For students seeking an escape from their meat-and-potatoes existence, Baton Rouge can be a culinary United Nations.
The Yellow Pages list more than 130 different restaurants featuring international cuisine in and around the capital city, including many near the University campus.
One of those restaurants is Arzi’s, located on West Chimes Street near the Student Health Center. Owner Joy Monir, who also owns Rocco’s New Orleans Style Po Boys adjacent to Arzi’s, said most of his customers are faculty and students.
For that reason, Monir said, “the prices are cheaper than at other Arzi’s locations” in Baton Rouge. Monir said his restaurant caters to its patrons by offering discounts to students who present their ID cards.
Arzi’s features Greek and Lebanese cuisine, including chicken shawarma and gyros.
Monir said business is steady when school is in session but tends to decrease in the evening and when school is not in session.
Another popular restaurant near campus is The Great Wall, which features a large menu and buffet offering a variety of Oriental selections.
Assistant Manager Lijin Xu said the restaurant has been open in the Village Square shopping center for more than 10 years, and he estimated about half the customers are college students.
Server Peter Yu said buffet prices, which range from $5.50 at lunch to $6.95 at dinner and on weekends, have not changed in years.
“It’s always at the lowest we can get it,” Yu said.
Some businesses located farther from campus are not as affected by the school schedule, but still benefit from students’ patronage.
One such restaurant, India’s, receives about 20 percent of its business from students, said owner Kumar Kamakamedala.
Kamakamedala said his restaurant has many business customers because of the large number of office buildings located near India’s on Essen Lane.
However, Kamakamedala said his restaurant still tries to keep prices reasonable to attract students.
“We’ve been keeping the same price [for our buffet] since we opened in 1994,” Kamakamedala said.
In addition to the variety found on the buffet, India’s offers a menu that includes tandoori dishes made with marinated meats broiled in a clay oven.
Some students have mixed opinions about the variety of ethnic food offered in Baton Rouge.
Curtis Lacombe, a psychology senior, said he thought there should be more international food establishments near campus.
“You have to go out of your way sometimes,” Lacombe said.
Lacombe said he thought there was a good variety offered in Baton Rouge.
“There’s a diverse selection of kinds of foods, but they need more restaurants offering each kind of food,” Lacombe said.
Lacombe said he thought prices often were unreasonable at restaurants offering international cuisine.
“You can easily spend $30 on two people,” Lacombe said.
Amanda Lowery, a forensic anthropology freshman, agreed with Lacombe’s price assessment.
“I went with my boyfriend to a Greek and Lebanese restaurant, and we ended up spending more than $50,” Lowery said.
Lowery said what students spend at local restaurants “pretty much depends on your tastes.”
“There’s a pretty decent selection around campus,” she said, adding that students can choose how much to spend because of the number of restaurants available.