Hungry? Sure you are.
Broke? We thought so.
Whether you only have $1 or can splurge with a pair of Lincolns, here’s our guide for some cheap food around campus.
Whether it’s early or late, we’ve found just the right dishes, for the right occasions, at the right price. Bon appetit!
$1
Mai’s Korea House
414 1/2 Cedar Ave. S. (West Bank)
Hard Times Cafe
1821 Riverside Ave. (West Bank)
Mangia
1501 University Ave. S.E. (Dinkytown)
Drinks and more
They said it couldn’t be done. They told us there wasn’t a beverage that cost less than $1 nowadays, even a soft drink.
We proved them wrong.
Mai’s Korea House has jasmine tea for a mere 75 cents. And that’s not all – the Hard Times Cafe makes a mean cup of organic, fair-trade, press-pot black coffee for $1. Even Mangia has three-for-one tap beers during weekday happy hours, which, according to our calculations, works out to just pennies more than $1 per drink.
$2
Dinkytowner Cafe
412 14th Ave. S.E. (Dinkytown)
For breakfast
Rise and shine! From 9 – 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, you can get two eggs, toast and your choice of bacon or sausage for just $1.99. And let’s face it, after the kind of night you’ve had, $2 might be all that’s left in your wallet or purse.
$3
Andrew Boss Laboratory-Meat Science Building
1354 Eckles Ave. (St. Paul campus)
Hors d’oeuvres
This one’s for all the students out there determined to lend an air of sophistication to their weekend beer fests. The St. Paul campus’s dairy salesroom is the place to buy cheap, high-quality cheeses from brie to feta. The cheese (and ice cream too) is made by the University’s dairy classes and sold at 3 p.m. Wednesdays.
Add some fruit and a bottle of wine to these slabs of cheese, sold by weight (many are in the $3 range), and even your frugal roommate from Wisconsin will be impressed.
$4
The Wienery
414 Cedar Ave. S. (West Bank)
For lunch
They like to say you can get just about anything for $5 here. Well, for $4, you can get one awesome, fresh-grilled Philly cheese steak, or for $2.50-3 you can get Chicago-style hot dogs, as well as vegan and vegetarian brats and dogs.
$5
Kilimanjaro Cafe
324 Cedar Ave. S. (West Bank)
Sophisticated snack
College is a time to broaden your horizons. That includes expanding your diet to include more than ramen noodles and cereal. Start by trying something new from the restaurant’s appetizer menu, such as “fule,” a $4.95 fava bean dish with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and feta cheese. It’s served with French bread. Delicious! The taste of studying abroad is only steps from campus.
$6
Manhattan Loft
802 Washington Ave. S.E. (Stadium Village)
Late-night grub
Late-night eats are rare around the University. But at Manhattan Loft, for $6, you can get a full rotisserie chicken (Note to hungry people staggering out of Stub & Herbs or Sally’s Saloon and Eatery at 2 a.m.: That’s a lot of food!). The new restaurant serves chicken until 2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and pizza and other goodies until 3 a.m.
$7
Bona Vietnamese Restaurant
815 Washington Ave. S.E. (Stadium Village)
Dinner
The beauty of soup is it fills you up without making you full. “Pho” (pronounced “Fuh”), a Vietnamese beef-noodle soup, makes both an affordable and delicious treat. The secret is the rich, succulent broth, pure ambrosia that infiltrates the meat and noodles with a luscious flavor.
$8
Riverside Restaurant
329 Cedar Ave. S. (West Bank)
Buffet
Riverside Restaurant’s buffet, best visited during the lunch hour, is a chance to try a variety of Somali and East African dishes for a reasonable price. Vegetarians beware, though. While there are nonmeat dishes, this is a meat-lover’s dream.
$9
Annie’s Parlour
313 14th Ave. S.E. (Dinkytown)
Cheap date
Looking for a fun date? Here’s whatcha do: Head over to Annie’s Parlour and get two of the best shakes in town (before 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and before midnight Fridays and Saturdays). It’s pretty chill there, so you can actually have a nice conversation.
If things go badly, at least you got some good ice cream out of the deal and only blew $9. If things go well, head on downstairs to the Kitty Kat Club!
And if things go really well, go to the Dinkytowner Cafe for breakfast (see $2 above).
$10
Loring Pasta Bar
327 14th Ave. S.E. (Dinkytown)
Fine dining
Not enough students take advantage of this deal: Loring Pasta Bar offers half off on everything with a student ID, except for Fridays and Saturdays after 6 p.m.
That’s 50 percent, comrades. You want the best cheap meal in town? This is your place.
For $10, go ahead and get its most expensive 10-ounce steak and a pop. Or go for the complete experience and get a tap beer, an appetizer and some fettuccini carbonara.
Ah, life is good.