By this time of winter, I think we’re all wondering why we didn’t go to school down south. The weekend forecast is cloudy and cold, a foot of snow is supposed to hit us by Friday and even though more than 34,000 people got them, I don’t have tickets to the Villanova game. But life at SU isn’t all that bad. Syracuse has some hidden secrets that just might brighten up your winter blues.

Free lunch

Anyone who’s ever told you ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’ lied. Every Thursday from noon until 1 p.m. in the Noble Room in Hendricks Chapel, Dr. T.E. Koshy and his friendly volunteers serve up homemade salad, rice and meat sauce and an assortment of cakes to anyone interested (a vegetarian alternative is also available). Since 1966, Koshy, a chaplain for Evangelical Christian Ministries, has been working to bring together students of all backgrounds and faiths from across campus through a hot meal. I schedule my classes so I’m free for this event. The food may be the same every week, but the outpouring of love and goodwill keeps me coming back for more. Koshy funds these luncheons, which serve around 150 people a week, by himself. ‘I could have gotten a job and made money,’ Koshy said, ‘but I felt it was a wonderful thing to do to help build relationships for people.’ If the free food isn’t enough to make you smile, Koshy’s energetic warmth is sure to do the trick.

Beer delivery

Running out of beer is a guaranteed way to wreck a party, unless you have handles of hard liquor lying around. Luckily for students, Sabastino’s on Westcott Street can deliver in the event of a party emergency. Just call, and within 30 minutes your favorite brews will arrive at your door. While the beer is overpriced, it’s a convenient option for an impromptu party or a rager about to fizz out. A 30-rack of Keystone is $21.56 and if you want to get fancy, a Bud Light rack runs at $27.14 (tax included). Sabastino’s delivers until right around 2 a.m., checks your ID upon arrival and charges a $1 delivery charge. So next time you start drawing straws to see who gets stuck with the beer run, just chip in and have it delivered. Oh yeah, they can bring you pizza, too.

Downtown dining on a dime

For the past five years, downtown Syracuse has offered a week of affordable dinners at numerous establishments. This year Dining Week was extended for an extra seven days, giving you until Saturday to take advantage of this deal. Nineteen local restaurants, including student favorites like Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Pastabilities and Empire Brewery, offer three-course meals for $25 or less. Stop sustaining off soup and the dining center’s wrap bar and get something you’ll actually savor. If you don’t have a car, you can catch the bus at the Connective Corridor to get there. Places like L’Adour, Lemon Grass and Pascale will give you the best deal because typically their entrées alone average around $25. Peter Themistocles, a junior marketing and retail student, said he’s already been three times – ‘sometimes you just have to take advantage of a good thing.’ Go to downtownsyracuse.com to see the full list of participating restaurants.

Courtney Egelston is a senior magazine journalism and political science major. Her column appears weekly, and she can be reached at cbegelst@syr.edu.

Published on February 23, 2010 at 12:00 pm