🔥 Local Chicago Meal Deals
Nhu Lan Bakery
Banh Mi — $6.28–8.95
An Uptown Vietnamese bakery for made-to-order banh mi — grilled pork, lemongrass chicken, BBQ pork — from $6.28 to $8.95 on house-baked baguettes. Two sandwiches run around $16, each their own.
Ba Le Sandwich
Banh Mi — under $11
An Argyle-corridor Vietnamese sandwich shop and bakery for banh mi on fresh French bread (all under $11), plus noodle soups from $9.95 and smoothies. Two sandwiches run around $16.
The Wieners Circle
Char Dog — ~$6
A Lincoln Park late-night legend famous for char-grilled Chicago dogs with the works — and the staff's theatrical trash talk. A char dog is around $6, so two with cheese fries runs under $18.
Joong Boo Market
Wang Mandoo Dumplings — $7.95
The dumpling window at Avondale's Korean grocery Joong Boo — giant wang mandoo and pan-fried shrimp-and-pork dumplings ($7.95 for five), kimchi dumplings $4.95. Two people share a spread for around $15.
Falafel & Grill
Falafel Wrap — $4.50
A Wicker Park Middle Eastern counter where a falafel wrap is just $4.50 and a weekday lunch combo $6.99. Two people each get a wrap, with room for hummus, for well under $20.
Ghareeb Nawaz
Chicken Biryani $12.99 (Feeds Two)
A Devon Ave institution for South Asian student food, open late. Chicken biryani is $7.99 (boneless $11.99) — two people eat massive plates for about $15 with a side. Cash-friendly, portions absurd.
Jim's Original
Maxwell St. Polish — $6.20
The Maxwell Street Polish stand going since 1939, open around the clock. A Polish with grilled onions runs about $6.50 — and every sandwich still comes with free fries and a pickle spear. Two people eat for $13–14.
La Chaparrita
Street Tacos — $2.40
A Little Village corner grocery-taqueria turning out Mexico City–style tacos — chorizo, carne asada, suadero, tripe — at $2.40 each, plus huaraches and tepache. Two people build a full taco meal for under $15. Closed Thursdays.
The Original Maxwell Street
Maxwell St. Polish — $4.70
A 24-hour Garfield Park stand carrying the Maxwell Street torch — a Polish sausage is $4.70 and a bone-in pork chop sandwich $5.25, both with free fries. Two full combos run around $13. Open around the clock.
Carnitas Uruapan
1 lb Carnitas (Feeds Two) — $14.99
The Pilsen carnitas landmark since 1975. A pound of carnitas with fresh tortillas and salsa runs about $17.50 and genuinely feeds two — just under the line, with no room for extras. Weekends get chicharrón too.
Don Pedro Carnitas
Carnitas Tacos — $2.50
A Pilsen weekend-morning carnitas spot on 18th Street — carnitas tacos $2.50 each, a half-pound $4.75, a pound $11.99. Two people each eat three tacos for around $15. Cash-friendly, often a line.
5 Rabanitos
Tacos — $2.25
A Pilsen taqueria from a former Topolobampo chef where tacos — bistec, al pastor, carnitas, nopal — are $2.25 each. Two people each eat three or four tacos for under $18. (Skip the pricier entrées.)
Taqueria Los Comales
Tacos — $2.89
A Little Village mainstay on 26th Street for classic tacos — al pastor, asada, lengua — at about $2.89 each, plus tortas and burritos. Two people each build a plate of tacos for around $17.
Chiu Quon Bakery
BBQ Pork Buns — $1.85
Chinatown's oldest bakery — BBQ pork buns and pastries now run about $2.25 each, so two people can still stack a bag of buns and egg tarts for around $10–12. Cash preferred.
Yummy Yummy Noodles
Noodle Bowls — under $10
A casual Chinatown spot for noodle soups — egg, rice, or ramen noodles in light savory broth with your choice of protein, all under $10 a bowl. Two people eat a full Chinatown meal for under $18.
Saint Anna Bakery
BBQ Pork Bun — ~$1.95
A Chinatown Hong Kong–style bakery-cafe on Archer for steamed and baked buns — a BBQ pork bun is about $1.95 and egg tarts about $2. Two people load up on buns and milk tea for around $12.
MingHin Cuisine
Dim Sum — from $3.50/plate
A Chinatown Square dim sum hall where carts of dumplings, BBQ pork buns, and sticky rice run from about $3.50 a plate. Two people share three or four plates for around $18 — a proper dim sum lunch under $20.
Valois Restaurant
Obama Platter — under $10
A cash-only Hyde Park cafeteria and Barack Obama favorite where the namesake platter — two eggs, hash browns, and sausage — is just under $10, with hot sandwiches in the same range. Two people eat a full breakfast for around $18.
Rajun Cajun
Butter Chicken — $7.99
A Hyde Park cafeteria mashing up Indian and Southern soul food — butter chicken over rice is $7.99, with sides like mac and cheese and greens. Two people each get a plate for around $16.
Old Fashioned Donuts
Giant Apple Fritter — ~$4
Roseland's legendary donut counter, where Burritt Bulloch has fried apple fritters the size of a plate since 1972 — about $5 for a fritter that two people genuinely split. Mon–Sat 6am–6pm, cash only.
Portillo's
Chicago Dog — $3.99
Chicago-style hot dogs done right — yellow mustard, onions, relish, tomato, pickle, sport peppers, celery salt on a poppy-seed bun, no ketchup. A dog is $3.99, so two with fries runs well under $20. The River North location is the easy downtown stop.
Billy Goat Tavern
Double Cheezborger — $7.99
The Lower Michigan Avenue dive that inspired SNL's 'cheezborger' sketch — a double cheezborger is $7.99 and a single even less. Two doubles run around $16 in the shadow of the Mag Mile.
💡 Pro tip: All deals are community-verified but prices and availability change. Always check the restaurant's website or app before making a special trip — and if something's expired, flag it on our main directory so we can update it.
📍 Regional Chains
Bigger than one storefront, smaller than the home-page national list — regional chains with real Chicago addresses.
White Castle
Sliders À La Carte · Breakfast Combos — Two Under $20
White Castle's deepest market — the 1921-born slider empire keeps 17 castles inside Chicago alone, many open into the small hours. Our July 2026 cart read at the chain's Las Vegas castle sets the pattern: Original Sliders $1.39 à la carte — ten built one by one is $13.90, cheaper than the bundled Shareable Meal unless you want its fries and drinks — the Breakfast Bun combo (sausage-egg-&-cheese slider, hash brown nibblers, coffee) $7.97, two breakfasts for $15.94, and the Crispy Chicken Combo $9.56, two for $19.12, while beef combos run past the line. Prices shift castle to castle, so run the same math on your store's menu in the app before you order.
Velvet Taco
Backdoor Chicken $20 — Whole Rotisserie Feast, Mondays Only
The Dallas-born "ridiculously original" taco chain — four stores in the city proper: Gold Coast, Lincoln Common, Fulton Market and Wicker Park — runs the Mondays-only Backdoor Chicken: a whole rotisserie chicken (brined 48 hours, roasted over an open flame), queso blanco, guac, corn pico, six tortillas and two hot sauces for $20 flat — the price is printed right in the menu name, same at every store in the chain. It's to-go only: order at the counter or app and carry it out. Between two people that's a full build-your-own-taco dinner at the site's namesake number, 161g of protein included. Chain-published deal, confirmed July 2026.
Jet's Pizza
$5 Off Any Specialty Pizza Online — Medium All Meaty $17.87
The Detroit-style original — Sterling Heights, Michigan, 1978, the chain that made the buttery, caramel-crusted square a national thing — is 13 stores deep inside the Chicago city limits — Andersonville to the South Side — with 20-plus more across the suburbs. The play is the $5 Off Any Specialty Pizzas deal built into the chain's online ordering menu: a medium All Meaty (pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, bacon, hamburger) listed at $22.87 on our August 2026 read at the chain's Denver store and rang up $17.87 with the deal applied — under the line with room for tax, and a medium is eight big slices, plenty for two. It's a deals-menu item so it can rotate out — and if it does, texting your order to your store takes 15% off menu-priced pizza. Prices vary by store, so run the math at yours before checkout.
🇺🇸 Also Valid Nationwide
These chain deals work anywhere in the country, including Chicago.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Pick 6 — Meal for Two from $19.99
The Pick 6 lets two people build a shared meal — choose six items across wings, tenders, and sides — starting around $19.99. A reliable two-for-$20 play at any BWW. Dine-in or takeout; pricing varies slightly by market.
Applebee's
Two $9.99 Really Big Meal Deals — $20
Each $9.99 Really Big Meal Deal pairs an entrée — Classic Bacon Cheeseburger, Big Cluckin' Chicken Sandwich, or Big Bangin' Burger — with endless fries and a fountain drink. Two combos feed two for about $20, dine-in.
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