Hodak's Restaurant & Bar is a fried chicken budget eat in Benton Park, St. Louis.
Hodak's has won reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s, plating a generous bird-and-sides dinner at a fair price in a no-frills room.
Tip: The fried chicken dinner with sides is the value order. Expect a wait on Friday nights for the bird.
Address: 2100 Gravois Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104
Sameem plates affordable Afghan kabuli palaw, aushak dumplings and kabobs in The Grove, a generous-portion kitchen of Afghan classics for years.
Try: Kabuli palaw and aushak
Tip: The aushak leek dumplings are the order to lead with. Plenty of cheap vegetarian dishes round out the menu.
Maritza Rios's CWE kitchen plates Peruvian, Cuban and Colombian home cooking, with aji de gallina, ropa vieja and rotisserie chicken in the low double digits.
Try: Aji de gallina and pollo a la brasa
Tip: Aji de gallina or the ropa vieja are the value orders. Mains land in the ten-to-sixteen-dollar range, with sides extra.
A drive-in near the airport, Woofie's has sold cheap Chicago-style hot dogs since the 1970s, billing itself the home of the hotdog with dignity.
Try: Chicago-style hot dogs
Tip: Order it Chicago-style, dragged through the garden. It is a quick, cheap roadside stop near the airport.
Open since 1913, Crown Candy is the metro's oldest soda fountain, slinging affordable malts, a towering BLT and chili in an Old North parlour frozen in time.
Try: Soda-fountain malts and BLTs
Tip: A malt and the bacon-heavy BLT make a cheap, classic lunch. Expect a weekend line at one of the city's oldest counters.
Serving since 1941 on Route 66, Ted Drewes sells cheap, thick frozen-custard concretes, the landmark dessert handed over upside down to prove it.
Try: Frozen custard concretes
Tip: A concrete is a few dollars and a city rite of passage. Cash-friendly; expect a summer line at the window.
An LGBTQ-friendly coffeehouse across from Tower Grove Park, Mokabe's serves a cheap all-day vegetarian-leaning brunch, a welcoming budget spot.
Try: All-day vegetarian brunch
Tip: The all-day vegan and vegetarian brunch is rare and affordable. It fills after the Saturday farmers market.
