It’s probably not a good idea to eat out for every meal. Hell, one of my friends spent two years doing just that, roaming the izikayas and other restaurants of Kyoto and he ended up with gout, though I guess the associated drinking might have had something to do with that.

Nevertheless, in honor of the global recession, I tried to put together an entire week’s worth of food specials at some local restaurants. I wanted to feature a cheap food for every lunch and dinner of the week — 14 meals’ worth of deals. In doing so I learned that most food specials run early in the week. So here’s a bit of collected wisdom: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the key to dining out cheaply. That’s when bars and restaurants are running specials to get more people through the door, since they aren’t the nights on which people traditionally go out.

Here’s the new plan: Each week throughout the recession, or until we run out of ideas, this column will feature one cheap local meal (in addition to whatever else we’re going on about).

The definition of “cheap” will surely vary and will be directly related to the establishment: a $25 dinner at Groucho’s Deli would not be a good deal, while Solstice’s $25 three-course dinner special is quite a steal. Both are good local establishments, but they’re in different price categories.

The definition of “local” is pretty straightforward: no national chains, local ownership preferred. Why? For one thing, local places don’t have the advertising budget of Hardee’s or Olive Garden, who probably don’t need the help. For another thing, those places suck. And for still another thing, people already associate fast food and chain restaurants with value, even if they aren’t actually that cheap. Value Meals at McDonald’s can run to $7 — a terrible deal all around.

To get us started, here are five local meals for under $5 apiece.
 
Slice Night at Pizza Man
Pizza Man on Rosewood Drive is all about contrasts: It’s a neighborhood dive bar where you can get prosciutto on your pie. It’s a longstanding South Carolina pizzeria that just happens to make perfect Roman-style cracker crust. It’s completely Rosewood. And on Tuesdays nights, Pizza Man sells slices for $1.25 apiece.

Taco Tuesday at The Whig
The Whig owns Tuesdays. Visit the small downstairs bar at Gervais and Main to scarf down some small beef or bean tacos at 50 cents apiece. You’ll have enough money left over to play a few songs on the impressively good jukebox.

Catfish Stew at Jimmy’s Mart
Anybody conducting business along Two Notch Road (wait, that’s not what I meant) would be well served by a trip to Jimmy’s Mart. A large bowl of catfish stew costs $3. Two hot dogs all the way (chili, mustard, onions — slaw is extra) costs less than that. A note on Jimmy’s protocol: Order and pick up your food at the back counter, grab a drink and then go pay for your food at the front counter. Only then can you sit down to eat.

50-Cent Sushi
Previously mentioned but still an amazing deal is SakiTumi’s Thursday night special: 50-cent sushi and $1 Kirin Ichibans.

Long Live El Burrito
El Burrito in Five Points basically invented reasonably healthy budget-friendly eating in Columbia. Long before a Moe’s billboard ever cast its shadow across the Midlands, El Burrito was cranking out those big foil-wrapped burritos and other Mexi-Californian bean-and-rice basics. Witness the humble bean taco: two of them cost under $4. Salsa, onions, cilantro and lime are free for the taking. Buen provecho.

Send cheap food suggestions and other food news to food@free-times.com.