Qdoba may be dead and gone, but Crave-A-Bowl shows promise

After the closing of Qdoba due to complications after it failed a health inspection, a significant hole in the already sparse food options on Pitt campus was left. That hole was quickly filled, when Crave-A-Bowl popped up on Monday, seemingly over night.

The restaurant kept much of the same infrastructure as the old Qdoba: blue walls, booth seating, and an upstairs seating area, with a central counter that separates employees and customers. Behind the counter, the team works on an assembly line preparing bowls with endless combinations of healthy options, like chick peas, squash, kale, and spinach. You can pile these veggies on top of rice, beans, or couscous with a range of protein options like two types of chicken, steak, and even tofu.

While the options at Crave-A-Bowl are nearly infinite, the friendly staff helps move the customers along offering their insights. The shop also offers signature bowls, like a Burrito Bowl, a Thai Bowl, and a Buffalo Bowl to take some of the creative burden off the customer, so you can do what you came there to do: eat!

The most important part of any restaurant on campus are the prices. Crave-A-Bowl offers three sizes of bowls: Petite, a 12oz Bowl at $4.99, Regular, a 16oz Bowl at $6.99 and Mega, a 32ox Bowl at $9.99. Prices can vary based on the type of protein chosen.

Buffalo Mega Bowl with Steak

Crave-A-Bowl's assembly line, which restaurants like Chipotle, Sushi Fuku and Qdoba (RIP) use, maximizes efficiency and ensures that you get your food as fast as possible. Additionally, the restaurant does not accept cash. While an inconvenience to some, this makes paying for your food fast and easy.

Crave-A-Bowl is fast, easy, fresh and delicious. It may be a bit steep on the price point for bowl style food, it's well worth it to receive something fresh that you can fully customize to your liking, in a town that has limited options for healthy food. Go give it a try today!

PS: Yes, they have Queso.