Font Size Here at the Comment, we firmly believe that "good, cheap food" is not a contradiction-in-terms-not even in our posh little corner of Evanston. In defense of this belief, we sent our well-traveled, discerning, gastronomically acute and handsome senior food writer (can you tell he wrote his own introduction?) into town with a full pen, an empty stomach and a single objective: Discover where the college wallet and the happy taste buds meet. The fruits of his search are below, in an easily digestible format. Lunch Every Weekday Dixie Kitchen - 825 Church St. The Deal: Any one of seven lunch specials for $5.95 between 11-5 p.m. at this New Orleans-style restaurant, where every table is served a basket of cornmeal pancakes with peach-butter. The Meal: Specials include a cup of gumbo or jambalaya and half a po' boy sandwich (that's fried shrimp, mussels or catfish with heavy, coleslaw-type garnishing on bread); house salad; blackened chicken salad; chicken breast sandwich with fries; either a quarter-fried chicken (dark or white) or catfish fillet, with a corn muffin and one from a list of sides; and a Southern Sampler with red beans, gumbo and jambalaya over rice. The Take: You can't really go wrong here, unless you order the generic house salad in favor of something more unique and delicious (i.e. anything else). To those skeptical about whether there's enough for a meal, mark my words (always wanted to say that): This food is rich. Among the side dishes, the plantains and mashed potatoes with country gravy get especially high marks. The generous lunch special hours are icing on the cake, or should I say, gravy on the potatoes. Sashimi Sashimi - 640 Church St. The Deal: Four combos to choose from, ranging from $6.95 - $9.50, between 11-2:30 p.m. at this small counter pick-up sushi shop. The Meal: Each combo includes a choice of two items from a list, plus Miso soup and a salad with ginger dressing. Also on offer is a $2.95 California roll. The Take: The ingredients are extremely fresh-the rice is even especially soft. The Miso Soup and salad are excellent. At $6.95, Combo C is a great deal, though the roll choices are none-too-exciting. For the impoverished sushi-phile, $6 in California rolls makes for a pretty good lunch. Olive Mountain - 610 Davis St. The Deal: A bevy of $5.25-$7.75 lunch specials, each served with a choice of hummus, falafel, soup or Lebanese salad and soda, coffee or tea, available from 11-3 p.m. weekdays and 12-3 on weekends. The Meal: All the Middle Eastern classics, including a Falafel sandwich, chicken shawerma (in a sandwich or with rice or hummus), chicken or beef kabobs (variously in a sandwich or with rice), baked spinach pie and a vegetarian combo-16 options in all. The Take: The food is tasty and plentiful, the service quick. This is quite possibly the best value for your money in Evanston. Dinner Merle's - 1727 Benson Ave. The Deal: "321 Tuesdays:" $3 margaritas, $2 Schlitz beer and $1 sliders The Meal: The margaritas come in standard-size tumblers and the "sliders" are mini pork, beef or chicken sandwiches. The Take: The margaritas are sweet-tasting and of decent strength. Mini in size, but not in meat, you almost have to be a card-carrying carnivore to enjoy the sliders: The pork is by far the best-tasting, but do balance it with one or two of another flavor (three sliders will leave most patrons stuffed), with the help of the sauces waiting on every table. If you're merely looking to fill your stomach for the least amount of money possible, this is your place, and your night of the week. Bar Louie - 1520 Sherman Ave. The Deal: Every Tuesday is $1 Burger Night 5-12:30 p.m. or while supplies last, with the prerequisite order of a drink The Meal: A burger about the size of those your friends cook at their off-campus barbecues served on a very large bun with shredded lettuce. Extras, at fifty cents-a-piece, include classics like tomato and onion, a number of cheeses, "Artery Cloggers" such as guacamole, bacon and others, and a wide array of sauces. The Take: Yeah, they'll charge you $2.50 for a soda, but there are free refills and it's still a good deal. Given the size of the bun, two burgers should do the trick; speaking of tricks, one sauce order is usually enough to lather two patties, the chipotle mayo (all flavor, minimal spice) being this writer's favorite. Looking to impress a date? Order fries: they're not a dollar, but they are seasoned and they are delicious. Vegetarians: The $6.99 quesadilla gets very high marks. Dixie Kitchen - 825 Church St. The Deal: On Thursdays starting at 11am, it's $4.99 for a pound of wings, available in four flavors, and $2 bottles of Miller products The Meal: How much is a pound of wings? Enough for a medium-to-large dinner when you factor in the complimentary cornmeal pancakes and the beer you might (Read: should) order. The four flavors are Buffalo, Peach Glazed, Smoked and Jamaican Jerk The Take: Yep, we're back at Dixie Kitchen because, if you like the cuisine, this place is worth a twice-weekly visit. Go with either the slightly spicy Buffalo, served with celery and blue cheese dressing, or the sweet-with-a-li'l-kick Peach-Glazed, which is garnished with a peach slice. It's a messy meal and yes, I'm using "messy" as a synonym for "delicious." All Day, Every Day You thought your WildCARD only got you a student discount at the movie theatre, didn't you? Well, it turns out paying approximately $17 million for your education can save you a few bucks at many E-Town restaurants, too...only they're sneaky about it. Not only do they not advertise a student price in large letters above an electronic board featuring their menu, but many don't mention it anywhere. It's like that elusive date question that you forget to ask and she/he doesn't want to answer. Slipping that awesome photo of you from New Student Week in front of your credit card or billfold for when you go out to eat might be a helpful reminder. Your purple plastic is good for: 15% off food at Prairie Moon (1502 Sherman Ave) from 5-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, which has an excellent kitchen. 10% off your entire meal at Lou Malnati's, Giordano's, Bar Louie (full-price items), Mt. Everest, Al's #1 Italian Beef, Le Peep, Wolfgang Puck, Noodles & Co., and Ethel's Chocolate Lounge, as well as many places I cannot endorse eating at prior to one o'clock in the morning, a .08 BAC and, umm, near-starvation. For the full list of participating business (eateries and otherwise), and there are a lot of 'em, go to http://www.univsvcs.northwestern.edu/WildCARDAdv/businesses.htm. Also, Cozy Noodles & Rice (1018 Davis St.) offers a number of dine-in- or carry-out-specific coupons printable from its web site: http://www.cozynoodles.com/. *All prices are dine-in and do not include tax and tip. **We apologize to vegetarians. It seems that meat lends itself to deals far more easily than vegetarian options. When Robbie's not eating, he's checking e-mail, and often he's doing both at the same time. Feed his appetite at r-brenner-1@northwestern.edu.