Students seeking upscale, healthy dining options now have a new alternative. Cafe Parizade, in cooperation Devil's Delivery Service, began delivery on food points Monday evening.
Duke dining officials believe the addition of Cafe Parizade--a four-star First Union building restaurant--to the delivery scheme will satisfy the needs of students who are looking for more nutritious meal options as well as provide more employment opportunities for students through DDS.
"We specialize in fine Mediterranean dining," said Igor Gacina, a manager at the restaurant. "We are quite different from George's [Garage]. Our menu includes a variety of healthy selections such as sushi, oysters and fresh pastas. We also offer rack of lamb to go, and a score of beautiful desserts."
The cafe is also prepared to offer menu choices to meet the demands of those with special dietary needs. Vegetarians and vegans can find appealing dishes to order as well.
The addition of Cafe Parizade to the system follows more than a year of negotiations between the restaurant and the University.
"The logistics of putting Parizade on points were very demanding," said Kristen Luneberg, DDS president. "Contracts had to be negotiated between Devil's Delivery Service and Parizade, and between Parizade and Duke dining, one to take care of delivery, the other to manage the transaction of food points."
DDS, a student-owned and -operated organization, was a major advocate of the Parizade's addition to the list of merchants on points, and will handle all Duke-related deliveries. The additional restaurant will create a need for more student drivers.
"We witnessed the need to add another vendor on points first-hand," Luneberg said.
"George's, the other fine-dining option, has two phone lines. Both ring constantly every night between six and eight. Food was extremely popular, and demand was high. There's no telling how many calls we missed. Having Parizade as an alternative will be better for everyone."
DDS also delivers for Cattleman's Steakhouse and Francesca's Italian Cuisine, and previously held a contract to deliver New York Pizza, but was forced to abandon the latter due to lack of demand. Luneberg said he expects Parizade's exotic nature to keep demand high.
Like George's, the quality of the food at Parizade translates into higher prices than at many other vendors.
"Parizade is similar to George's, and I like ordering from there," said junior Bobby Zappala. "It tends to be expensive, but I don't think that will turn out to be a problem. When you're ordering on points, you don't always pay attention to that."
Bread and Kabob and International Delights, two other local restaurants with international fare, have also started delivering on points this semester, although DDS does not handle their business.
"I am very satisfied with the response to the points system. We have gotten a great deal of increased student business," said Ziad Lobbad, manager of International Delights.
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