Life in Atlanta has gotten exponentially more expensive in recent years, but everyone needs to eat (and maybe even go on a dinner date once in a while). But even if "Hamilton" describes both the contents of your music library and your wallet, you can still eat a full meal on the cheap. Here are five spots where even the young and hungry can dine like kings.
Tupelo Honey
Sandy Springs
"Under $10" and "all-you-can-eat" aren't words that appear together very often, but they do at this Sandy Springs spot, where every Thursday after 8pm, the kitchen dishes up bottomless mac and cheese (pictured above) for just $10. They also have cheap drink specials all night: $3 draft beers, $5 cocktails, and half-off bottles of wine.
Rising Son
Avondale Estates
This newish spot in Avondale features food "made by the blue collar to please the blue collar," with prices everyone can afford. The biggest steal is breakfast, where you can score the classic "Kickstart" (two eggs, bacon, grits, and a biscuit) for $8, or the hefty "Hashed Out" hash browns (with bacon, sausage, pickled jalapeno, salsa, and more) for $10. Dinner is slightly pricier, but most of the menu still goes for $12-15.
Arepa Mia
Downtown/Decatur
Looking for an alternative to the standard sandwich? Try a Venezuelan arepa, which stuffs various fillings into thick, fluffy cakes made of corn masa. Arepa Mia offers a wide variety of arepas for $8.50-9, including the pernil, with 12-hour roasted pork and caramelized onions; the Domino, with black beans, plantains, onion, and roasted red peppers, and cheese; and the Diablitos, with two kinds of ham and cheese.
Victory Sandwich Bar
Decatur/Inman Park
A sandwich and an alcoholic beverage for under $10? It sounds like a dream, but Victory makes it a reality at its Inman Park and Decatur outposts, with tons of $4 sandwich options like the Tea Bird (chicken, ghost pepper jack cheese, and sweet tea mayo) and the Okie Dokie (brie, tomato confit, pesto, arugula, and artichokes). Throw in a $1.50 bag of chips and a $3 Tecate or a $4 boozy Coke slushie, and you'll still clock out at under $10.
Eats
Midtown/Old Fourth Ward
The "Home of the Jerk Chicken Plate" will leave you stuffed for just $9—the price of a meat-and-three with Eats' famed super-spicy bird. Pair it with a trio of sides like black-eyed peas, collard greens, mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, and more. If you're not a jerk fan, you can sub in turkey meatloaf or chicken chili.
Vegetarians can slash the price even further, with a platter of three or four sides for $5.75-7. Either way, there's enough cash left over for a 50-cent wedge of fluffy cornbread—or for a slight splurge over the $10 mark, a $1.50 brownie.
