Cheap Eats

Mexican food or pasta for under $5
I have been on the law school faculty for 28 years, patiently waiting for my "moment in the sun." And here it is; I have been asked to be an occasional columnist not to discuss anything that I teach or areas of scholarly inquiry--but rather my girth and how I got it on the cheap! Finally, after years of searching for that perfect cheap lunch, off campus, with the encouragement and accompaniment of many of my colleagues, I have the opportunity to share my accumulated knowledge. To say that this is a singular honor would fail to communicate my excitement.

I see this as an opportunity to be the "Clark Howard" of the inexpensive, but palatable, lunch. First the column in Emory Report, then the Journal/Constitution, then a radio talk show--it is hard to contain my imagination about the future.

Let me start the first of these irregular columns by setting out the criteria that I use. Any place that I will recommend will serve a variety of palatable lunches for less than $5--total. But this does not include a drink, since water is free and good for you. Secondly, the restaurant must be off campus but within a short drive, i.e., one must be able to go, eat and return within an hour. (On occasion I will violate this rule so as to include a few excellent opportunities out Buford Highway.) I will not review our opportunities in the village because they are easily identified without the benefit of my painstaking research. Ambiance and such frills are irrelevant to the analysis and inclusion in the column.

Today I want to send readers over to Ponce de Leon to two of my favorite spots. Heading west on Ponce just before you get to the Kroger near the old Sears (now City Hall Annex) building, on the right is Tortilla's. Here you can sit in an old booth, be served by young people who do interesting things with their hair and wear jewelry in odd places, and enjoy a terrific bean and cheese burrito for $1.95. One of these will fill up most folks. The super burritos are too big for ordinary mortals. There are a variety of other burritos, most for less than $3. Skip anything else on the menu.

If you are not in the mood for Mexican fare, drive past Tortilla's, just past the old Sears building and also on the right side of the street is a place called EATS. Eats is owned by a Tortilla partner and serves heaping plates of pasta in a marinara or pesto sauce, with a big slab of garlic bread, for less than $3. One can also get a hot vegetable plate, heaped with stuff, for a little more than $3. Salads are extra, but I never eat green leafy things unless my mom is around to make me. The dining room does not have quite the panache of its sibling but, hey, it's cheap!

Go and enjoy. And if you have any suggestions of places you want me to check out (I assume the University is going to provide me with a research grant of some type to further this project) drop me a line on e-mail: <gozo@law.emory.edu>.

Nat Gozansky is professor and associate dean in the Law School.