Pork galore.

Chicago newcomer and blogger Gwynedd Stuart loves to eat out, but she also happens to be a poor person because she’s a Chicago newcomer and a blogger. In this weekly feature she seeks out affordable midday meals that don’t exceed five bucks (*actually seven, with tax and tip).

There’s a show on Food Network called $24 in 24. The premise, if you couldn’t figure it out: a fella named Jeff Mauro—a Chicago native and winner of the seventh season of Next Food Network Star, a program that, for better or worse, begat Guy Fieri into the world—travels to a city and attempts to eat three meals for less than $24. Schticky? Sure (says the lady who writes about five-dollar lunches). Ambitious? Sure, that too.

When Mauro brought the show to Chicago, he spent the bulk of his meager $24 budget on lunch at Honey 1 Barbeque in Bucktown, which seemed imprudent because, c’mon, it’s barbecue and you can for sure spend less than ten bucks. So I tested the premise! And I was right! Of course, this isn’t to say that really good, wood-smoked ribs aren’t worth lots of dollars. They are. But Honey 1 happens to have extraordinarily cheap lunch specials.

My dining companion and I tried their hot link sandwich and fries ($2.99), their small order of rib tips and fries ($4.99), and two drinks, and spent a grand total of $11.