When April 20th rolls around each year, it inspires a wide range of thoughts throughout the nation. For some, it's just another square on the calendar, no better or worse than any other day of the year. For others, it's the birthday of a certain 20th century art school reject/genocidal mastermind, giving the 15th a run for its money as the worst day of the month.
For another segment of the population, however, today will be a day of celebration. This is for you.
At any given moment on April 20th, I will probably be doing two things. One of them will be to eat in excess, the likes of which have not been seen since the introduction of the Roman vomitoriums. Unfortunately, my celebratory bag of goodies cost 45 bucks, leaving me with a measly four dollars and 20 cents. $4.20.
On any other day, this would not be a problem at all, with the food trucks and eateries on campus providing an abundance of cheap and delicious food. But a special day calls for special food, even if the day's circumstances dictate that I operate on a budget. With a determined resolve, I cast my eyes eastward, downtown.
Like Lewis and Clark before me, I travel by foot in search of unknown treasures. As I weave my way through campus, I opt to cross the Schuylkill via Walnut, whose tree-lined sidewalks provide the closest thing to a scenic route through the concrete jungle that is Center City. Also, it leads me to the first stop in my search for delicious food: the Natural Goodness Market and Cafe.
Located at the corner of 20th and Walnut, Natural Goodness's name explains its offerings. In addition to its extensive selection of vitamins, cereals and natural snack food items, its kitchen serves foods that can satisfy your craving for something different, whether you're a militant vegan or unabashed carnivore, or anything in between. Offerings range from buffalo and ostrich burgers to smoothies and seitan stir-fry, with the majority of the meats and vegetables being organic. On top of all that, the owner of the small shop, who more or less works the register all day and every day, is the kind woman who is always eager to help you. That could come in handy, since all I can get from the cafe with my $4.20 is a salad, the soup of the day or a smoothie, none of which alone serves as an adequate meal in my gluttonous haze. I ponder asking her to spot me the extra 30 cents I'd need for one of their many delicious sandwiches, but instead walk out the door and make a right.
About 15 minutes later, I find myself at the corner of 10th and South, standing in front of Whole Foods. While the natural foods behemoth has made a killing through its overpriced but high quality organic produce, it has solid offerings for even the budget-conscious borderline vagrant that I am for the moment. My $4.20 gets me plenty of food at the $6.99/pound salad and hot food bar, which features staples like spicy Cajun tofu and specials like chicken tikka masala. Part of me just wants to raid the cheese section, where sample size cheeses go for a dollar and allow you to sample new varieties with minimal risk. I pull my wallet and change out of my pocket to confirm my financial situation, finding that I also have the good fortune of a SEPTA token. I check the time on my phone and realize that I have a decision to make if I'm going to satisfy my craving. It's 10 'til four. I have to be at the Biopond in half an hour.
