When the clock strikes 3 a.m. in Berkeley, your food options really decrease, but some nights, you still feel ravenous. CREAM and Crossroads’ Late Night have been closed for hours. You’d give anything to have a slice of Artichoke Basille pizza, but you’ve missed that by an hour. Even Top Dog has shut its doors. The struggle to have a late-night snack is too real. So what should a hungry Bear eat?

We at the Clog strongly recommend avoiding the use of a stove if you’re still feeling the last round of drinks that you and your friends had while Kips was closing down. At 3 a.m., the microwave and toaster are your true best friends.

The Clog is here to help you decide what is and isn’t a good idea to eat at 3 a.m.

At home: 

The leftovers in the back of your fridge

Our No. 1 rule about 3 a.m. snacking is not to eat anything that your 3 p.m. self wouldn’t eat — and you wouldn’t eat these. Your 3 p.m. self should’ve responsibly thrown them away, but sadly, you shoved them farther back into the fridge to deal with another day. Maybe be proactive and throw these away now: It’ll be the shock of the century.

Boxed macaroni and cheese

A definite yes! Macaroni and cheese is a perfectly acceptable snack at every hour, day or night. Bonus points if yours is Annie’s Homegrown Organic Mac & Trees.

If your fridge is empty: 

If you prefer to wander the streets instead of retuning back to your house, residence hall or apartment, you could head over to the Safeway on College Avenue, which is open 24 hours a day! Safeway offers a wide range of snacking options, but there there are definitely some items you should avoid.

Anything from the canned foods section

You made the trek all the way to Safeway — treat yourself to something more appealing! Also, you will definitely want nourishment for your walk home, and who carries a can opener around? Also, at this point in the night, you might not even be 100 percent positive that you own a can opener or, if you do, know which kitchen drawer it’s shoved inside.

Anything from the bulk trail mix/nuts/nut butter section

While this area is great, at 3 a.m., your self control might be slightly lacking, leading you to spend your entire week’s food budget on trail mix and fancy tubs of almond butter.

Happy snacking!

Image Source: Kelly Garbato under Creative Commons