I love eating out. I also love saving money. These two things usually don't go hand-in-hand, but I've found some pretty stellar lunch deals around my hood.

My criteria for this post is as follows:

• North of Madison Ave.
• $5 or less before tax.
• Fills me up until dinner.
• Doesn't come from a drive thru window.

1) Loma Bonita

Okay, it's embarrassing how much I eat here. No joke, it's 2+ times a week, especially when things are really busy. I get a chicken tostada ($3.50) and sometimes a beef taco ($1.50) so I usually get out of there for $5.00 or less. The tostada is a hard, flat corn shell (like a taco shell but flat) piled up with refried beans, meat, lettuce, sour cream and avocado. It's freaking delicious and not too bad for ya. The tacos are small street-style. I order 3 when I get just tacos.

2) Alfy's Salad Bar

To me, few things are as nostalgic and reminiscent of my humble upbringing as Alfy's salad bar. It's basic, straight off the Sysco truck and nothing fancy, but you can build a bunch of pretty epic salads for $5 during lunch. It's all you can eat, and that includes bread sticks.

3) The Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-Op

I love grabbing soup or a sandwich from the deli case at the Co-Op for lunch. Especially on Wednesday when they have their vegan reuben sandwiches made with Tempeh. I know, vegan reuben sounds like a joke, but it's not. They're really good. The Indonesian penne salad is also the most addictive pasta salad variety on the planet.

4) Kai Sushi

So, they don't have a $5 lunch special, but they do have a $9 lunch special which you can totally split with someone keeping you under $5 per person. The lunch combo at Kai comes with two sushi rolls (they're big and there's a lot to choose from) and Miso soup. Usually if you're splitting it, they'll hook you up with an extra miso for free. I like the California roll and the spicy tuna roll.

5) Brooklyn Bros.

It's always a toss up for me between Brooklyn Bros and Major League, but I think right now Brooklyn Bros has the keys to my heart/stomach. I love grabbing a slice to go and eating it while walking around downtown. It's uncivilized, but hey, we're not in Paris.

Honorable Mentions:

Teriyaki Burger Stop AKA Garret's hang out.
$5 All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tuesday at Mazatlan
Red Rock Subs
Tacobook

Besides sailing the S.S. Live in Everett, Tyler and crew own a creative agency called Milltown Creative. He plays guitar in the band TELLERS, loves watching the Everett music scene grow (it's a real thing), and also likes selling real estate.