Meals deals are the street cleaners of university life. Unacknowledged, unappreciated, they’re the very foundation of our student existence.

Paradise

Widely lambasted by many, who sneer at the ‘refrigerated’ nature of the sandwiches, the overzealous usage of mayonnaise and laugh at the dwarf-sized cokes, they are a student staple and should be applauded – merely for the fact you can get about 1000 calories for 3 quid.

Most importantly, they’re guaranteed to get people talking.

Here’s a round up of the 3 main choices on offer:

Tesco

If you’re a fan of horse meat sandwiches then look no further than Tesco for your meal deal pleasure. The chicken and sweetcorn comes highly recommended, yet has ample butter, for the Eurosceptics among you.  The all day breakfast comes packed to the brim with all the trimmings but expect to feel like you may have a colonic on consumption. The crisp choice is vast, potentially the best a meal deal has to offer, with the much-lauded McCoys for those who like their crisps crinkle cut. The selection of drinks fails to deliver though most of the choices being of the diminutive and carbonated variety. The major minus with Tesco is the fact that to upgrade to a more gourmet sandwich from the finest range, (think pastrami) you’ll have to pay an extra pound. Plus, unless you live near College Green, Blackboy Hill or in the chic oasis that is Clifton Village, it’s a schlepp.

Boots

The disastrous moment you realise most of the Boots sandwiches have gone

Boots is often overlooked but it has a stellar meal deal. Naysayers regard the £3.29 price tag as off-putting, but my god it’s worth it. Without doubt the best sarnie out there is the Boots chicken triple: a beautiful selection of chicken and bacon, chicken salad and the all time feel good classic, chicken and stuffing. Such is it’s infamy that you’ll rarely find one after about 12.30 pm. City slickers on their lunch hours pour into the Triangle to try and cop the last of this ambrosia. They know what’s up. On the other hand, there is still a smorgasbord of sandwiches, wraps and baguettes ranging from jerk chicken for the aspiring Congo Natty fan, to the cheese ploughmans for the more rural mature student. The range of drinks and crisps is hard to beat too,, with flavoured water, healthy living juices and Ribena all on offer.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsburys (2) Choosing in Sainsbury’s…a tough choice

For those not prepared to pay that extra 29p or fight over the Boots’ chicken triple, J. Saino’s is the best option. The gourmet sandwiches always massage the taste buds, in particular the ham hock and mature cheddar, which ‘goes off’ according to Benji Walters, 2^nd year English. For those of you not down with the Clifton Village lingo, he means that it tastes great, not that it’s out of date. One place where Sainsbury’s does fall slightly is in the crisp department. Yes, there are chilli Sensations available, but these are the preserve of parental dinner parties’ not undergraduate joviality. But the solid choice of other snacks available, such as grapes, makes up for this.

It’s time people started being open about meal deal culture, to bring it out of the lunchtime darkness. So put down your overpriced QED Brie and Cranberry baguette, pick up a meal deal and save yourself £3 to put towards future ketamine use.

What’s YOUR favourite?