Off Campus Lunch Hot Spots

Off Campu Lunch Hot Spots
Posted on 09/14/2021
Middlesex DinerOff-Campus Lunch Hot Spots
Melanie Ascoli
[email protected]
Staff Writer

One of the biggest things to look forward to as a senior at CV is going off campus during the lunch and Nest periods. With upwards of an hour of freedom, seniors wonder where they should spend their time. There are many great places to eat and hang out around the Mechanicsburg and Carlisle area that many students do not know about or wouldn’t think to go to.

One of these places is the newly-opened Playa Bowls, located on 32 N Hanover Street, Carlisle PA. Playa Bowls offers a wide variety of healthy and delicious meals, from their loaded acai bowls to their fresh-pressed juices. The location in Carlisle opened just a month ago and is an incredibly relaxing place to hangout and eat healthy food. They have chairs on the inside and outside where students can sit and they have their food ready in under 15 minutes which is perfect for someone who is in a time crunch.

Their acai bowls are thick smoothie base topped with fresh fruit. The acai bowl was quickly made but was incredibly fresh and tasted great. Playa Bowls is only 15 minutes away from the school, so students are able to get in and out fast with enough time to eat and make it back to school in time.

Another great and lesser known place in Carlisle is Chen’s, a sit down Chinese/Japanese restaurant located on 310 N Hanover Street. While it is a sit-down restaurant, Chen’s delivers to the table quickly and has a massive menu that includes snack and midday foods as well as whole meals. Chen’s has a great look and atmosphere and is a very quiet and chill place to eat with friends.

Senior Anna Cavanaugh said, “Chen’s was one of the first places I visited during my off campus period and the food was amazing and came to our table really fast, so I didn’t have to be stressed about making it back in time”.

The  Wonton Soup and sushi roll are cheap and filling. Chen’s is  only ten minutes away from the high school, making it a very convenient meal.

Much closer than Chen’s and Playa Bowls is Middlesex Diner, located on 1803 Harrisburg Pike. The Middlesex Diner is a well-known classic to anyone who has been living in the Mechanicsburg area for a while, but many students would not think to visit for a quick meal.

Middlesex Diner is only five minutes away from the high school, so students can sit down and have a good long meal with friends before they even have to think about returning to school.

Seniors Ana Gildea and Anna Barberio visited the Middlesex Diner during the first week of schoo.

Gildea said, “I didn’t realize how close the diner was until my friend suggested we go there. Whenever we went we got seated very quickly and the food was great because you can order breakfast or lunch during the time of the off campus period. I went with breakfast and had a great time with my friends for almost an hour.”

“Every time I go there I know the food is going to be good no matter what I get, and I am definitely going to go there a lot during our free period," Barberio said.

Students often visit places like Sheetz or Rutters during their daily commute, but most might not consider them as a place to spend the off-campus period, but both gas stations have everything students could need for a quick hour-long break. Rutters is only ten minutes away from the high school at 1150 Harrisburg Pike. There is another location in Mechanicsburg at 714 West Main Street. Sheetz is only four minutes away at 6558 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg.

Both places offer hot, freshly made food in a few minutes, while also offering many options of drinks and snacks. Both also have outdoor seating where students can eat their lunch, chat with friends, and listen to music in the car. These are great places to go if students have another errand to run during off campus but have some leftover time afterwards.
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