Cheap Eats

Learn how to feast by spending the least with grab-and-go and bar food options, gourmet grub for less and ethnic bites for the global diner.

So, where can we get a good, cheap meal around here?

Lots of places!

We’ve been keeping track of tasty, affordable options across the state for our guide, featuring three different categories for the eater of everything: grab-and-go and bar food options, gourmet grub for less and ethnic eats for the global diner.

Get ready to feast while spending the least.

New York System hot wiener, all-the-way ($2.15 each) Olneyville New York System  20 Plainfield St., Providence, 621-9500 1012 Reservoir Ave., Cranston, 275-6031 1744 Mineral Spring Ave., North Providence 383-4155, olneyvillenewyorksystem.com   Ingredients: Veal, pork and beef hot wiener Hamburger meat sauce made with secret spices Finely chopped onions Mustard Celery salt Steamed bun   Served with: Autocrat coffee milk, of course ($1.99)

Smoked chorizo sausage ($7.50) Wurst Kitchen/Wurst Window Chez Pascal 960 Hope St., Providence 421-4422,  chez-pascal.com   Ingredients: Smoked housemade chorizo Fried egg Raclette cheese Sweet pepper relish Hot sauce Calise hoagie roll   Served with: Yacht Club Sarsaparilla soda ($2)

Heat Factor: Serene Embark on a taste tour at Seven Moons with the traditional East Asian-inspired sauces, including Szechuan, Thai-style lemongrass sauce, oyster sauce and the ever-popular Thai-style crispy chicken wings with red pepper. Get eight wings for $5.95 or sixteen for $10.95.  6900 Post Rd., North Kingstown 885-8383, 7-moons.com.
Heat Factor: Tangy Wings Over Providence fries up extensive flavors, styles and sizes. Options range from wimpy to afterburner, and they come bone-in or boneless. Our favorite flavors include mustang ranch, hot garlic and kickin’ bar-b-que. Get seven wings for $5.99, ten for $7.99 or fifteen for $10.99; boneless versions are $11.99 per pound.  725 Hope St., Providence 274-9464, wingsoverprovidence.com.
Heat Factor: Extreme If you’re looking to singe your taste buds, look no further than Doherty’s East Avenue Irish Pub. They have an assortment of flavors for wing-lovers of all tolerances, including the atomic, inferno and nuclear wings for the bravest of tongues. Enjoy $0.50 wings every Monday night (deep-fried or char-grilled) or ten wings for $9.99 every other night of the week.  342 East Ave., Pawtucket 725-9520, dohertys.com. –Abby Ringiewicz

Turnip Cake Turnip is grated and mixed with rice flour batter and steamed, then pan-fried until crispy. Price: three for $2.65 Lucky Garden, 1852 Smith St., Providence, 231-5626, luckygardenri.com
Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf Sticky rice is stuffed with meat and Chinese mushrooms, wrapped in dried lotus leaves and steamed. Price: two for $5.95
Steamed BBQ Pork Bun Soft and pillowy rice flour dough forms a ball around barbecue pork and onions. Price: three for $2.65
Chicken Feet Most people have no problem biting into chicken wings, so what’s so different about those other appendages, the feet? Price: $3.05
Seasme Balls Rice flour and wheat starch dough is injected with lotus paste, rolled into balls, coated in sesame seeds and deep-fried. Price: three for $2.65
Scallion Pancakes Think of it as a Chinese crepe made with flatbread, folded with oil and minced green scallions. Price: $5.95