Brian Cortell parks himself at a counter seat, drops his backpack, and begins wolfing down two slices of pizza and a Pepsi. It's dinnertime at Tartans Pavilion, and the sophomore electrical computer engineering major has just enough time to carb up before heading to Skibo gym for another workout, his second of the day.

He gazes through the garage-door-style glass-wall panels of the campus's newest eatery, located just beyond Gesling Stadium's visiting team sideline. He sees a pickup soccer game happening on the artificial turf. It looks like skins versus shirts.

Behind him, the place is a hive of activity as an eclectic-looking mix of students has converged for some brick-oven, wood-fired fare. A cluster of freshmen walks in and descends on a line already 20-something deep waiting to order a pizza, stromboli, or another of the restaurant's Italian specialties. Cell phones ring incessantly and are checked continuously; a trio is overheard speaking of Vonnegut and stream-of-consciousness thinking. A few others talk about some patches for Microsoft's Vista. Two more students say nothing; they're keeping tabs on a men's tennis match, shown atop a sports trophy case on one of the restaurant's four flat-screen TVs.

Cortell, who says he's a regular at the Pavilion, isn't particularly interested in the soccer game or what's happening behind him. At 6'2" and nearly 200 pounds, the Naval ROTC member is concentrating on eating. With his ambitious training regimen, lots of eating is required.

"I work out six days a week, two to three times a day," says Cortell, whose goal after graduation is to join the Navy SEALs. He played football as a freshman before deciding to focus his energies on military service. "Combine that with my classes—this year is pretty hard with 56 units—and there's really no time for football."

Despite the drive-through pace of his consumption, Cortell says he feels at home in the Pavilion's casual surroundings. Opened in November 2007, the restaurant has arched metal ceiling supports infused with LED lights that change color. But it's the seven glass-door wall panels—which can open to create an outdoor café—that really gets high marks from Cortell and just about everyone else.

"It's a cool atmosphere when they open it up," he says. "The food's good, too. It's not greasy like other pizza places."

Crunched for time, Cortell grabs his stuff and heads to the gym. Before he goes, he says he'll probably be back tomorrow.
—Chris A. Weber