Campus Clipper Coupon Card Spring 2023
March 29th, 2023Restaurant Review: Beatnic – West Village
November 23rd, 2022College midterms are full of papers, tests, group projects and, if you’re like me, countless painstaking drawing and painting assignments. Now that they’re over though, I feel comfortable enough to reflect on them without any of the immediately impending stress. Usually I’m the kind of person who considers myself good at staying on top of my diet. Moving out of my home and living on my own in the city starting at seventeen I have found it important to make sure to balance my food and make sure that I’m eating enough of the right things. Still, when midterms roll around I always find myself falling back into some old, less healthy habits. Thus, I’m glad that I recently had the opportunity to visit Beatnic, a vegan restaurant in the West Village that offers deliciously healthy food. The inside was super spacious, and gave us a good view of the streets outside. I don’t live close to the West Village, but my friend, Adrienne, does and she pointed out some shops and told me some stories about it while we ate.
Catching up with friends after weeks of stressing out over work is nice, and getting food with them is even better. The first item we ordered came highly recommended, and is definitely one of the things here I’m most excited about. Beatnic has an item called Chicky Dippers, which is obviously a spin on your typical chicken tender, but made completely vegan. Just based on first impressions, the two look similar. The Chicky Dippers have that same kind of elongated, round shape and a fine breading coating on them that looks like it has a nice crunch. Much like the outer appearance, the first bite does not disappoint. The taste is more or less what I expected. It’s honestly quite similar to chicken tenders, but it has a unique texture that highlight’s its ingredients. It also comes with a nice dipping sauce on the side that definitely adds some extra flavor. Overall, this item went beyond my expectations and I was really happy with it. I feel like it’s the kind of thing you might like if you’ve gone vegan but miss some of the old classics, or even if you eat meat but are looking for a healthier option to the deep fried chicken options you find elsewhere.
For the main part of the meal, I went with a salad. Pretty classic. The one I ordered is Beatnic’s popular Quinoa Taco Salad which had a perfect combination of ingredients. Honestly, I probably haven’t put this much greenery in my body since before midterms, so it felt like the right move for me. The base of the salad is, of course, lettuce, but there’s a wide range of other ingredients and also a great dressing to top it off. As someone who lives off tortillas, my favorite part was the taco component; they added a wonderful, crunchy selection of colorful tortilla chips that really made the salad for me. There was also a healthy portion of avocado on one side. Personally, I eat almost everything, but I tend to avoid avocados when I can. However, I’m probably pretty isolated in my dislike, so it was easy to remove them from my salad and pawn them off to Adrienne, who I guess is a big fan. I did have to play it careful with my tomatoes though. We both love them so I had to keep an eye out and make sure she didn’t try and make any moves.
Adrienne gets a bit more adventurous with her order by trying one of their vegetable burgers. The Guac Burger is another popular item at Beatnic, and I can see why. Again there’s a lot of levels and flavors at play. The base burger is made from black bean, mushroom, and brown rice. It’s really incredible to see how all those ingredients can come together and make something so cohesive and delicious. The toppings also work really well with the burger. On it there’s classics like lettuce, tomato, onion etc. and then some fun items like the taco chips from before and guacamole. It tastes just as good as any other burger out there in its own, unique way and also leaves you feeling much better afterwards. No heavy ingredients and loads of grease that are hard to digest.
Overall, Beatnic was a great experience for me, even as a non-vegan. I think eating green is something everybody should really remember to try every once in a while. It’s always good to eat food that makes you feel good, especially in the midst of midterms (and upcoming finals) because that’s usually when you need it most. Plus, to any vegan friends, they have a great range of menu items that’s hard to find at other restaurants, so be sure to pay them a visit!
Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, or just looking for something healthy, be sure to use this coupon and your student ID when you visit in store:
If you want to see more about my trip to Beatnic check out my video on the Campus Clipper TikTok page!
By: Peter Schoenfeld
Peter Schoenfeld is an illustrator and self proclaimed food fanatic from New York. If he’s not trying new food, he’s drawing it (and if he’s not doing either of those things, then you can probably find him curled up on the couch watching dramas). As a sophomore at the School of Visual Art he focuses on creating art that connects people to his personal passions– like eating!
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
College Students Save Money with The Campus Clipper
November 22nd, 2022College Student Grocery Haul @ LifeThyme Market
November 19th, 2022
The Art of Eating Chapter 6: Cuban/Mexican Food (Café Habana)
October 17th, 2022For as much as I loved to complain about the summer heat, the first wisps of fall are already in the air, and I can’t help but start to miss the warmer weather. On this particular Wednesday afternoon it’s only the end of September, but the short walk from my apartment to Café Habana already leaves me feeling a bit chilly. I typically walk past Café Habana with some degree of frequency during my regular week. There’s always a lot of people surrounding it both inside and outside, so I’m excited to finally go and give it a try. Today is no exception to my past experience– even though it’s a bit later in the afternoon the store is still basically full. Once inside, I stop by the counter first where the friendly staff directs me to a table in the corner. Right off the bat, everyone there is super nice and helpful. From the workers behind the counter, to the lady taking my order, and the servers walking past who check in on me, the whole staff seems really welcoming. With such a great environment, and colorful walls decorated with lively paintings, I can already feel my excitement about the meal growing even more.
Interior eating area of Café Habana
After a few minutes inside it’s easy to let this exciting atmosphere (and the protection from the wind) start to warm you up. With one worry out of the way, it’s time to take a look at the menu. Café Habana has a wide range of items; from burritos, to tacos, to platos fuertes, Café Habana even has breakfast until 1 pm on weekdays and brunch on the weekends. But of course, I have to start with their famous corn which perfectly combines flavors like cotija cheese, chili powder, and lime. It’s easy to see why this item is so popular. Everything mixes together perfectly making it both unique and delicious! But grab your napkins because it’s the kind of food that gets on both your face and your hands when you’re eating. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed the actual process of eating food so much though. It reminds me of being young eating corn on the cob on a hot summer day with my family. Just like the rest of the restaurant, Caf´é Habana’s corn is fun and energizing from start to finish.
Café Habana’s famous seasoned corn
After eating the corn I almost feel warmed up like normal, but it’s time to move on to the main event. Their next famous item is the Cubano, a sandwich that flaunts Cuban classics like roast pork with chipotle mayonnaise and fries on the side. On days like this, it’s hard to beat such a classic sandwich. Much like their corn, the flavors are all familiar, but they make it special. Nothing is unbalanced and all the different parts work in harmony together. The Cubano is also another item to pick up with your hands- but hold on tight! The pork wrapped in ham is likely to fall out if you’re not careful about it. The pork is so soft that it just melts in your mouth and completely compliments the smooth ham around it. But not only is the meat inside steaming hot and delicious, the bread around it is toasted as well. Just holding it already alleviates any lingering cold feelings and eating transports you back to summer days.
Cubano sandwich with meat inside and fries on the side
Overall, both the corn and the Cubano are instant classics. I really love their handheld vibe because it warms you up fast on a chilly fall afternoon– but don’t be afraid to get messy with them! Café Habana has a great and welcoming vibe that warms you up in more ways than one. It’s a perfect place to visit for the start of fall!
If you’re planning on making a trip to Café Habana soon make sure to use this coupon with your student ID to get 15% off your order of anything on their menu!
And to anyone looking to see more of the inside of Café Habana or clips of the food they serve there make sure to check out my video on the Campus Clipper TikTok page!
Peter Schoenfeld is an illustrator and self proclaimed food fanatic from New York. If he’s not trying new food, he’s drawing it (and if he’s not doing either of those things, then you can probably find him curled up on the couch watching dramas). As an incoming sophomore at the School of Visual Art he focuses on creating art that connects people to his personal passions– like eating!
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
The Art of Eating Chapter 5: Japanese Food (J’s Kitchen)
September 14th, 2022It’s officially the start of September which means that it’s also officially the start of the fall semester! Recently I finally moved back into the SVA dorms after four months away, and I was shocked at how hard it was to transition back. It feels like I was just here, but yet it’s also completely different. For me, one of the biggest adjustments is losing access to a kitchen. Yes, my dorm has a kitchen for the whole (20 floor!) building, but it’s just not quite the same. SVA also has no dining halls, which means a lot of my meals this semester will involve my small dorm fridge and microwave. Even if you do have a college dining hall, it’s still easy to miss getting meals straight from the kitchen during the school year. That’s why I’m at J’s Kitchen New York this Wednesday to seek out some of that more homey cooking that’s so hard to get once school is back in session.
Right off the bat the interior of J’s Kitchen has the perfect, inviting vibe I’m looking for. Throughout the restaurant there are plants everywhere: hanging from the ceiling, decorating the tables, placed on the floor, etc. Beyond that, the rest of the store is very simple. The decorations are few and far between, but it doesn’t feel empty or anything, just neat and welcoming. Furthermore, another nice thing about J’s Kitchen is that you can actually see their kitchen in the back behind the counter. The cooking area there is also very clean and neat, but obviously much more lived in, with signs of the chef moving about to make the food. It’s definitely exciting to be able to see people actually cooking once you order your food bringing a certain personal quality to eating out that you don’t get everywhere.
Interior of J’s Kitchen with kitchen area in background
Once said kitchen finishes preparing your food, they bring it out to you, which was also very nice. We ordered at the counter, so I was expecting to have to go pick it up. Instead, the staff was super friendly about it and both brought out our food and took it back when we were finished. As expected, the food is steaming hot when it arrives at our table. It already smells more delicious than anything I could procure in my dorm room, so I’m excited to dive in. For my lunch I ordered the main star of J’s Kitchen, the Tokeru Wagyu Hamburger with Teriyaki Sauce. Just to start, the size of it is impressive. I feel inclined to ask for a fork and knife just to deal with all of it. Still, not only is the burger seriously tall, they provide you with a side of fries and (very cutely) two mini pickles. Lots of food. The teriyaki sauce was definitely a solid call because it is so good and adds a really great layer to the burger which is super soft and warm and delicious inside. It’s totally the kind of food that warms you up and makes you feel better if you’ve been missing home. Their curry is also another favorite. For me, it feels like the more classic comfort food that I would seek out. It’s similarly very flavorful and warm– and it comes with a lot of options for cutlet you can pair with it, like chicken, pork, and beef. If you’re still looking for vegetarian options, they have those too with the same great quality and taste. Everything comes direct from their kitchen, so you can be sure that it will satisfy any craving you have for homey cooking.
Tokeru Wagyu Hamburger with Teriyaki Sauce
Overall, J’s Kitchen is perfect for any student looking for some high quality meals in the midst of leaving home and going back to living on their own at the start of the year. Their food is delicious and the atmosphere in the restaurant is really welcoming. I absolutely recommend people to go there for their classic Japanese food favorites, or look for something new if you’re up to it! You can’t go wrong!
Planning a visit to J’s Kitchen New York? Be sure to bring your student ID and show this coupon when you go to get 10% off your order:
If you want to see more about my trip to J’s Kitchen check out my video on the Campus Clipper TikTok page!
Peter Schoenfeld is an illustrator and self proclaimed food fanatic from New York. If he’s not trying new food, he’s drawing it (and if he’s not doing either of those things, then you can probably find him curled up on the couch watching dramas). As an incoming sophomore at the School of Visual Art he focuses on creating art that connects people to his personal passions– like eating!
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
The Art of Eating Chapter 4: Japanese Fried Chicken (TORI BIEN)
September 1st, 2022With September just around the corner I’m sure a lot of my fellow students are starting to feel the pressure of returning to school after these months away. For unfortunate students, like me, you might be cramming trying to brush up on some necessary skills again before the fall semester starts. Still, it’s important to take breaks and always good to spend time with friends before seeing them off to wherever they might be studying. Most of my friends leave me alone in New York once the school year starts and travel to different states for university, so the end of August always feels like a bit of a goodbye. As a (albeit temporary) goodbye to the city as well, it feels only right to have a day on the streets with good food and good company. On Tuesday I’m with my friend, Catherine, who won’t be far from New York this school year, but also won’t have the time to visit often for the next few months. I alone in my friend group enjoy walking tens of thousands of steps across the city, and since she’ll be gone, I make it an excuse to drag her around for the day. We stop into a lot of cute shops to cool off from the heat, but for lunch we make our way to 9th street and drop in to TORI BIEN for some food. The inside of the store itself is rather small– there’s no seating there, but conveniently they have benches placed outside, so you can choose to sit on those and eat if you want. It’s a cute restaurant with the perfect vibe for our afternoon out!
TORI BIEN exterior with benches for customers
Despite not having indoor seating, the food at TORI BIEN comes already packaged once it’s cooked, so it’s not inconvenient to bring it somewhere else. My main meal, the Kara-age Onigiri Bento comes in, well, a cardboard bento box with all the components neatly separated. It’s cute and reminds me of the lunches other kids used to get when I was still in school. Catherine’s meal also comes partially in a box, but the fries she ordered are separate from it in a little paper bag that reminds me more of the lunches I used to get when I was younger, with my mother’s signature, disposable paper bag. Still, everything is easy to grab and take with you. The food itself also has more of a handheld vibe. My box of food comes with items like onigiri, a triangle shaped rice ball, and boneless fried chicken. The onigiri is super delicious. It’s perfect because the seaweed wrap gives it a nice crunch, but the rice inside is the perfect, soft consistency. It has fish flavoring too, so it’s not bland. The fried chicken is super crispy and I love that it’s boneless because that makes it easier to clean up when I’m done!
Handheld fish onigiri with seaweed wrapper
Catherine and I decide to rest on the bench for a few minutes and eat there before we continue our journey through the streets of New York, but there’s also a couple of nearby parks if you’re looking for more of a true picnic vibe. Catherine also orders fried chicken, TORI BIEN’s specialty, but it comes in a sandwich instead of loose, like my box. There’s a layer of sauce on the top of the bun, but the meal still isn’t messy. It’s similarly good to just grab and eat; and even if it wasn’t, they definitely provide you with sufficient napkins. The sandwich itself is wrapped up in a nice, thick sheet of paper that makes it convenient to hold as well.
Kara-age Sandwich with sauce, fried chicken, lettuce, and pickles
Overall, no matter where you chose to eat your meal from Kara-age, the flavors are delicious and it’s perfect to enjoy with friends. They offer an assortment of fun options and everything is perfect to take on the go!
Planning on taking your friends out on an end-of-summer picnic or just looking for some great Japanese fried chicken? Use this coupon code when you visit TORI BIEN to get 15% off your order with your student ID:
If you want to see more about my trip to TORI BIEN check out my video on the Campus Clipper TikTok page!
By: Peter Schoenfeld
Peter Schoenfeld is an illustrator and self proclaimed food fanatic from New York. If he’s not trying new food, he’s drawing it (and if he’s not doing either of those things, then you can probably find him curled up on the couch watching dramas). As an incoming sophomore at the School of Visual Art he focuses on creating art that connects people to his personal passions– like eating!
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
Please Handle With Care
August 27th, 2022Whenever we are shipping or traveling with something fragile, we always label it as such and make sure that the item is handled with the utmost care. Why do we so seldom treat ourselves with the same caution? Items are replaceable, but we—as I hope you know—are not.
I’ve covered a lot of different topics throughout my writing about the COVID-19 pandemic—from being sent home from college, to current events, to relationships, and everything else in between. Truthfully, I could probably write about all the other ways that this unprecedented era of human history intersected with our normal lives, but almost anything you can think of would lead you right back here to a discussion of mental health and self-care—perhaps the greatest lesson that COVID may have had to offer.
Mental health wasn’t really something that I thought deeply about until I got to college. When I look back on high school and think about a lot of my habits—burning the midnight oil to finish my homework, sacrificing sleep, and generally spreading myself too thin—I can’t help but cringe. We’re taught that this is what it means to “work hard,” but it comes at a pretty high cost, especially when you’re young. No one should have to feel like that is the way you need to operate, no matter what stage of life you’re at. You are not the work you do or the grades that you get; your worth is far beyond that, which is something I try to remind myself when I start to believe otherwise.
I still find myself exhibiting many of these behaviors in college, and it wasn’t until this point in my life where I started to feel physiological responses to my stress or anxiety—heart beating too fast, thoughts racing out of control, worrying about everything. And most of the time, I was concerned more so with how it would affect me academically, not physically or mentally. Yikes.
The pandemic really changed my perspective on mental health, not only showing how important it is to prioritize all aspects of your health, but also pointing out how many of the things we accepted as normal before COVID were deeply flawed. For instance, growing up, it was always expected that you would go to school or to work even if you were not feeling well. If you had a cold, you had to stick it out. If you didn’t sleep well, were feeling overwhelmed, or were burnt out, you had to find a way to get through the day. But now that we have lived through the onset of a deadly, infectious disease, we realize just how ridiculous this kind of behavior is. At school, more and more professors in their syllabi are now encouraging us not to come to class if we feel any inkling of an illness to make sure that we don’t spread it around to others. There is no good reason to force ourselves into doing things when we are not at our best, a mindset we should have adopted long ago.
Now, a lot of my professors have also added mental health provisions to their syllabi, encouraging us to take a day off class if we are struggling mentally and can’t engage with the class. Our student government leaders are pushing to make missing class for mental health reasons count as excused absences. In 2021, a student organization that carries out the mission of the Bandana Project, a national mental health awareness and suicide prevention campaign, was formed on our campus, seeking to provide students with resources for and breaking the stigma around mental health—all it takes is a green bandana to show your support and willingness to engage in the campaign. All of these changes ensure that we never have to feel that our academic career takes precedence over our wellbeing. At the end of the day, we’re at college to learn, not to burn ourselves out.
Be sure to check out this amazing organization!
Over the last couple of years, a lot of different stressors in our lives have converged at once: the spread of COVID-19, long periods of isolation, our nation in turmoil, and the general uncertainty of everything, while still having to go to college either online or in person when it became safe again. We are still dealing with the long-term consequences of all of these things, and the pandemic still isn’t really over. But we are all human and we can only expect so much out of ourselves, so if COVID did one thing for us, it was to force us to slow down and reconfigure our thinking to gear ourselves toward what is really important: taking care of ourselves.
So, remember to listen to what your body or your mind is saying—you are the best person to judge your limits and realize what you need at any given moment. Do the things that you enjoy doing, make you happy, and help you to heal—read a book, do a face mask, chill out (just to name a few of my go-to strategies). Totally cliché, but life really is all about balance. It takes effort to unlearn all of the things ingrained into our brains, something that I have still been struggling with, but at the end of the day, just please handle yourself with care.
As I said with my previous chapter regarding relationships, it should not have taken a global pandemic just to learn that we have to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. But I suppose it is better late than never.
By: Katie Reed
Katie Reed is a senior at Villanova University studying English and Communication. She is in utter disbelief that she just admitted to being a senior. She loves to read, but has made barely a dent in the increasingly large pile of books on her bookshelf that she told herself she would read this summer. She hopes to enter a career in the editing and publishing industry.
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (As Long as You’re Vaccinated)
August 22nd, 2022As you get older, you learn a lot about relationships, be they familial, platonic, romantic, professional, or anything in between. High school is where you think you hit your stride in this department, since you start to become more independent and have many more choices to make; you are both physically and metaphorically in the driver’s seat more than you have been in your whole life. Making friends is also super convenient, as most of the people you are close with live no more than ten miles from your house and you see them every day at school. Minimal effort required.
But then once you graduate and enter your twenties, you realize there’s a reason that sitcoms focus on this age group—it’s the time in your life where you’re constantly trying to find your way in the world and relate to the people around you. All of your friends and family (probably) don’t live around the corner anymore, so it’s on you to forge those new connections. College plays a big role in this growing process because never in your life will you have as much freedom, but also as much confusion, as you do in those four years.
Freshman year of college is a particularly unique time because it feels like all the different realms of your life are trying to collapse in on each other. You’re trying to keep in touch with your friends from high school, you’re trying to make sure your family doesn’t feel isolated, and all the while, you’re trying to make new friends in a completely new environment. Being from Massachusetts and going to school at Villanova, I felt far removed from everyone I had grown up with, which was both a little bit sad and exciting. On one hand, I was wishing that I had chosen a school closer to home so I could cling to that sense of familiarity, and on the other, I was happy to be somewhere that felt completely my own where I could push myself outside of my comfort zone. After the first semester, I was feeling good about the friends that I was making both inside and outside of my dorm, and I felt like I was finally starting to see this new place as my home.
Then, you know, this cute little thing called COVID-19 came along, and it became a rather tumultuous time in our collective sitcom eras. Less laugh tracks, more laments.
I started to wonder what would happen to those relationships I had been cultivating those first two semesters—would they survive a global pandemic? When we came back to school (at that point—if we came back to school at all) how would things be different from the first time I saw my peers? And what would happen to the people I was friends with from my town, where even the ten-mile radius felt so far away during quarantine? Everything was so uncertain, and those first few months of the pandemic were some of the loneliest months of my life. Stuck in my house, not able to see extended family members, high school friends, or college friends. But maintaining relationships and keeping people who are important to you in your life takes effort, and this period of our lives was perhaps the greatest test of who you would remain close with and who you might unfortunately grow apart from.
The rules of relationships also seemed to be changing to align with the health crisis we were living through. I was always incredibly nervous about COVID, both contracting and spreading it, so I took every precaution seriously to minimize putting myself and my loved ones at risk. When the spread began to slow and we could start seeing people outside of quarantine, the most important thing for me was to make sure their boundaries were respected. Are they okay hanging out with no masks? Would they prefer to be outside where we could socially distance? Would it be easier to do something or go somewhere that required wearing masks so we wouldn’t even have to debate it? It was great when vaccines started rolling out and we were able to better protect ourselves, but these questions never really went away. Ironically, despite being very cautious, last winter I still got one of my best friends sick after texting her that “I only have a little bit of a stuffy nose, I definitely don’t think it’s COVID” before hanging out with her. Guess what it was!
Though I would never be upset or mad with someone who accidentally exposed me to COVID and got me sick, I still felt a lot of guilt over just the potential of getting anyone sick. My friend was very reassuring about the whole thing, so it helped to ease the burden of what I was feeling.
Maintaining relationships during COVID was difficult to say the least, but it taught me a lot about how you should treat people. From my perspective, the two most important parts of a relationship of any kind are respect and trust. Many people had different comfort levels when it came to the pandemic, so it was necessary to respect when people maybe didn’t want to hang out or wanted to take an abundance of caution to make sure that everyone felt safe. We had to trust that those close to us were wearing their masks, not going to unnecessary “super-spreader” events, and were getting vaccinated when they could. And ultimately, when those around us were sick, we needed to be supportive of them and do our best to be there for them.
These are of course not lessons that are exclusive to a pandemic but have instead been strengthened by it. In fact, it should not have taken a pandemic for us to figure out that we need to be kind and considerate of others, but nonetheless, here we are. And after all of those precautions, the COVID scares within networks of people, and the months of general struggle, I’ve come to realize that what I look for the most in relationships is being around people who make me feel comfortable. I strive to be that person for others, and I would encourage you to do the same, as it will go a long way in building meaningful connections with people.
Hopefully Randy Newman would agree.
By: Katie Reed
Katie Reed is a senior at Villanova University studying English and Communication. She is in utter disbelief that she just admitted to being a senior. She loves to read, but has made barely a dent in the increasingly large pile of books on her bookshelf that she told herself she would read this summer. She hopes to enter a career in the editing and publishing industry.
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
The Art of Eating Chapter 3: Egyptian Food (Zooba)
August 18th, 2022Somehow, even the city that never sleeps manages to feel lethargic as heat continues to roll in throughout the early weeks of August. Still, sitting across from Zooba on Kenmare street I can feel the afternoon taking on a hint of excitement looking at the brightly colored murals and illuminated interior of the restaurant. The shade of the park across the street gives me a bit of relief from the brightness of the sun, and it’s a perfect waiting spot for me while my sister comes to meet me. Once she makes it, it’s time to get back up and finally go into the actual restaurant that’s been catching my eye for the last ten minutes. Right off the bat the interior is like a breath of fresh air from the summer heat. There’s a lot of space in there and it’s definitely adequately air conditioned. But more importantly there’s an energy in the restaurant that the streets outside were lacking before. Every wall is plastered with brightly colored images and the station in the middle is lit up with LED lights that blink and flash wildly. Zooba absolutely has some of the most fun restaurant decor out of the many NYC restaurants I’ve been to since I moved here– and that’s quite a lot. I’m already feeling excited about the atmosphere, but the food is what I’m looking forward to most!
Interior of Zooba with seating and decorated wall
As a native New Yorker and an adventurous eater, my sister has also tried food from (basically) every continent before, but Egyptian food is new to both of us. As per employee recommendation, we decide to order some customer favorites to try out the cuisine. To start out both my sister and I immediately gravitate towards the same brightly colored beverage. The hibiscus limeade at Zooba is a striking fuchsia color with an equally striking taste. Still that isn’t the only thing on the menu that comes in flashy color. My sister practically lived off hummus when she was younger, so ordering the fava bean hummus is a no brainer. When it comes it’s a nice, bright green which actually goes quite well with the color of our beverages. Green and pink. Always a classic color combo. To accompany our wonderfully colored hummus they provided us with a couple pieces of round, flat bread. Honestly, I’ve put a lot of things in hummus before, but this one is one of the best. It has enough texture to get a good grip on the hummus, but it’s not totally bland like some store bought pita chips you usually get.
After wrapping up with the hummus it’s time to unwrap our main meals. The sandwiches at Zooba come covered up by paper that is just as creatively decorated as the store itself. My main item also came recommended to us by store employees and is something I’m particularly excited about. I decided to order a hawawshi burger, which is a typical Egyptian street food dish. It usually comes with meat and an assortment of toppings inside a piece of pita bread, but mine also has a truly incredible amount of cheese on it. Likewise, my sister’s order comes stuffed into a round pita. However, instead of the thin meat that comes with the hawawshi, hers has three round pieces of Egyptian falafel inside. According to her it’s very similar to falafel she’s had before, but there are definitely different flavors in there: like roasted harissa cauliflower. The toppings are also a bit different, which gives Zooba’s falafel a unique quality over some of the other more common falafel sandwiches in the city!
Cheese hawawshi wrapped in paper and fava bean hummus
Overall, Zooba is a great restaurant to check out if you’re looking for something you can’t get anywhere else in NYC. All the food was super great and the atmosphere was perfect too. I definitely recommend visiting and ordering something you’ve never had before!!
To those who are looking to try some new food, or just want a great deal, use this coupon and discount code when you visit the store or order online:
If you want to see more snippets of the food and interior of Zooba you can also check out my TikTok on the Campus Clipper page!
By: Peter Schoenfeld
Peter Schoenfeld is an illustrator and self proclaimed food fanatic from New York. If he’s not trying new food, he’s drawing it (and if he’s not doing either of those things, then you can probably find him curled up on the couch watching dramas). As an incoming sophomore at the School of Visual Art he focuses on creating art that connects people to his personal passions– like eating!
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
