A Hoya’s stomach runs like clockwork. If it’s Thursday, it’s a plateful of chicken fingers for lunch. Friday afternoons mean a big, juicy GUGS burger. And 2 a.m. is just the right time for a hot slice at Philly Pizza.

After all, would Leo’s chicken fingers be as enticing if they were served every day? Would dozens of people still wait in line for burgers if the Georgetown University Grilling Society were in Red Square every afternoon? And would you eat at Philly Pizza if you weren’t if you hadn’t been party-hopping down Prospect Street all night?

It’s not that these foods would be any less delicious if they were available more often. But they indicate perhaps the most important qualification of Georgetown’s culinary traditions: Each is associated with its own special time and place.

Even though Hoyas love the Tombs, Booey’s, Wingo’s and Quick Pita, they just don’t have that signature meal that the entire campus seems to crave all at once.

Those celebrated strips of fried chicken in O’Donovan Hall are often the first Georgetown food tradition that freshmen discover, since meal plans are mandatory for first-years and the cafeteria tends to be a social area for underclassmen.

“I didn’t even know it was Chicken Finger Thursday, so it was basically a pleasant surprise,” Chrissie Perry (COL ’10) said about the first time she had the famous lunch. “I still eat them every Thursday.”

And while the staff at Leo’s has responded to the food’s popularity by adding it to Monday’s menu, Chicken Finger Thursday still stands as the dining hall’s most anticipated meal of the week.

GUGS burgers evoke thoughts of sunny Friday afternoons, classic rock blaring on the GUGS radio, frisbee on Copley Lawn and the satisfaction of knowing the weekend has arrived.

“Everyone’s just excited about eating a really big burger,” Nick Lynch (COL ’08) said. “It’s a social event.”

GUGS has made such an impact on campus that it shared the awards for Outstanding Student Organization of the Year and Best Tradition in 2004, just two years after it was founded.

“It’s there to feed the soul as much as the stomach,” GUGS President Joe Cofrancesco (COL ’07) said.

To up the ante this Traditions Week, GUGS plans to grill one giant hamburger for everyone to share. Cofrancesco said that last year’s burger weighed in over 10 pounds, and this year, he’s aiming for 12.

And then there’s the pizza. Part of the fun of the post-party excursion to Philly Pizza is going in a big group of friends, and running into even more of them, in the long line winding up 34th Street.

“Philly is just a ridiculous food to order late at night,” Mike Juba (COL ’08) said. “The walk to Philly is always adventurous, and you’re sure to encounter a ton of random people there.”

Late-night dates to Philly Pizza have even brought some campus couples together.

“The only way I could get up the courage to ask out this one girl was to repeatedly ask her out to Philly Pizza,” Twister Murchison (COL ’08) said of his current girlfriend.

For Kevin Boyd (SFS ’08), who is studying Turkish, Philly Pizza has been an invaluable resource to practice the language since several employees are of Turkish origin.

“I spent so much time there that now when I walk in, I often don’t have to place my order,” he said. “There will be a slice of pepperoni and a Dr. Pepper on the counter waiting for me.”

For others, all that matters is that the ranch dressing, which has a following of its own, is free-flowing.

“The ranch is essential,” Juba emphasized.

But whatever fan base the dressing may attract, it has nothing on the Chicken Madness. After all, perhaps the best sign that Hoyas really love a sandwich is when they write in its name for GUSA president.

The beauty of the Chicken Madness is – unlike any of these other Georgetown delicacies. Wisemiller’s makes well over 100 Chicken Madnesses everyday, according to employee Chris Olarte, making the Chicken Madness the best-selling sandwich at Wisey’s.

Purists eat the Chicken Madness with no substitutions for its eight ingredients: chicken, cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, peppers, onion, lettuce and tomatoes. But the cult-like following of the Chicken Madness is a turn-off for some.

“I’ve never actually had the Chicken Madness, just for fear of being that freshman who’s trying the Chicken adness for the first time,” Perry said.

It’s not only freshmen who are missing out, though. Rob O’Rourke (COL ’07) admitted that he has never had a Chicken Madness – though he added that he was at Leo’s yesterday for chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks.

All four of these foods meet one other important criterion: size. Leo’s chicken fingers, the half-pound GUGS burger, the giant slices of Philly Pizza and the Chicken Madness are all able to conquer the strongest hunger pangs in a single serving – well, counting seven chicken fingers as one serving.

When asked to choose their favorite of these four Georgetown food traditions, some students felt like they were being asked to choose among their children.

“It’s incredibly hard to choose among those four bulwarks of culinary excellence,” Caitlin Moran (COL ’07) said. But like many others, she decided upon Philly Pizza when pressed for a decision.

“Philly Pizza is the best,” Jeffrey Bond (SFS ’09) said. “It has been scientifically proven to keep body and soul together when eaten after 1 a.m.”