It’s about saving dough in Atlanta, nothing personal…going out to eat today can be hard on the pockets, and if you want that bank account to grow, you gotta look for the deals. Atlanta has a wealth of great eateries, high profile restaurants and places to nibble morsels of artsy edibles & be seen. Here’s a couple:

EATS, that little hole in the wall on Ponce, has been a staple for college crowds & frugal hipsters for over 15 years. A value meal at its best, especially considering the $8.99 per pound hot bar at Whole Foods a couple hundred yards away-get a decent plat of grub and suurprise… you’ve spent like $15 bones for lunch. Pasta, jerk chicken, black beans and rice, and a few other sides make up the menu. Now, let’s be real, does the chicken at EATS compete with some of Atlanta’s authentic caribbean fare like One Love Café or Caribbean Delight? No, but hey, down a few bottles of Guinness and it’ll taste like food grilled at an outdoor jerk stall in Kingston.

I know by now you have watched Zimmer on Bizarre Foods, the chubby eater of all animal organs and appendages-one of the episodes chronicles him traveling to Spain and eating various kinds of pig parts at a ham bar. Well, now Atlanta has a place to get your international swine on, namely, The Iberian Pig. Black Iberian ham is similar to the highly prized black truffle…people say they can actually taste hints of the chestnuts eaten by these squealers. TIP has an eclectic menu tailor made for foodies: exotic cheeses, tapas, Spanish flatbreads, baguette, expresso aioli, and of course, great ham. Unique food & dining concept? Yes. Is this the place to go for if you are dinero-low or looking for halal dining? Uh, no. Or, put it this way, if you are trying to catch up on your late mortgage payments while juggling payments on your overdue Visa card, you shouldn’t be eating here. Matter of fact, you shouldn’t be eating out anywhere. If reading is fundamental, learning how to cook at home is friggin’ essential!

If it ain’t about dollars, it doesn’t make sense. Should these restaurants even be compared to each other? Maybe not, but hey, it's my ramble so leave me be.

Other ways to save $$$ in ATL:

Ignore any Tweet citing the Versace Store at Phipps Plaza

Buy your Xmas gifts in the clearance bin at the Dollar Tree on Buford Hwy

Party at The Five Spot on Wednesday- Cool Tunes. Low Dough.