Living in the city 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.
Clover Food Lab
Multiple Locations
There's a reason why this vegetarian answer to McDonald's has gone supernova, with food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants all over the Boston area—it's really tasty, and really cheap. You'll be hard-pressed to find anything on the menu that tops $8, from the chickpea fritter sandwich (pictured above) to the cinnamon lemonade to the Moroccan carrot salad. For lovers of healthy, inexpensive food that doesn't sacrifice flavor, it's hard to beat.
Machu Chicken
Union Square
A favorite among Somerville denizens, this Union Square spot specializes in traditional Peruvian-style chicken cooked over charcoal—with big portions for low prices. For $8, you can get a 1/4 chicken with house salad and a choice of rice or fries; up it to $13 for a 1/2 chicken, and you can throw in a Peruvian empanada or tamale and have a meal for two for under $20. And at $7-8, the sandwiches, which range from roast pork with fried sweet potatoes and salsa criolla to chicken with aji amarillo sauce, are a steal.
Santarpio's Pizza
East Boston/Peabody
Long known as one of Boston's best bets for pizza, Santarpio's has kept its prices down-to-earth: a chewy, nicely blistered cheese pie runs $9.50, and could easily feed two people along with a $4.75 garden salad. Split a giant glass of the house red ($4 for 10 ounces), and you've got dinner for two with drinks for under $20. The trade-off: it's cash-only, so be sure to bring your bills (you won't need many).
Saloniki
Fenway/Kendall Square
There are plenty of places in Boston to enjoy a lavish Greek meal, but for a hearty sandwich, salad or rice bowl that clocks in under $10, Saloniki is the place to go. Owned by Jody Adams (Trade, Porto), this duo of spots in Cambridge and Fenway dish up outstanding eats like the Herc ($10), a platter of braised honey-garlic pork, whipped feta, Greek fries, veggies, and spicy slaw over brown rice, or the George ($9), a fresh-baked pita piled with lamb meatballs, charred eggplant, garlic yogurt and more.
Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe
Downtown Crossing/Woburn/Westford
Specializing in the cuisine of China's Xi'an region, this Downtown Crossing favorite (which also has locations in Woburn and Westford) is known for its hand-pulled noodles, which star in complex, spicy dishes like the cumin lamb ($8.40) and the house noodle soup ($6.50). The namesake flatbread sandwiches, stuffed with pork or lamb, are equally tasty, and run $5.50 or less. Just be sure to bring cash—they don't take cards.
