ACL is only a few months away, and I’m sure you’re saving up all your pretty pennies to have the wildest time (or at least be able to afford an Uber with those darn surge prices). Well, while you’re riding that struggle bus, here are some of our favorite Austin spots for some grub on the cheap cheap.
HABANERO
Austin proudly claims the Tex in Tex-Mex, and Habanero has consistently been one of Austin’s best spots for that! The lunch special is $6.95, which is 1/514th the cost of an ACL platinum ticket! That’s a freaking SAVING. So chow down on some chicken mole and just imagine yourself bumping bodies with sweaty strangers Kendrick Lamar. Good Food, M.A.A.D. cheap, amiright?
CASA DE LUZ
You know, that vegan train may have been a little weird a few years back, but now it is totally cool to vegan, organic, gluten-free, and every other label that makes a chef want to pull their hairs out. Fortunately, Casa de Luz doesn’t mind! They’re this awesome little under-the-radar find that defines itself more as a community center than a restaurant. The food is awesome, the food is hella good for you, and you can get a three course meal for $12!!
FOODHEADS
Remember those days you’d run over to your best friends house and their mom would be fixing up some freaking bomb sandwiches that taste so much better because its not YOUR mom making you clean the dishes after? Yeah, FoodHeads is kinda like that in that the café is inside of a cute little converted house and you still don’t have to wash your own dishes either! Score and score! You can also build your own sandwich for just $6.95, so triple score! (And you can use those extra dollars you saved to buy your mom something nice, come on.)
NG BMT
Vietnamese food has really kicked off since the popularization of pho, and to add to the cuisines you’ll likely butcher the pronunciation of is banh mi! It’s sorta like a fancy sub sandwich, made with French bread and loaded with fresh veggies and your choice of some awesomely seasoned meats or house made tofu! It’s like $7 at most for a sandwich and if you buy four, you get a fifth one for free – and trust us, you may burst after eating just one, but they are delicious and worth it!
