It takes a (Charles) Village

If one thing completes Johns Hopkins University, it's neighboring Charles Village. A quiet neighborhood with a laid-back character all its own, it is a one-stop shop for students' daily needs. It is also where the majority of upperclassmen choose to live D in apartment buildings and row houses up and down tree-lined streets. Charles Village begins just east of campus on Charles St. and extends several blocks east to Greenmount Ave., south to the 25th Street area and north to University Pkwy. It is a large neighborhood, but for most Johns Hopkins students, Charles Village really means the strip of stores and restaurants along St. Paul St.

With several cafes, restaurants, pubs, a dry cleaner, grocery store, florist, video rental, gift shop, liquor store, bagel shop and the legendary Royal Farms and University Mini-Mart, Charles Village is a daily student hangout and convenient for late night outings. One of the qualities about the stores in Charles Village that students often overlook is that almost every store, particularly the ones on St. Paul St., caters to the unpredictable and odd-hour schedules that students keep, because we are the core of their business.

University Mini-Mart, known as "UniMini", is located at the corner of St. Paul and 33rd St. Although it is a convenience store, it is most well-known for its delicious sandwiches at rock-bottom prices. It also sells snack foods, drinks, newspapers and random office supplies. UniMini is open daily until midnight.

Royal Farms, which is almost always called "RoFo," is located directly across from UniMini on 33rd St. and is one of the only stores open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is also a fast food joint offering sandwiches and fried chicken. For donut lovers, RoFo is a godsend with its Krispy Kreme donut stand. The only downside to RoFo is that it seems to get held up, usually at gun point, more often than any other store in Charles Village.

There are a number of sit-down restaurants, most of which also do takeout, along St. Paul and Charles St. XandO, Ruby Tuesday and Blimpie Subs are located along Charles St. in the Homewood Apartments. On St. Paul St, choices include Tamber's Nifty Fifties Diner, Subway, Orient Express, Rocky Run, Charles Village Pub and Donna's. A quick walk to the border of Charles Village and Waverly on Greenmount Ave. will take to you to the number one rated Thai restaurant in Baltimore, appropriately named Thai Restaurant. Finally, Niwana, located on 33rd St, at the bottom of the Blackstone Apartments, serves up authentic Japanese and Korean cuisine.

Also in the Homewood Apartments is a good new and used music store, Record and Tape Traders, and a Kinko's, for all your photocopying needs. In the back of the building is Tenpachi, a salon that offers standard haircuts for $10, by far the cheapest in the area.

Eddie's Market, a family-run grocery store on St. Paul St, is a small, gourmet shop that can whip up a "Charles Villager" or a "Blue Jay" sandwich at its deli. For those days when a mile-long walk or drive to the nearest supermarket isn't convenient, Eddie's Market is the perfect solution. The store also has a lot of Hopkins pride, so expect good treatment.

On St. Paul St, Charles Village Pub, known as "CVP," and P.J.'s Pub on Charles St. are the local bars frequented nightly by students. P.J.'s cards at the door, but CVP is also a diner, so it's open to anyone. Across the street from CVP is a movie lover's dream, a video rental store with titles organized by director. Video Americain has every great movie ever made plus a lot of independent films. It beats Blockbuster hands down.

Sam's Bagels is great for breakfast food on the go and Gordon Florist is a classy place to pick up flowers for a friend. For students who can buy alcohol, Eddie's Liquors on St. Paul St. and The Schnapp Shop on Guilford Ave. are convenient places to pick up beer, hard liquor and wine.

Cuppa Cabana, located across from Sam's Bagels, on St. Paul St, is a cute, eclectic coffee shop that is a favorite of locals.

Charles Village may be no Greenwich Village, but it certainly has enough to fulfill your needs. There are many more small shops and eateries, but without enough room to describe them all, you'll just have to go out and explore.