Thinking wings or pizza for dinner? How about wasabi-crusted filet mignon from Pod or El Vez's signature guacamole?
A newly struck partnership between campusfood.com and diningin.com - two Web sites that let students order food from a variety of restaurants - will give students more options for food delivery.
CampusFood relies on the restaurants to do their own deliveries for items ordered on campusfood.com. Dining In, however, has its own staff deliver food for the restaurants on its site.
By partnering, CampusFood will now feature restaurants like Pod, El Vez, Maggiano's and Jones. Dining In will deliver those orders.
"It's a strategic alliance between two of the best brands in our industry," said Lindsey Webster, marketing director for Dining In. "It's a win-win for both companies because CampusFood gets more restaurants and we get greater exposure to the college market."
Most of the restaurants on CampusFood are located near Penn's campus, so deliveries are not a burden and delivery fees are generally cheap.
However, many Center City and high-end restaurants don't do their own deliveries and work with Dining In instead.
Dining In has always been an option for students but most only know about CampusFood because it promotes heavily at Penn and features area restaurants.
Minimum orders start at $15 for the new restaurants on CampusFood, but Dining In lowers its delivery rates when students use CampusFood. Those rates vary by restaurant.
Webster said that in addition to reduced delivery fees, access to more restaurants in the future and special monthly offers should provide incentives for students to use the service.
Students have had mixed reactions to the new additions to CampusFood.
Some places, such as El Vez, are slightly more expensive on CampusFood than at the restaurant.
"You pay more for the same thing," said College sophomore Gideon Spitzer. He added that the dining experience is also lacking, despite the food's quality.
"When I order it, it's just going to come in a box," Spitzer said.
Other students, however, praised CampusFood's expansion.
"It is a great thing," Engineering sophomore Aditya Shah said. "CampusFood is more efficient and user-friendly."
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