Five Dollar Lunches

The Kitchen Cinco

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

Get in line for the $3.50 small falafel sandwich with hummus and vegetables at the 100 percent kosher Mama's. Burn the rest of your $5 allowance on a side of grape leaves (50 cents) and an extra falafel ball (40 cents) to stuff in your pita pocket.

Get all design-build on a breakfast sandwich at Estelle. Choose a bagel or housemade bun, add in eggs and one of four cheeses — gruyere, fontina, cheddar or provolone — for $3.50. Stacking on smoked turkey, ham, or homemade sausage or bacon brings things to a cool $4.50.

At $1.50 apiece, the soft and yeasty pretzels at this Pennsylvania Dutch mainstay are good enough to serve as your lunch. Three of these twisted treats rings in at under five bucks, and will keep your pelt glossy with their pure, butter-infused goodness.

Though the 99-cent breakfast really draws in the golden oldies, half-dollar hotdogs at the Swedish mega-retailer are reasonable enough to please shoppers of every stripe. Load up on gratis condiments and a 50-cent fountain soda after an exhausting day of feathering the nest.

The grillmasters at Nick's offer four menu items for under $5: a garlickly spinach sandwich ($3.50) for the critter-lovers, a chicken breast hoagie with enigmatically named "special sauce" at $4.75, a classic 8-ounce cheeseburger for $4 and an old-school hot or sweet sausage sandwich with spinach for $4.65. If only the choices of life were so simple and fiery.