Our first contestants: Trudy, Mirium, and Mina

For only $4.00 you can grab a bagel from the Burlington Bagel Bakery. It’ll be really shiny. It comes cut in half, so you can split it with a friend. If you split the cost too, it’ll only be $2.00. They’ve got lots of places to sit, and if you ask real nice, they’ll cut your bagel into thirds (we did this once).

If you don’t like bagels, Ken’s pizza slices are delicious, cheap, and huge. Add a topping for just 50¢! Ken’s was super quiet around 1:00, but the service was kind of slow. We probably should’ve gone to the takeout window.

Our next contestants: Max, Sylvie, and Rory

First off, we grabbed an ice cold Arizona Iced Tea for a whopping $1 at CVS. As a student on a budget, the convenience, quantity, and foremost price makes Arizona a great choice when grabbing a drink on Church St. 

Then, we headed up to the Top of the Block (TOB) sandwich shop looking for a warm hash brown. They were out but had a wonderful peanut butter cookie for $1.50.

At ToB, we met Romie Jackson ’22 who is in love with ToB’s Totally Stuffed: a sandwich with turkey, stuffing, cranberry mayo, cheddar cheese, and apple slices. It’s by far one of the best meals on Church Street, but a half sandwich is $5.99, falling just outside our price range. Jackson then accompanied us to Lake Champlain Chocolates, where we purchased a hot chocolate for $3.75. It was absolutely decadent and served as a wonderful way to warm up after traversing Church Street. 

Our next contestants: Khalil, Devon, and Darrius

At Penny Cluse café, just off of Church St, this fried plate of goodness was served with a smile from friendly waiters. A welcoming smell wafted up from the home fries and condensation dripped down the side of the ice cold water. All for the small price of $4.99—including tax!—It was a hearty snack.

After such heavenly home fries, a slice of pizza from Ken’s Pizza and Pub seemed to be the perfect follow-up—but, alas! it was not. Although it was not bad, it was somewhat too greasy. But for the low, low price of $3.25, it was worth it nonetheless.

Our final contestants: Elsa, Aya, and Lola

We first went to Leunig’s Petit Bijou, and we got fries with ketchup for $5. There were a lot of them, and it really filled us up. 

Next we went to Burlington Bagel Bakery and got a cinnamon sugar bagel with peanut butter, for some protein, and split that three ways. The bagel was only $3.00, so we ended up with leftover money!

The Winner: Burlington Bagel Bakery

Burlington Bagel Bakery takes first place. Two of our groups chose to get a bagel, and they both were able to share it (they’ll even cut it in thirds- that’s good service).  To top it all off, it is only 4 dollars- so you have enough to get an Arizona Ice Tea at CVS for a not too shabby 5 dollar meal.  The home fries at Penny Cluse Cafe win an honorable mention. A hearty meal for under 5 dollars, but unfortunately not technically on Church Street.