For such a tiny town, St Andrews has a surprisingly large amount of food options (#bless). I'll forever complain about the lack of good Mexican food (although Mammacita opening up soon where Grill House used to be may change that -- probably not, but I'm hopeful). 

However, for all my complaining, I've never gone hungry in St Andrews -- that's a fact. Here's the top 12 foods I'm always craving when I'm outside the Bubble:

1. Cheesy chips, Dervish

This is going to be controversial: I can feel it. Some people are die hard Empire, some die hard Courtyard, some die hard Dervish, some a bit of everything, some against it all. 

But the simple existence of the Humans of Dervish page shows our town's devotion to this great institution of Turkish food (I jest... I think). Personally, even the worst nights where you face plant into a puddle of warm blue Pablo on the floor of 601 can be rectified with some warm cheesy chips in bed (laying my most embarrassing moments bare for you guys...). 

Whether you like them with just cheese like me, or with all the toppings of garlic sauce, cheese, salt, and ketchup (you know who you are), you can never go wrong with Dervish. Fact. 

2. Americano panini, Rocca Deli

Have you ever stared into the face of an angel? The girls at Spoon St A will definitely agree with me on this... Because if you've had a panini at Rocca Deli, you likely would've met the angel of St Andrews aka Giorgio, the brilliant man either behind the sandwich bar or the one at the cash register. 

Personally, I'm a die hard Americano fan because I'm a huge fan of pickles, but as far as I'm concerned, any panini at Rocca is a good panini. At the price point of £4.50, it's pretty standard for St A -- and extremely filling.

3. Prince of Cambridge scone, Gorgeous

WOW. I mean, yeah, you can have scones elsewhere (it's the U.K., after all...) but there's something real special about eyeing the Gorgeous scone display on a sunny Sunday morning with your #bffs, finding a seat in the upstairs section, and nomming down on a scone with ALL the trappings a.k.a. butter, clotted cream, and jam. Because it's an all or nothing business.

4. Earl Grey tea ice cream, Jannetta's

As a self proclaimed ice cream connoisseur who seeks out the best ice cream in every city she visits (I am shameless...), the fact that this ice cream flavor ranks for me means it is DANG good. Personally, I love that it's sweet but it also has a very strong tea flavor in there... Don't exactly know how they do it, but they pull that sucker off.

Plus, if you order a sundae they give you one of those little umbrellas, and, well... Excuse my inner ten year old 'cause she's clapping with joy inside. 

5. Fudge doughnut, Fisher & Donaldson

Have you ever stared a heart attack right in the eye? Visualize that for a second -- did you see Fisher & Donaldson's fudge donut appear?

But seriously, we all deserve to #indulge once in a while, and this is absolutely the correct way to do it. That, and maybe a bottle of champagne down by Castle Sands to go with your doughnut... But let's not tell Fife Police about that. 

6. Student carry out deal, Jahangir

Mark my words... This takeaway deal is the best value for your money in town. AND the food is extremely decent for those nights when you just can't physically drag yourself to cook, but don't want to spend a small fortune on eating good. 

They will give you your chicken tikka marsala, rice, AND naan for the lowest price in town... Plus, they even gave us Christmas discount cards which is AH-MAZING. But s/o to Maisha too, because those guys are awesome and I'm a big fan of the vibe.

7. Margherita pizza, Courtyard Cafe

pizza, pepperoni
Chase Judkins
Now, I'll always be a diehard Dervish fan, but sometimes you just aren't feeling cheesy chips and that's ok. People say the food at Courtyard is actually better than Dervish -- so much better that they'd eat the paninis/pizzas sober. And that's my problem with it.

'Cause, in my opinion, you're not supposed to eat drunk food sober. You're not supposed to want to. I've never craved Dervish before midnight once. But sometimes, digging into a 12-inch pizza > cheesy chips. It just is.

Roll on, Refreshers Week. My stomach is ready.