The dining selection on 12th Street has always had a great variety of food choices for students. You can choose from breweries, pitas, burgers and even oriental cuisine that are just a short walk from campus. The closing of Taco Johns was a sad and untimely sight for the taco faithful, but it made way for another restaurant to take its place. Chomps Delicatessen is the newest shop to claim property on the CMU strip and offers something different than any of the other food places nearby: Delicious deli submarine sandwiches.

While it may still have the appearance of a little drive-through shop, Chomps is far from it. When you walk inside, you will find everything you can order painted right on the wall. They offer all of the traditional favorites like the Italian, roast beef, turkey, meatball, and BLT subs as well as a soup of the day served with a slice of toast. Of course, what would a local deli be without its own selection of specialties? At Chomps, the cook’s favorite is the Pastrami and Swiss. The trademark sub is absolutely packed with pastrami and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mustard, hot peppers, and mayonnaise, all on toasted French bread. It’s a meat lover’s delight. Other specialty subs include corned beef brisket, eggplant, pulled pork and an artichoke and feta cheese combo for those with more refined taste buds.

The other unique feature of Chomps is their wide variety of side dishes. Unlike most places that offer only chips or fries, you can find those options along with coleslaw, potato and macaroni salad, stuffed peppers or a giant pickle that are on display right beside the cash register.

The only downside to the new deli is the inability to use MavMoney. Since the University does not own the lot that the building is on, Chomps does not have the option of letting students use their Mav cards to pay for their meal. However, students can use their IDs to receive a 20% discount on all of their purchases. With the amount of meat and toppings they put in their subs, it won’t break the bank to fill you up.

I was impressed with my first experience at Chomps and am excited to try more of what they have to offer. I have a feeling that it will become a new favorite for CMU students.