soups. Their pizzas are also made ready to order and are baked in a stone oven. We chose the Alla Salsiccia, which was topped with tons of chorizo, tomatoes, basil, oregano and mozzarella. The dough was light and fluffy and they didn’t cheap out on the ingredients.

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Al Pesto – pesto, pancetta, zucchini, basil, mozzarella, and roasted artichokes

We also shared the Al Pesto, which had a pesto base, lots of pancetta, zucchini, basil, mozzarella and roasted artichokes. This was my favourite out of the two. I loved the addition of zucchinis in it! It felt healthy and again there was an abundant of ingredients.

Very affordable food as well, with most pizzas priced at no more than $10. Other than great food, they also have a really hip area for you to eat if you choose to dine in. I love the wooden tables and benches and the outdoor sunlight they rely on. Many students study here too. We then discovered that they had 3 study rooms! It seemed like you didn’t need to book them in advance and it was more like a first come first serve. Extremely nice rooms to study in, and the rooms are completely sound proof. I wish I discovered this spot earlier, but for anyone looking for a chill place to study at UBC, here’s another one!

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Triple O’s (UBC)

Pulled Pork Poutinepoutine smothered with pulled pork in a tangy BBQ sauce, cheese curds, gravy and drizzled with ranch

When I’m hungry at school and I’m too lazy to walk all the way to the SUB, I always end up at Triple O’s just because it’s the closest. I was about to just get a Caesar salad, but the new ad for the Pulled Pork Poutine caught my attention. That advertisement just looked too good to resist. And to be honest, I was still having a few coughs, but I had not had a poutine for months… And so of course, I ended up getting it. It was quite a large portion and had tons of ranch, BBQ sauce and gravy drizzled on top of the cheese curds. I wish the cheese curds were a little more melted, since I like the stringy cheese on my fries. I also found the sauces to be a bit too salty for my liking. The pulled pork was great though. There was just enough to accompany the fries. However, I still prefer the ones at New York Fries. Their Butter Chicken Poutine is the bomb! Still, the Triple O’s poutines are a great alternative when I’m at school.

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The Pit Burger Bar (UBC)

Mushroom Burger

I’ve been going to the Pit Burger Bar a lot for dinners when I have exams at school on a late night, and decided to try the Mushroom Burger. Usually they have specials each day which comes along with a drink and fries for around $5, but I didn’t want that day’s special so ended up just getting the burger on itself. It’s okay – probably just really typical A&W style burger, but it was loaded with mushrooms. I guess I was really hungry, so it tasted pretty good to me.

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Triple O’s (UBC)


Mmmm yummy milkshake on a gloomy day! Thanks to Steph for getting me this when I was too lazy to walk out of the building! Got to love that girl for always knowing what I crave! (If you’re reading this, I mentioned you again! :D) The Triple-O Vanilla Milkshake is probably one of my favourite milkshakes so far. So much better than the McDonald or Dairy Queen milkshakes! It’s thick and creamy, and you can taste the vanilla bean which doesn’t taste artificial. I believe it also comes in strawberry and chocolate flavour.

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Pit Burger Bar (UBC)

Waffle Fries

Barbeque Wings

Went to the Pit Burger Bar to grab some snacks to share with my foodie bff, Steph again. This is like our go to place for snacks during our long breaks now. I kept hearing from other friends that the waffle fries are really good, so I had to try them. They reminded me of the curly fries back in high school. So oily and unhealthy, but yet so good! We also decided to try the wings, but we both thought they were just average. Nothing too special, and not the best we’ve had. Mmmm… more to come from the Pit Burger Bar! We’ll be trying more of their foods in the future for sure!

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The Pit Burger Bar (UBC)

Belgian Fries with Garlic Mayo

Mozza Sticks with Marinara Sauce

Decided to get some snacks at the Pit Burger Bar in the SUB at UBC the other day, and ended up trying their Belgian Fries and Mozza Sticks. I actually didn’t know what belgian fries were, but I decided to give them a try anyways. Both my friend and I  found that there was too much seasoning, and therefore was actually really salty! The garlic mayo was really good though. So perhaps, just fries without seasoning plus the mayo would have been perfect. The Mozza Sticks were not bad, but they were probably just frozen and heated up. Being curious what Belgian Fries really were, I actually quickly googled it and found that Belgian Fries are different from normal french fries, because they are freshly cut, cut thicker than usual, and are baked twice! Now I know!

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Sauder Exchange Cafe

Mmmm I love samosas, and it’s always a great snack at school. I usually get them at the Delly in the SUB, but it was so far, so I just grabbed it at the Sauder Exchange Cafe inside the Henry Angus building at UBC. This one is a Beef Samosa – I’m guessing they have chicken and vegetarian as well. The pastry is not as thin as the one at the Delly, but I prefer the fillings in this one compared to the Delly. Also quite large in size! It is however,  quite oily, but nonetheless delicious!

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Triple O’s Strawberry Sundae

Craved some ice cream at school the other day…and Triple O’s was closest so I decided to give their Strawberry Sundae a try! I’m guessing no one really ever orders sundaes here, since the cashier paused for a second before processing my order. Pretty good vanilla ice cream, and you can even see the little black spots of vanilla in it! Came with a little wafer stick too! Not bad. At least it satisfied my cravings!

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