The $5 Dinner

Proof that it?s still possible to pig out on a few bucks.

THE BEST!
DAHI PAPRI $3.95, Punjabi Dhaba
Punjabi Dhaba (a dhaba is a roadside cafe in India) exhibits no excess creature comforts, just a crowd of students, Harvard professors, and late-night hipsters. The long waits are worth it, particularly for the dahi papri - crisp strips of fried lentil pastry soaked in a sweet and tangy dressing of yogurt and tamarind with a mild chili heat (think Italian panzanella salad with Punjabi flavors). Add to that a healthy dose of robust cubed potato and chickpeas, pungent chopped onions, and fresh tomatoes and cilantro, and you've got one hearty meal. Bottom line A few bucks more will get you an oversized portion of curry, complete with rice, nan, dal, and yogurt.

BUCK-BURGER WITH FRIES $2.79, Bukowski Tavern Like a hidden gem within a hidden gem, the legendary buck-burger at Inman Square hangout Bukowski is knowledge passed on only in furtive whispers. Order the bar-fly burger, and you'll spend $7, but come in any weekday between noon and 8 p.m. and ask for the not-on-the-menu buck-burger, and you get the same well-seasoned, 6-ounce flame-broiled patty with lettuce, tomato, thin-sliced red onion, and pickles for a mere $1.69. Want fries with that? An extra $1.10 will get you a full basket of ultra-crisp potatoes. Bottom line Despite the misnomer, it makes all the other dollar menus in town seem flimsier than a Happy Meal toy.

FENWAY FRANK $1, The Lower Depths There's something about the dozen hands that touch your bun before it reaches you that negates the romanticism of eating a Fenway frank inside Fenway Park. Not so at the Lower Depths, where you can get the same griddled jumbo dog on a buttery toasted bun for $1. Just filling up? Get five dogs for $5. Or build from the dog up with your choice of seven different toppings for a buck apiece, including homemade slaw and crisp bacon. Bottom line Another $1.50 buys a bowl of chili, upgrading your dog from seventh-inning snack to full-on meatatarian meal.

PUNJABI DHABA 225 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, 617-547-8272
BUKOWSKI TAVERN 1281 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, 617-497-7077
THE LOWER DEPTHS 476 Commonwealth Avenue, No. 1, Boston, 617-266-6662