In a small storefront on Gilman Street, in the shadow of the gigantic Hub apartment building, you may find wiener shop, which like OSS, puts fancy toppings on a plain hot dog.

I really do mean plain. The bun-length, beef or vegan hot dog is jammed in a bun straight from the package. From there, it’s buried in toppings connected by a theme, all for $4.95.

Ones you may already be familiar with include the Chicago-style dog, topped with mustard, relish, peppers, onions, pickles and tomato chutney (but no poppy seed bun), and the Tucson Sonora dog, topped with bacon, avocado, mustard, cilantro mayo, pinto beans and pickled jalapenos.

The Vancouver Asian dog reminded me of sushi, and that’s because of the well-crafted sesame ginger slaw plus soy sauce, avocado and way-too-much wasabi mayo. For lack of a better term, the richness of this dog brought diminishing returns in enjoyment.

On the other hand, I was surprised by the somewhat bland taste of the New York street dog, as the pastrami kraut was not at all sour and wasn’t helped much by the mustard or NYC onion sauce.

Tater tots are the only other items on the menu. You can get them plain ($2.95) with your choice of sauce, and note, you will need the sauce, since these non-crunchy tater tots come from the oven, not deep-fryer. Try the awesome sauce, which uses a Sriracha-like sauce as its base. The other versions of tater tots come with cheese ($3.95) or chili-cheese ($4.95).

wiener shop is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday. You won’t find any seating inside, but there are a few tables outside.

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When I received the press release announcing the opening of Portage Pi in May, I mistakenly thought it was junk email, as the pi symbol was in the subject line. In this case, “pi” refers to hand pies. Since I love pasties, calzones and empanadas, I was excited to visit.

Portage Pi, which is located inside the Graduate Hotel on campus, is very hotel-esque in design and feel, as evident by its communal seating,  its location adjacent to the lobby and the fact that it’s also a coffee shop.

You can choose from one of three savory hand pies ($7), all of which are in a delicious, flaky shell. I thoroughly enjoyed the short rib pi, which was stuffed with flavorful and tender meat along with onion, potato and carrot–you don’t even need the accompanying horseradish sauce. Compared to the equivalent Teddywedger, this pi wasn’t overly filled with potatoes, which I appreciated.

On the other hand, the Wisconsin pi didn’t do it for me. The eggs were dried out (a consequence of the pi being pre-assembled), and the cheese curds were almost non-existent.

To change the focus of your taste buds, move onto the sweet hand pies ($6). You can’t go wrong with either the apple pi, which has super soft apples and a balanced blend of cinnamon and nutmeg, or the cherry s’more pi, a creative, dense concoction of brandied cherries and chocolate–yum!

If you’re not into the pies, you’ll find other items such as salads ($7)–examples include the Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese and the Toasted Quinoa–pressed sandwiches ($7)–the banana Nutella caught my eye–an assortment of breakfast items and a soup of the day.

In addition to coffee, other beverages include smoothies ($6), beer ($6) and wine by the glass ($6).

Portage Pi is open every day. Worth noting is that Executive Chef Chris Cubberley once served as Martha Stewart’s personal chef, according to the press release.