College students love to complain about dining halls. "The food is awful," they say, or, if the food is actually good, "the lines are too long." It's little surprise, then, that so many students at Tufts choose to get food delivered by off-campus eateries. From wraps to wings to congealed cheese, there are far more options to be found via the telephone than in Carmichael.
With so many options and varieties of food, however, the hardest decision of the day is often whom to order food from. This week, the Daily puts two popular food spots head-to-head: Urban Gourmet in Somerville and Espresso Pizza in Medford. Between their pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, and assorted specialties, there's plenty to soothe starving animals both uphill and down. Our scoring should make it clear which one should be on your speed-dial, and which should pack itself out past Waltham.
Selection
At first glance, Espresso has a slight edge, with 32 varieties of pizza versus Urban's 25. The loss of such toppings as artichoke hearts and anchovies at Espresso, however, is outweighed by Urban's more exotic options such as shrimp, sea scallops, and chorizo sausage. Espresso also pales next to Urban's superior calzone selection. The buffalo chicken calzone - available in three levels of spiciness - is not soon forgotten (though you might wish you could when it goes straight to your thighs). Urban matches or surpasses Espresso in everything else. Particularly noteworthy are the pasta dishes - with sauces like shrimp and lemon grilled chicken - and the full dinner entrees - fish, steak, pork, or chicken dinners, complete with salad and a side order.
Advantage: Urban Gourmet
Quality
Urban Gourmet's pizza features excellent toppings and a crispy edge, but its sauce is uninteresting. Espresso, however, fails to improve over this standard formula and has a weak, thin crust and slippery cheese. The debate over the calzones is nothing but vicious, but the proof is in the leftovers - Urban Gourmet's fare turns into a cold breakfast, while day-old Espresso's cheese becomes mouse bait. Urban sandwiches clearly stomp upon their Medford counterparts, with better breads and fillings. The dinner entrees are the most impressive; what other restaurant could pull off "Grilled Atlantic salmon" for delivery?
Advantage: Urban Gourmet
Price
This can be a hard one to judge, since not all of the dishes match up exactly. Espresso certainly has the edge in pizza, with small and large pies checking out at up to $1 less than Urban's. The price advantage changes when it comes to calzones... but Espresso calzones are significantly bigger. A roast beef sandwich from Urban will set you back 50 percent more than one from Espresso. Finally, Urban's advantageous wide selection comes with a price: its full-size dinners start at $9.95.
Advantage: Espresso
Tufts Points
High prices may not seem to matter much when it doesn't seem like you're spending real money. Tufts Points are even worse than credit cards when it comes to impulse purchasing, but the thrifty (or meal-plan bound) student wins either way; both Urban and Espresso's take points in lieu of cash if you order after 7 p.m.
Draw
Speed
You can blame Tufts for some of the delays in local deliveries. Since points are only valid at places like Urban Gourmet and Espresso after 7 p.m., there's a huge backlog of orders by 7:15 p.m. No matter what they may tell you on the phone, a Friday-night delivery from Espresso or Urban can take as much as an hour and a half. Weekdays are little better, with typical waits of up to an hour. It helps to live in a well-populated dorm like South, where there are probably other orders en route. If you live far away from campus (or in Stratton Hall), it might be a while before the restaurants get enough orders to make your delivery worth the hike.
Espresso gets the green light here, though, solely on merit of its proximity. If you're willing to pay cash rather than points, you can walk down to Boston Avenue and get served a little more quickly. Good luck finding anyone willing to walk to Ball Square for an Urban Gourmet order.
Advantage: Espresso
Hours
No one's going to call these places up for breakfast or lunch. When it comes down to the wire, you need to know whether you can get food in the wee hours, be it after a party or eight hours before a midterm. No room for argument here: Urban Gourmet closes at midnight, Espresso's at 1 a.m.
Advantage: Espresso
Final Score: It comes down to the little things and ultimately, Espresso edges out Urban Gourmet, 3-2. Great food can't beat low prices and a prime location. Sorry, Urban, thanks for coming out. You could have been a contender. Maybe if it moved somewhere closer - like the campus center.
